Dear Friends,

Another New England winter is upon us.  But where’s the snow?  I love the beauty of the white stuff.  New Generation is all a bustle with the holiday season decorating the tree, planning holiday parties, picking up gifts...  It is a busy time.

             Big news!  We will be opening a second thrift shoppe in Rochester, NH.  Second Generation has been such an excellent source of income for our shelter and is so popular with the customers that the Board decided to offer a similar facility in Rochester.  The address is 25 Old Dover Road Unit E.  Donations for the new shoppe are being accepted in Greenland and we are always looking for volunteers. We believe this will be a great asset to the Rochester community.  There is tremendous energy and excitement about the new project.  Watch for the opening date! 

            In November, Dot Smith, a staff member, planned and organized a 50’s dance which was held at La Famiglia Restaurant in Greenland.  Pat O’Keefe, the owner, donated the space and cooked a spaghetti and meatball dinner for us.  Jeff Chidester acted as DJ and played the wonderful music of the 50’s.  It was a huge social and financial success, thanks to Dot. 

            In December we have our Toys for Tots open house for current and former residents.  Santa and his elf distribute toys and have their picture taken with all of the children in attendance.

             Plans are underway for our auction in April.  Cathy Edison our Director of Fundraising and Deb Davis, our faithful volunteer, are setting it up.  It’s going to be a great event.

             Joan Ouellette our Parenting Educator and day time staffer will be retiring in December after 15 years of service.  But the good news is that she will continue working with our residents one day a week as our parenting educator.  This is such a valuable service to our residents and we’re glad we’ll still be seeing her.  We are so grateful to her for her many years of driving our residents to appointments, checking chores, holding babies, being a listening ear, etc, etc, etc. and we wish her a fulfilling and enjoyable retirement.

             Enjoy, relax, celebrate, eat good food, love your family and have a memorable holiday season and a beautiful winter season.

                                                                Warmly,

                                                                Toni