Town Crier Articles

 

 New Town just made it happen!

• Approximately 85 New Town households contributed by leaving food donations on their porches the second Saturday of each month for the past 12 months.

• Donations were then loaded onto trucks/vans from local hunger relief organizations for distribution to at-risk families.

Total donations (in pounds) by neighborhood for the period July 2024 – June 2025:

 

Abbey Commons	1,494
Charlotte Park	4,543
Chelsea Green	441
Savannah Square	586
Shirley Park	1,857
Village Walk	1,087
Center Street Condos	180 (4 months)
Total all neighborhoods	10,188

 

Many thanks to all the households who contributed this past year and a special thanks to the volunteers who helped made it an easy process. New Town’s PORCH volunteers who assist on a regular basis include Judy Byrnes, Tricia Byrne, Kathy Casey, Holly Demster, Gayle Duncan, Liz Fones-Wolf, Bob Glenn, Eden Glenn, Lynn Griswold, Paul Griswold, Daisy Henna, Bob Hyatt, Gale Hyatt, Joanne Kramer, Diane Langhorst, Angela Lesnett, Fred Lesnett, Diane Malinowski, Anouk Mapp, Ellen Morgan, John Morgan, Rick Richards, Ellen Weidman, Tim Weidman, and Sommer Wrona.

 

These monthly food drives are conducted under the umbrella of PORCH Communities, a grassroots, all volunteer organization established in 2010 and headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC.  Presently, there are 550 neighborhood chapters in 10 states. PORCH Communities Williamsburg was the first chapter in Virginia. New Town is one of 10 neighborhoods participating in the Williamsburg chapter. 

 

Here's a recent news artlcle about how the Williamsburg area PORCH communities are responding to the food insecurity need and how appreciative the pantries that receive PORCH food are.  https://wydaily.com/latest/local/2025/06/09/new-food-pantry-donation-program-in-williamsburg-makes-it-easy-to-give-back/

 

Monthly food drives are on-going.  Starting this month, New Town will be collecting donations on a rotating basis for Williamsburg House of Mercy, FISH, and Grove Christian Outreach Center.  If you would like more information or would like to volunteer, please contact either Gale Hyatt (ladyhappy73@gmail.com) or Eden Glenn (edenaglenn@gmail.com.)