Article by: Maddy Schwartz
The Cold Spring Joint Action Committee that includes members from the Cold Spring EDA, Cold Spring Area Chamber, and the ROCORI School District led a Service Industry and ROCORI Area Food Shelf Support Program over the holidays. The purpose of the project was to encourage community members to support local restaurants and bars by purchasing gift cards which translated into support for the local food shelf.
CEDA Team Member Maddy Schwartz, who serves Cold Spring, authored and was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Initiative Foundation for the project. The grant provided a matching dollar-for-dollar donation (up to $5,000) to the ROCORI Food Shelf for gift cards sold at Cold Spring restaurants and bars over the holiday season.
The hospitality industry has faced difficulties including reduced sales and temporary closures due to pandemic restrictions over the last year. The group also recognized the importance of supporting the area food shelf that services Rockville, Cold Spring, and Richmond year-round.
Roseann Baisley, Cold Spring Area Chamber of Commerce Administrator, also did a tremendous amount of work on the project to make it successful. Baisley shared, “This project was a great way to bring the community together. I had several people stop by the Chamber office to ask how close we were to our goal because they wanted to contribute and help the food shelf and our local bars and restaurants. It’s great to see how the community has supported our local business community during this difficult time.”
The Committee was overwhelmed by the support they saw from the community on this project! The eight participating Cold Spring businesses sold a total of over $67,000 worth of gift cards during the project. There was local support from individual community members and other businesses. The Joint Action Committee is grateful for the support offered by the Initiative Foundation and the opportunity to make this project possible. The ROCORI Area Food Shelf will receive the full $5,000 from the grant as a result of this project.
