Round up at the register this May to support the Littleton Area Senior Center!
The Ammonoosuc River has been a cherished resource and a gathering place for generations of outdoor enthusiasts, and likewise, the Littleton Area Senior Center (at least before Covid) has always been “the” gathering space for older citizens in the North Country. Located on the banks of the Ammonoosuc, people enjoy the beautiful natural setting, creative programming, delicious daily lunches and a chance to catch up with friends and neighbors in an upbeat and lively venue near downtown Littleton. The full-service center prepares daily home-delivered meals, hosts community meals, provides transportation and community outreach and offers all types of programs, activities and clinics. Other services include volunteer placement, a trained outreach worker and more. They hope to get back to all this wonderful programming once it’s safe to be back at full service.
In the meantime, they hope to use any money raised towards general operating expenses associated with their various programs, and they are also raising money towards replacing their roof. Programs they are running include a Home Delivered Meals program serving as many as 5,000 meals monthly, a Grab & Go lunch open to all and served weekdays from 12 to 12:30, and Senior Activities such as Exercise, Bingo, Ukulele Classes, At-Home Crafts, and Health Seminars. They will also be restarting their Transportation program very soon, which assists seniors and adults with disabilities in reaching medical appointments, getting groceries, and more.
Visit our website to learn more about our Partner of the Month Program.
About our Partner of the Month Program
Through our Partner of the Month Program, the Littleton Food Co-op sponsors a different local non-profit each month of the year. All of our Partners are locally focused, socially and environmentally responsible, non-political, and secular. Partners are chosen by our Members by popular vote, and each organization typically receives anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000.
We help to raise funds a number of ways:
- Round Up: Customers paying with a credit or debit card may round up their purchases and the balance goes directly to the Partner of the Month.
- Donation collection boxes with partner branding are placed at each register.
- Messaging about our partners is included in our weekly e-newsletter, social media posts, on our website, and in our weekly newspaper ads.
- Posters and flyers are displayed on our Community Board and around the store.
- Opportunities to meet our members, including info tables, grocery bagging, and other events.
Meet the 2021 Partners of the Month!
The following organizations were chosen by our Members to be our 2021 Partners of the Month:
Above the Notch Humane Society
Boys & Girls Club of the North Country
The Bancroft House – A Family Sanctuary
Second Chance Animal Rescue
Littleton Area Senior Center
Copper Cannon Camp
Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, Inc
Mt. Eustis Ski Hill
Organized Acts Of Kindness For Seniors (OAKS)
Learn more about this year’s voting process and each organization here.
How Our Partners Are Chosen
Each year in August we promote the candidates running for the following year’s Partner Program, and our Members select the final Partners by popular vote. Voting is typically done online and by paper ballot, but this year for safety reasons we held voting entirely online. Only full or partial Members may vote by casting a ballot, and Members may vote only once per household.
The organization with the most votes gets first choice for their preferred month. Then the next organizations choose their preferred month, in the order of votes earned. We divide the organizations into categories each year so that there is a diverse variety of groups being supported; if any categories are not represented we choose the organization with the most votes within a category and add it to the final list.
In January, October, and November of 2021 we will be supporting the Healthy Food Access program, the Littleton Cooperative Community Fund, and area food pantries respectively. In the event of an emergency situation that needs funding, we will contact the Partner for the month to see if they are willing to forfeit Round-Up earnings for three days.
Please note that organizations may not be a Partner of the Month for more than 2 consecutive years, but are welcome to apply in the third year.
If you have questions about our Partner of the Month Program, please contact our Community Outreach Coordinator, Becky Colpitts, at bcolpitts@littletoncoop.org
Apply to Become a 2022 Partner
The deadline to apply for our 2021 Partner of the Month Program was August 1, 2020, and applications for 2021 are now closed. If you’re interested in finding out more about our program or would like to become a Partner in 2022, please e-mail bcolpitts@littletoncoop.org.
The Application Process
Each year in August our Members choose 8-9 organizations for our Partner program via popular vote. We want our Members to make an informed choice and also learn about the great work being done in our community, so we put together lots of promotional materials about the candidates, print flyers for the store, share posts and videos on social media, include information on our website and in our e-newsletter, and we also offer the opportunity to set up a table during our Partner of the Month Fair.
Partners must be a local 501(c)(3) non-profit, or under the umbrella of an established 501(c)(3) organization in the area. Please note that organizations may not be a Partner of the Month for more than 2 consecutive years, but are welcome to apply again after that.
