Early on ...
The Sail Loft
Nestled alongside and uphill on the west side of Pennsylvania Avenue, halfway between the two town centers of East Lyme - Niantic and Flanders - was a significant structure in the early days: The Sail Loft.
A Place to Begin
Our Story
Our Story
Our Story
Very early in its expanded mission of food collection and distribution, especially at the November and December holidays and the Springtime, Care & Share's donated Pantry space of the Sail Loft at Niantic Awning was instrumental.
Our Story
Our Story
Its high visibility along the major road from Flanders to Niantic was strategic, at what was then, and still is, the site of Niantic Awning.
Neighbors could conveniently find it, to drop off donations. And since recipient clients did sometimes come the facility, its ready access & parking was essential.
Our Story
These historic photos from 1997 demonstrate how maximalist volunteers used the precious space creatively to arrange donations into deliverable food parcels, even including aluminum pans for cooking donated holiday turkeys.
The Pantry at The Sail Loft in Vintage 1997 Photos
A new tradition begins at the Sail Loft
Toward the end of the twentieth century a tradition began that still reaches
over a quarter of a century more -- Care & Share began collecting donations of
clothing and gifts for distribution to clients for the November-December holidays, at first, from the Sail Loft, as shown in these 1999 photos.
Each clothing donation was carefully handled, folded, arranged in an orderly fashion, and made ready for a new, grateful recipient. Each donated toy or game was inspected and grouped appropriately by age and gender, then wrapped and labeled for holiday giving.
Beginning the Holiday Store Tradition
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