Community rallies to support residents this winter

In front of the fast-approaching holidays, the town of Newfield has pulled together to ensure happy celebrations for its community members in need of assistance.

Kicking off on Halloween weekend, pastor Brian Krick of People’s Baptist Church of Newfield held a clothing giveaway event for the members of the Newfield community. Individuals were welcome to come and select clothing that had been donated and collected throughout the previous months at no cost.

“We have been hosting this type of event the last few years,” Krick said. “We collect clean, usable clothing and offer it to community members in need. This last giveaway on Halloween weekend in October was for winter clothing and accessories. We will be hosting upcoming events for the spring and summer season, to be announced. Updates for those can be found on our Facebook page. We accept donations through the church and gather and organize the clothing and then hold events to offer them to the community.”

Tioga State Bank of Newfield recently concluded a coat drive to assist community members in need of warm outerwear for the winter. Partnering with Moreton cleaners of Waverly, the bank collected coats at its branch. After being cleaned and laundered, the outerwear will be available at the Dec. 1 food pantry held at the Newfield United Methodist Church. Anyone in attendance can choose from what’s available free of charge.

“We have a tree in our branch here that will have tags on it that community members can take and purchase items for someone in need and return them unwrapped to the bank,” Bank Manager Kim Depew explained. “On the tags, there will be age, size, gender and item descriptions for the individual. The information is collected through school personnel and is anonymous on the tags. There aren’t any names, just pertinent information for the items needed. This will conclude on Dec. 17, and then the items will be provided to the individual. Anyone can come into our bank and pull a tag off the tree and contribute. If anyone has any questions, they can talk to a bank employee.”

On Nov. 17, in addition to its regularly scheduled food pantry, Newfield United Methodist Church provided additional items to the community for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. In addition to the regular assortment of items available, the church provided turkeys to those in need of one. Those who were unable to physically get a turkey at that time due to availability were given a ticket to come back and get one Dec. 20. Church volunteer Marge Strosnider added that if there is more need, gift cards may be made available.

“Due to COVID-19, we have people line up in their cars and volunteers give them a menu of sorts that lists options for their households,” Strosnider said. “There is a lot to choose from, ranging from meat selections all the way to personal care. Each category has different options. The preferred items are circled and then handed back to a volunteer that brings it back into the church who collects the chosen items in a grocery cart and then brings it all back out to the car.”

Volunteers at the church range from church members to Newfield High School students. Senior honor student Lyla Freund volunteers regularly at the church pantry.

“It’s the best!” she said. “I enjoy it more than I thought I would. Being a part of the Honor Society required to do a certain amount of community service. I decided to do this and learned I enjoy it a lot. We get to bag and process things and give back to the community, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Mary Beth Gehring-Smith, chairman of the Newfield Community Good Neighbor Fund, works to coordinate all the collaborative events for the community.

“The coats are collected by the bank, and then they’re distributed through the Methodist church,” Gehring-Smith said. “The items given at the food pantry for the holiday differ from your usual selections. They usually will offer cake mixes and dessert-making items, as well as a turkey and traditional holiday side dishes such as stuffing or ingredients for green bean casserole. It offers the additional items usually needed to make a holiday meal.”

Gehring-Smith added that volunteers receive a wide selection of donated items through private donations and school food drives.

“We don’t always know specifically what extra items we will have to offer, but there will definitely be additional things offered for the holiday,” she said. “It’s a nice way to give back to the community for the holiday season.”

Newfield Notes is published every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

In Brief:

Ken Serfass as Ulysses S. Grant

Join community members Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. at the Newfield Fire Hall, 66 Main St., for a special event with Ken Serfass. Serfass is a first-person impressionist with 47 years studying his childhood hero, Ulysses S. Grant.

It is with a profound honor that he tells the story of one of America’s greatest military leaders, and Serfass takes it very seriously to reaffirm Grant’s place of honor among the most respected people of our nation’s history. His passion for the subject is evident in his presentation, and it is hard not to be affected by his enthusiasm for his subject and believe that you’ve met Grant in living history.