Quaker Kids Raise $20,600 (6 yrs) for Pre-School Summer Programs

Quaker kids relax before serving lasagna dinner

Newtown Quaker Kids Raise $20,600 Over 6 Years to Support Trenton Pre-School Summer Program

The young people at Newtown Quaker Meeting recently hosted a Lasagna Dinner at historic Newtown Friends Meetinghouse on Court Street and raised $2,550 for their “charity of choice.” The charity, for the sixth consecutive year, was the Mercer Street Friends Pre-School Summer Program in Trenton, NJ. And the total raised for all six lasagna dinners is now a whopping $20,608!

The young people accept contributions rather than charge a fee for their charity dinners. Apparently, it works very well. One young dinner host said, “People are really nice and generous. We told them they could give whatever they wanted. And one guy gave me $300! He said the dinner service was Five Star. And he gave us an extra dollar for dessert!”

Featured at the dinner were “lasagnas for all tastes” -- meat, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, etc – and a variety of desserts of pies, cookies, and brownies.

The sponsor of the Pre-K Summer Program, Mercer Street Friends, is “a Quaker-affiliated, nonsectarian organization focused on hunger, poverty and access to educational opportunities.”

Other recipients of funds raised by the Quaker Kids’ Lasagna Dinners have been: Penndel Food Pantry, Haiti Relief, Save Darfur, Mercer Street Friends Food Bank, Heifer International, Philadelphia Friends Center Green Building Project, and Right Sharing of World Resources, a micro-loan program founded by world Quakers.

The young people helped set up the tables and chairs in the Quaker Meetinghouse “Gathering Room,” collected the funds, served the food, and cleaned up after the dinner.

Joe Hulihan, MD, Mercer Street Friends Board Chair, Newtown resident, and member of Newtown Quaker meeting, said: “These young people are amazing and their service was superb. And because of these young Quakers, some pre-schoolers inTrenton are going to have a chance to learn this summer.”

Mercer Street Friends has an annual budget of just over $5 million and serves over 30,000 people a year throughout MercerCounty.

The Quaker Kids Lasagna Dinner is supervised by members of the Children’s Religious Education Committee of Newtown Meeting, including Committee Clerk Sarah Buxton of Newtown, Eileen Grant of Newtown, and Dinner Coordinator, Lisa Li, ofWest Windsor, NJ.

Sarah Buxton said, “This is one of the highlights of the year for our children. They work hard and have a great time raising money for such a good cause."

Lisa Li added, "Our children and teens organize these fund raisers because they want to help all young children have access to enriching academic programs through the summer months."

Newtown Friends Meeting, co-founded by the Quaker artist and minister, Edward Hicks, in 1815, holds services every First Day (Sunday). During the school year, First Day classes for children and adults are at 9:45 a.m. and Meeting for Worship at 11:00 a.m. Professional childcare is provided. All meetings are open to the public and visitors are warmly welcomed.