CAPC preps for annual Just a Buck Fundraiser

The Community Action Planning Council of Jefferson County is gearing up for its annual Jo Oddi Memorial Just a Buck Fundraiser.

Beginning March 1, people may donate dollars to the campaign. The idea, according to agency Director Melinda M. Gault, is that if all residents of Jefferson County gave just a dollar, the campaign would fare well.

"It adds up so quickly," she said.

Last year, the two-month event raised just over $2,000.

Ms. Gault said the fundraiser comes at the perfect time because donations tend to slow down after the holidays. A few food drives take place from just before Thanksgiving until Christmas, she said, but people still need help putting food on the table after the holidays.

"We are still seeing more new faces, and repeat people," Ms. Gault said. "There's more unemployed people that come through, and people that are kind of falling through the cracks because they're just over that threshold when they're not eligible for benefits."

Tammy S. Kitto, the Planning Council's emergency services manager, said the pantry gives individuals and families a three-day food supply that covers the major food groups. The agency is always looking for donations of nonperishable fruits and vegetables, protein items, juices, pastas and spaghetti sauces.

The CAPC also will tie the annual Feinstein Foundation fundraising effort into the Jo Oddi Memorial Just a Buck Fundraiser.

Over the past several years during March and April, the CAPC has received a small donation from the Feinstein Foundation, Cranston, R.I. Alan Shawn Feinstein, founder of the foundation, said that in order for participating hunger-fighting agencies to receive money, all they have to do is send the foundation a report in May that shows how much food, valued at $1 per can, and money was raised during March and April.

"We divide our money up among all of them proportionally, with a minimum of $250 for any one agency and a maximum of $40,000," Mr. Feinstein said.

The foundation awards $1 million to hunger-fighting agencies each year. The CAPC received $257 last year.

Ms. Gault said the Planning Council has no fundraising goal for the Feinstein Foundation effort or the Jo Oddi Memorial Just a Buck Fundraiser, but hopes people will donate food or money if at all possible.

To make a donation for either effort, people may drop off cash or mail a check, made payable to CAPC, 518 Davidson St., Watertown, N.Y. 13601.