Volunteers exhibit kindness in stepping up to help homeless

By Ed Pierce

The late Coretta Scott King once said that the greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members. Bearing that in mind, a group of Windham volunteers stepped up to assist those in need when a blast of arctic air dropped the temperature outside to -18 degrees last weekend and asked for nothing in return.

A group of volunteers from Windham gather in the kitchen
at First Parish Church in Portland on Saturday, Feb. 4 to help
fix and serve meals to the homeless and those in needs on
the coldest day of the year. The volunteers also collected 
warm winter clothing and blankets to assist those suffering
from the cold sub-zero temperatures. SUBMITTED PHOTO    

Friends and neighbors in Windham concerned about those less fortunate banded together to help the homeless and those experiencing food insecurity on what was the coldest weekend in many years.

“When the temperatures dropped to unprecedented levels, this started a frenzy about how to best help many people in Windham,” said Carol Walsh of Windham. “First, it was asked how can we help the needy so they will be warm while they weather out the two days? Secondly, how can the needy be helped with a place to warm up and also get a hot meal?”

The group of Windham volunteers chose to join others at the First Parish Church Warming Center in Portland to lend a hand on Saturday, Feb. 4 and then began collecting winter items and meals to take with them to the church that day.

“Starting with the first thing on the list, warm clothes and blankets, a friend who volunteers for Maine Needs, Amy Weickert, sent our friend's group a quick text stating the dire straits of getting enough warm items for people who would be encountering the low temps,” Walsh said. “I sent out an email to some of my neighbors and friends, and boom, I had hats, gloves, mittens, blankets, boots and jackets, and some items were bought at Reny's. The multiple bags were delivered to Maine Needs the very next day. I then saw the huge donations from American Roots, a Westbrook company who produce ‘Made in Maine’ items, and said yikes, talk about generous.”

Walsh said that the volunteer group from Windham then discussed how to help those coming that day to the Warming Center at the First Parish Church.

“Kristen Harris, the co-founder of Maine Meal Assistance, saw the need for help there,” Walsh said. “She contacted the church, then she went and saw the space and knew our group would help. I called out to friends and they were happy to volunteer for whatever was needed.”

Among volunteers agreeing to pitch in and help at the church were Walsh, Ellen LaChapelle, Cheryl Alterman, Judy George, Marilyn Pierce and Kristen Harris.

“We saw firsthand the people from the frigid cold coming into a warm and welcoming center where a hot meal was being offered to those in need,” Walsh said. “People with frost-bitten hands, everything they own by their sides and then we saw the complete satisfaction on their faces with the delicious food.”

The volunteers gathered and served the homeless at the church a meal made up of donated foods, including ziti with beef, ziti with sausage, vegetarian ziti, roasted turkey, roasted potatoes, gravy, stuffing, squash risotto, mashed sweet potatoes, lasagna from Lasagna Love of Windham, a vegetarian ziti with tons of vegetables and hundreds of homemade cookies and brownies baked by the Windham volunteers.

Walsh said that serving utensils were donated by Hannaford in Windham and Amatos of Windham. Gift cards were donated by various Windham businesses to help defray the expenses for buying plates, utensils, and napkins.

In helping out at the church, the volunteers met Harry Bailey, who has opened a shelter at 160 State St. in Portland for about 40 residents. These are mostly young adults who have aged out of foster care and individuals recently from incarceration. Walsh said the Windham volunteers are talking about ways they can help Bailey and the residents of his shelter too.

Returning to Windham, Walsh said all of the volunteers were grateful for the opportunity to serve those in need on the coldest day in years.

“Every person getting a plate was so grateful, kind and came back before leaving to say thank you,” Walsh said. “My reason for helping is I just can't stand by and not do something. It warmed my heart, serving hot food to people who were so grateful. After being a volunteer cook for three years with Maine Meal Assistance, it's just in my blood to help.”

She said that anyone can help.

“The help can be making something. Have someone pick it up and deliver it or complete the whole process. The people you meet make you remember that any one of us could be a step away from what we take for granted. This is a very fulfilling experience. I have had friends who donate gift cards to me so in turn I can buy the ingredients for the home-cooked meals. They recognize my passion, and I am so appreciative to them for their support.” <

Lasagna Love spreads kindness throughout community

Amanda Wertanen of Windham makes a lasagna from scratch
for donation to a local family. Wertanen is one of a handful of
volunteer chefs making meals for the Lasagna Love
organization, a group dedicated to spreading love and
kindness in the community. SUBMITTED PHOTO  

By Andrew Wing

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to so many terrible things from loss of life to worldwide lockdowns, to global disruption, and it's been hard on everybody. Despite that, some good things have come out of it, and one of those things is Lasagna Love. 

A global nonprofit organization, Lasagna Love was born out of the pandemic and aims to positively impact communities by connecting neighbors with neighbors through homemade meal deliveries. It seeks to eliminate the stigma associated with asking for help when it’s needed most and their mission is a simple one -- to feed families, spread kindness, and strengthen communities.

Lasagna Love was started by a mother from California as she connected home cooks who wanted to make dinner with others who needed a little help during the trying times. Now just two years later, Lasagna Love is serving three countries, providing about 3,500 meals a week to those in need thanks to over 20,000 volunteers, and it’s even making an impact in our communities in Windham and Raymond.

A big reason why Lasagna Love has been able to make an impact in this community is Jennifer Merrill. She has been a Windham resident all her life and she started volunteering for Lasagna Love some 18 months ago.

“I heard about the opportunity during the pandemic, and it sounded like a good way to provide a much needed service while still staying safe because there was little to no face to face contact with recipients,” said Merrill. “I enjoy cooking and it sounded like an easy way to make a difference in the local area, and since I have been on the receiving end of a meal delivery before, I know how helpful it truly is for many reasons.”

Several months before becoming the regional leader for southern Maine, Merrill was cooking a lasagna every week or so. She was chosen as regional leader because she has lived here her whole life and she knew the area well, and as regional leader, she’s grown the base of the organization by adding both more volunteers and recipients. 

The Town of Windham currently has seven chefs that are making lasagnas for the organization, and they’re always eager to add more to the list as there are typically about thirty deliveries each week for the southern Maine region, with one to four of those deliveries being in Windham. While this organization was created to help mainly those in need, Merrill views it as being mutually beneficial.

“Lasagna Love helps both chefs and recipients,” said Merrill. “Chefs are blessed to be able to give, and recipients are blessed with a home cooked lasagna made and delivered with kindness, from the heart.”

Also, Merrill encourages anyone who’s interested in cooking to sign up to cook monthly, bi-weekly, weekly, or even just once to try it out. Similarly, she encourages anyone who could use a hand to request a lasagna.

“Everyone needs a break some time,” said Merrill. “Please don’t feel like someone else needs it more than you, everyone is worthy of this act of kindness. Requests come in for just about any reason, and there is no judgment.”

One person that took Merrill’s advice and joined was Kelly Grant Smith of Windham. Smith joined last fall after seeing a segment about Lasagna Love on the Today Show on television. And while she doesn’t consider herself a “chef,” Smith has been very happy with her decision to join and help those in need.

“I’ve loved to cook my whole life, and while I don’t have a recipe for lasagna, I just make it like my mom did,” said Smith. “During the pandemic, like so many others, I experimented more. I dug out my bread machine, perfected my bagels, and made a lot more comfort food, so you could say Lasagna Love came at a perfect time.”

There’s no denying that Lasagna Love has touched many lives since its inception, but in the past month, it has significantly touched someone in our community, and that was Cathy Dodge of Windham. A friend of Cathy’s suggested Lasagna Love to her after her mom passed away, and although it was hard for her to accept help, she did and was able to have a night of not having to stress over the mundane task of making dinner.

“My mother told me long ago that you are being a blessing to someone else by letting them bless you with help, and that stuck with me,” said Dodge. “I love that Lasagna Love is there for anyone. You do not need to be in sickness, distress, or financial difficulties, anyone for any reason can request a meal once a month.”

To request a meal or for more information about becoming a Lasagna Love chef, visit www.lasagnalove.org/ <