The Rebel Beat Youth were so excited to welcome Samantha LaRocca from News10 NBC to our Pet Food Pantry today!!

We were able to spread the word about how the Pet Food Pantry started, who we serve, and how the community can contribute pet food.  Donations can be dropped off any time at 570 Klem Rd. Webster.  Look for our storage bench that holds pet food donations!

We also highlighted our event this Sunday - The Pet Shower!  We are serving a great lunch and will have games as well as a speaker from Meals on Wheels.  Please bring some dog or cat food to help fill the shelves of our pantry.  Hope to see you there!

Get ready for our Shower!

Hi.  My name is Sarah, and I am part of the youth group.  I wanted to tell everyone a little bit about the new Pet Food Pantry that the youth group has been working on this summer.

If you have a pet, please raise your hand.

Wow!  Our church has a lot of animal lovers.  We have three cats at our house, and I can’t imagine my life without them.

There are a lot of people in need who also love their pets.  For some people their cat or dog is their main companion.

Can you imagine worrying about not having food or supplies for your best friend?

That is where the UCC Pet Food Pantry is trying to help.  We have partnered with FoodLink to organize and distribute pet food to those in need.

Unfortunately the deliveries from FoodLink are not consistent, but the need for pet food is.

So far we have provided 2 months’ worth of cat and dog food to about 70 homes through the Meals on Wheels for Pets program.

On Sunday, September 30^th at noon we are having a Pet Shower, and we hope you can all come for food and fun.

Please consider bringing an item to help keep our pet food pantry stocked.  We especially need canned dog food, dry cat food, and gallon size Ziploc bags.  Right now we have plenty of cat litter and dog treats, so those items are not needed.

If you can’t make it to the Pet Shower we will gladly accept donations for the Pet Food Pantry any time.

Thank you.

Our First Delivery!

On August 10th we received our first delivery of pet food and supplies, where we received 6 pallets, including over 2100 cans of cat food and over a ton (2000+ lbs) of cat litter!  We finished organizing and counting on the 11th and shipped out our first order to Meals on Wheels for Pets on the 12th.  We provided food to 70 Meals on Wheels clients, for 40 cats and 30 dogs.

The Rebel Beat Youth Pet Pantry

Have you ever seen a homeless person on the side of the road with a pet. Many sad questions most likely run through you mind. For example, how do the person and pet both eat? The answer in most cases is both of them don’t. The person will have to make a choice to feed themselves or their pet. This is if they even have access to food. Soup kitchens have food for humans but not animals, so the pets that are actually getting food are getting food that does not properly nourish them. While this was happening, at Foodlink people were donating pet food and they didn’t have a purpose for it. So the donated pet food went to waste and hungry pets didn’t eat or get the proper nutrition they needed. Luckily the Rebel Beat Youth of Webster UCC noticed this. They were very concerned by what was happening and wanted to fix it. So they spoke up against this injustice and came up with a solution. They came up with the Webster UCC Pet Food Pantry. How this will work is Foodlink will bring the previously unused pet food to Webster UCC in the new Pet Food Pantry room. It will be stored their until it is needed and then distributed to the proper places. However a lot of work had to be done before this could be possible. The Youth had to coordinate with Foodlink and also create the space needed to store the pet food, as well as coordinate with the organizations that could distribute the food. The Youth as always were up to the challenge. The Youth leader Wendy Lesko talked to Foodlink and told them their goal, and Foodlink was happy to help. Then the Youth then rolled up their sleeves and got to work. They cleaned out the old middle school room. They moved shelves, couches, and supplies down to the High School Youth room. Lowell Edwards put in shelves that wrap around the entire room. Thanks to his generosity the Pet Pantry could now be used. After that Wendy worked her magic again and coordinated with meals on wheels. They will pick up the pet food and distribute it to the needy who have pets. In addition a few Youth came into Church on Wednesday and Thursday to help set up and organize the pet pantry. Now because the whole church worked together both people and their pets will not go hungry. This Pet Pantry not only brings good to the community by feeding pets who are in need, but shows the good people can do when they work together. Too often people fight against each other or prematurely judge others. The Rebel Beat Youth ministry shows by working with the entire congregation at Webster UCC that people of all ages and from all backgrounds can work side by side to accomplish something truly fonomlinal. With the help of the community and Webster UCC the Youth hope to keep accomplishing great things and enriching the community.

Kelsey Norton

Note from the Youth:

We would sincerely like to thank all the people who support us and help us to accomplish all our goals. We will continue to work hard for the church and community. We are inspired by all the good in the world, and that includes the hard work of Webster UCC. The Pet Pantry is only one of the many things that we will work on to be the hands, feet, and heart of Jesus. We are just beginning so watch out, we got so much more planned.

The Youth of Webster UCC   

How it all started

This blog is a true story about the Rebel Beat Youth Group's newest adventure.The youth group is committed to carrying on Jesus' mission of love, peace and justice. They seek opportunities to love and serve all people. While volunteering at Foodlink, a regional food bank, the youth wondered about the pet food that was donated.  The youth knew that people who might benefit from a food cupboard might also have pets who would benefit from a "pet food cupboard". 

April 29 : The youth shared their idea with a few key adults and started to explore their options.

May 11:Youth adviser Jo O'Neill contacted Foodlink and created a partnership.
              Foodlink agreed to periodically deliver between 2 and 6 pallets of donated pet food.

So we had a promise of food. But where would we put it? The youth voted to give up their middle school lounge and started to search for donated shelving. The amazing Lowell Edwards volunteered to build sturdy wooden shelving.

June 4:  Lowell purchased the supplies and then built the shelving in five days !

June 8: The Pet Pantry was completed

June 10: Pet Pantry was dedicated

With a lot of faith and a caring church community, the youth have em"barked" on this big adventure.
What will happen next?