Photo by James A. McBride
Robin Carpenter, right, helps prepare food with Susan Mackey, director of the Cathedral Pantry in Camden. Carpenter uses her baking skills to help raise funds for the pantry.
CAMDEN – Stewardship can take various paths. Robin Carpenter donates her time and talent because, as she said, “I was a little low on treasure.”
Carpenter, secretary to Jim Lanahan, director of the Development Office for the Camden Diocese, decided to use her culinary talents to raise funds for the Cathedral Pantry. She made trays of baked goods for this past Thanksgiving to be raffled off with all the proceeds being donated to the pantry.
Carpenter said she would often make and donate sandwiches but “I wanted to make a bigger donation.” So at the urging of her boss and through the encouragement of Susan Mackey, director of the pantry, she decided to donate the trays of goodies.
“I baked pumpkin bread, brownies, pound cake, and sugar cookies in the shape of colored leaves,” she noted. Angela Buonasore, also from the Development Office, made chocolate-covered pretzels, and colleague Michelle Quattrone made festive Thanksgiving bows and wrapped the trays. The raffle netted $443 for the Cathedral Pantry.
Carpenter said they didn’t want to do another tray right away, such as for Christmas. “We’ll probably do another raffle for Easter,” she said.
Lanahan called Robin “an incredible baker. It’s wonderful to see someone who does what she does in the Development Office, to go one step further to impact the food pantry. It was fun and we had a great time sharing.”
“Thanks to the initial article in the Star Herald about the pantry, people now know we exist and are helping,” Mackey said. “They are very generous.” The raffle was the first for the pantry “and we’ll probably do it again,” she said. The pantry feeds about 300 people a day.
Entenmann’s bakery drops off doughnuts each Tuesday, Mackey pointed out. “We try to freeze what we can to make them last. Shop Rite donates every day, and people drop off sandwiches daily.”
She pointed out that Carpenter’s friend Maryann Stewart comes in every month, makes sandwiches and brings her grandson, Nicholas and other friends and neighbors to serve coffee and doughnuts from the window in the front.
Diocese of Camden employees associated with the Stewardship Office not only promote but live stewardship.
For more information on stewardship contact Deacon Russell Davis, Office of Stewardship, at 856-583-6102.
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