From August to November, Bristol Rotary ran a sweepstakes to raise money for food pantries in Bristol. These food pantries are suffering from an increase demand because of the increase in food prices and budget cuts in some school lunch programs. Emily Mushen, Executive Director of the East Bay Food Pantry (EBFP), reported a 30% increase in visits for food in 2024 over 2023. As a repeat donor to two pantries in Bristol, the EBFP and Friends of St Elizabeth’s Food Pantry, Bristol Rotary created a sweepstakes fundraiser to address this surge in demand, “Dinner for 2 – Anywhere in the world.”
With the purchase of a $25 ticket, the winner would get a dinner for two anywhere in the world, including flight tickets and lodging at the hotel(s) of their choice. The total value of the prize would be $10,000. Over 1,000 people participated, and on November 17, the winner was selected from a drum containing the names of all the participants.
The winner was Linda Medeiros from Portsmouth, RI. Linda and her husband Eddy are seen in the picture below. The preliminary itinerary they have chosen, are visits to three Italian cities: Venice, Naples and Florence. They also plan to include their daughter, Kayla, on what is turning out to be a family vacation in Italy.
In total, the sweepstakes raised approximately $20,000, to which Bristol Rotary donated another $10,000, for a total of almost $30,000. At a recent Bristol Rotary Meeting, Mary Jo Tavares, President of Bristol Rotary, presented checks for approximately $15,000 each to Amy Castro, President of the Friends of St. Elizabeth Food Pantry and Emily Mushen, Executive Director of the East Bay Food Pantry and Thrift Shop.
