The Rocky Neck Polar Plunge rang in the new year with a splash on Sunday, collecting 512 pounds of food and $1,740 in donations for The Open Door. 

The annual tradition, coordinated since 2006 by Gloucester residents Cathy McCarthy and Jeff Surette with the help of a small group of volunteers, encourages locals to take a brisk dip in the water at Oakes Cove Beach on Rocky Neck to kick off the new year while simultaneously collecting food donations for The Open Door.  

This year, McCarthy and Surette also partnered with Gloucester 400 to kick off the beginning of the new year and the City of Gloucester’s 400^th anniversary.  

“As January arrives promising winter weather and higher heating bills, the Rocky Neck Polar Plunge helps The Open Door start the year right by bringing community together to welcome the New Year and to fill our pantry shelves,” President and CEO Julie LaFontaine said. “Community doesn’t get any better than this. We are grateful to Cathy McCarthy and Jeff Surette for organizing this annual East Gloucester tradition and the Gloucester 400 for putting food security on the priority list for 2023.”  

“We know that The Open Door is a need for many, and we want the community to know how important it is,” McCarthy said. “We need to help those that need it. It’s quite simple, isn’t it? It’s all about starting the new year off positively and having a little fun.” 

Approximately 150 people attended the event, including Mayor Greg Verga. To commence the plunge, Rocky Neck resident George Sibley read a poem, an annual tradition at the event.  

Those who were unable to attend but wish to donate to The Open Door can do so at FOODPANTRY.org/donate.  

About The Open Door   

The mission of The Open Door is to alleviate the impact of hunger in our community. We use practical strategies to connect people to good food, to advocate on behalf of those in need, and to engage others in the work of building food security.  

Founded in 1978, The Open Door is a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit and community food resource center for low-income residents of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, Ipswich, Hamilton, Boxford, Rowley, Topsfield, and Wenham.  

For more information, visit FOODPANTRY.org.  

Sponsored Meals Help Alleviate Hunger in Memory of Loved Ones 

GLOUCESTER – A local family is honoring a loved one today by putting dinner on the table for those in need of a little extra help.  

Friday’s Community Meal at The Open Door, a hearty ham, pineapple, vegetable stuffing, and mashed potatoes dinner, is given in loving memory of Charlene Acker by her husband Dennis Acker and daughter Maya Acker, and her father LeRoy Ross. 

Charlene Acker, age 57, passed away in October 2021 from ovarian cancer. Today would have been her 58^th birthday. 

With her birthday approaching, Dennis Acker saw the opportunity for meals sponsorship on social media.  

“The minute I saw it, I knew I had to do it. It was just perfect, and I can’t think of a better way to honor her birthday,” Acker said, adding he has a few other plans this week to honor Charlene.  

The Acker roots run deep with The Open Door. Several years ago, when their daughter, Maya Acker, began looking for community service opportunities in high school, The Open Door was a natural pick as Dennis Acker had served two terms on the nonprofit’s Board of Directors, and the family had volunteered together through the years. For Maya Acker, volunteering in the kitchen to prepare dinners on Saturday night worked well with her high school schedule. Charlene Acker volunteered alongside her daughter, and it became a special activity for both of them. 

The Community Meals program sponsorship opportunity is a new initiative at The Open Door, first inspired by another family’s annual tradition. 

“We launched our Community Meals sponsorship opportunity as a way for anyone to sponsor a meal, whether they be a local business, community group, a family, and so on,” President and CEO Julie LaFontaine said. “To turn one’s grief into an act of kindness and to put food on the table for someone else pays tribute to the life of a loved one and makes a difference. We take this honor as a responsibility, and we are thankful to the families who choose to remember their loved ones in this way.” 

The initiative is inspired by another local family who honor a loved one each year with a meal at The Open Door. For the last four years the Testaverde family has come together to honor the late Capt. John S. Testaverde by sponsoring a Community Meal, including his wife Jean Testaverde; children Nina Testaverde Goodick, Theresa Testaverde, John Testaverde, and Mary Marcantonio; and his loving grandchildren. The group bring a cake to be sent out along with the meals, sometimes flowers, and some even sign up to deliver meals. 

As a lifelong fisherman with a passion for cooking for family and friends, Capt. Testaverde taught his children to always cook with love.  

“It was a wonderful, positive way to honor the memory of our father,” said Goodick of a previous year’s meal. “Our whole family appreciated it, and it brought joy to us, allowing us to remember him by feeding others. He was all about the food. I’m sure my family will laugh that I said that. We know he would love this.” 

While groups that once volunteered to prepare meals in-person at The Open Door kitchen are not currently able to amid the ongoing pandemic and precautions limiting the number of people in the building at a given time, The Open Door is making the Community Meals program sponsorship a formalized option for those looking to feed their neighbors in another way.  

To learn more or sponsor a Community Meal, visit FOODPANTRY.org/sponsormeals.  

About The Open Door  

The mission of The Open Door is to alleviate the impact of hunger in our community. We use practical strategies to connect people to good food, to advocate on behalf of those in need, and to engage others in the work of building food security. 

Founded in 1978, The Open Door is a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit and community food resource center for low-income residents of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, Ipswich, Hamilton, Boxford, Rowley, Topsfield, and Wenham. In 2020, The Open Door helped stabilize the lives and health of 9,681 unduplicated people from 4,703 households through the distribution of 2.46 million pounds of food, amounting to 2.05 million meals. 

For more information, visit FOODPANTRY.org. 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Media Contact: 

Grace Chiou 

grace.chiou@nschi.org 

(978)-744‑8388 

North Shore Community Health Distributes Over 1,300 COVID-19 Testing Kits 

NSCH Offers New Program Providing Free At-Home COVID-19 Test Kits for Vulnerable Populations 

SALEM, Mass. – Jan. 7, 2021 – North Shore Community Health (NSCH) through its outreach efforts is committed to its mission to serve the North Shore community outside of its own four walls. Following a round of vaccination clinics in 2021 at community partner locations, NSCH continues to fight against the spread of COVID-19 with a new program offering the weekly distribution of at-home, rapid antigen COVID-19 testing kits that are being provided through funding from the Health Resource Services Agency (HRSA). 

Area shelters and food pantries were the recipients of 1,135 tests during the first round of deliveries this week, which began on Thursday, Jan. 6. The Open Door, a food resource center based in Gloucester, received 225 tests on Thursday. Serving more than 1000 people a week, the nonprofit will stagger the COVID tests for equitable distribution beginning Monday, Jan. 10. 

“It’s connections within our community, like this partnership between The Open Door and North Shore Community Health, that help bridge the gaps in access and reach some of the community’s most vulnerable people,” The Open Door President and CEO Julie LaFontaine said. “As we continue to weather this pandemic, we’re pleased to take a role in facilitating better access to at-home testing so people can stay healthy this winter.” 

Kits were also made available to Lifebridge shelter and The Salem Food Pantry ; Citizen’s Inn shelter and Haven from Hunger in Peabody; Action, Inc. in Gloucester and Beverly Bootstraps Food Pantry in Beverly. 

The availability of these kits has come at a critical time. Getting timely testing for COVID-19 has never been more necessary as the Omicron virus is four times as transmissible as the Delta strand, making the spread of COVID-19 escalate rapidly.  

NSCH recommends members of the community seek out a COVID-19 test if: 

• You develop any symptoms of COVID-19, even if they are mild, or 
• You are a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 
• Testing may also be advised if you are unvaccinated and have recently traveled out of Massachusetts, and you may consider using a self-test before joining indoor gatherings with others who are not in your household. 
• Resources for testing: https://www.mass.gov/covid-19-testing and up-to-date isolation and quarantine guidance visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/quarantine-isolation.html.

Since 1977, NSCH has been a primary source of healthcare for people of all ages and provides services regardless of ability to pay. The network of centers in Peabody, Salem, Gloucester and school-based health centers serves over 13,000 patients. 

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