Gowrie Group challenges communities

Every year between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, Gowrie Group, Connecticut’s largest independent insurance agency, challenges the local community of businesses and friends to team up and raise money to benefit The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries (SSKP). This year, Gowrie Group has set a goal to raise $200,000 for the SSKP through the annual challenge.

Gowrie Group is launching this year’s annual Challenge with a $30,000 matching gift. Five local companies have stepped forward as Partner Sponsors: LC Doane Company, Tower Labs, BrandTech, Lenny & Joe's Fish Tale, and Sound Rigging Services. Together, the partner sponsors will provide an additional $25,000 in matching funds.

Since the Gowrie Challenge began 14 years ago, Gowrie has raised more than $1.5 million to benefit the SSKP.

Last year, the SSKP distributed enough food for more than one million meals, through five pantries and nine hot meal sites, to people in need in the towns of Madison, Clinton, Westbrook, Old Saybrook, Essex, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Lyme, Deep River, Chester, and Killingworth. More than 8,000 neighbors in need registered at food pantries last year, and this year’s need is just as high. The 2018 ALICE Report* showed that one in three (30 percent) Connecticut residents struggle to meet their family’s basic needs each month. ALICE stands for Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed, which is defined as individuals or families who have earnings above the federal poverty level, but below basic cost-of-living threshold.

“Each year our colleagues at Gowrie, our friends on the shoreline, and our area business leaders respond with generosity to this essential cause. This year the challenge is as great as ever,” said Ed Gumbrecht, President of Gowrie Group. “We’re committed to help SSKP feed our neighbors in need.”

“The Gowrie Challenge is a vital part of the Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries Annual Appeal to the community. The funds raised by Gowrie’s corporate campaign go directly towards purchasing food for the 5 local pantries,” said Ellen Rabin, Executive Director of the Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries. “I am grateful to live along the Connecticut Shore where we are proud to extend a hand and help our neighbors. Thank you to Gowrie Group and all those who respond to our request for support.”

Throughout the year, Gowrie Group and its employees donate time and services to soup kitchens and pantries across New England. Each summer, those employees prepare and serve a lunch at the SSKP meal site in Old Saybrook. In addition, employees work together to plan and host food drives every holiday season at many of Gowrie Group’s locations including Westbrook CT, Darien CT, Newport RI, Marshfield MA, Annapolis MD and Manchester NH. For this year’s food drive, Gowrie Group is hosting a “Holiday Cereal Drive” focused on collecting both kid-friendly and adult breakfast cereals. Many employees and their families also volunteer at their local food pantries and meal service locations across the region.

To support the Shoreline Soup Kitchen’s & Pantries and Gowrie Challenge:

Donate to the Gowrie Annual Challenge: Donations can be made online at SSKP.org (designate “Gowrie Challenge”), or by mail to The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries, Attn: Gowrie Group Challenge, P.O. Box 804, Essex, Connecticut, 06426.

Attend the Black Friday Benefit Concert at The Kate: Friday Nov. 23, 8 p.m. at The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center. Tickets are $25 and are available online at www.thekate.org, or by calling the Box Office at 860-5100453.

Attend the Dancing to End Hunger Performance: “Ahavah: Story of Christmas,” Dec. 1-2 at The Morgan School in Clinton. Proceeds benefit the Gowrie Challenge.