Attleboro to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

Harvard University professor Jacob K. Olupona will be the guest speaker at Attleboro's Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration.

Professor Jacob K. Olupona of the Department of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University will speak on “From Lincoln to Obama: Race Relations in America as part of  Attleboro’s celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Jan. 16. Participants are asked to bring a donation for the Attleboro Area Council of Churches breakfast program, including cereal, canned fruit and juice boxes. The municipal program will start at Attleboro City Hall at 1 p.m. There will be a 2 p.m Interfaith Services at Central Congregational Church, 115 Commonwealth Ave., Attleboro Falls, conducted by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Committee of Greater Attleboro. Prof. Olupona will be the guest speaker there. The event is being organized…

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Walking to Feed the Hungry One Step at a Time [VIDEO]

The Attleboro Area Council of Churches held their annual CROP Hunger Walk to raise money to feed the hungry.

Hundreds of people gathered at Capron Park in Attleboro Sunday afternoon to do their part to end hunger in region by participating in the Attleboro Area Crop Hunger Walk. CROP Hunger Walks are community-wide events sponsored by Church World Service and organized by religious groups, businesses, schools and others to raise funds to end hunger at home and around the world. The Attleboro Area Crop Hunger Walk, organized by the Attleboro Area Council of Churches, attracted hundreds of people who brought food, donations and their determination to walk to raise funds to raise funds to support the Food n' Friends progam, which operate six soup kitchens, two Family Cafes and a breakfast program. Every Dollar Counts A total of 25 percent of the …

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Viewfinder: Church Groups Provide A Helping Hand

It takes the coordinated efforts of many churches to reach the needs of the Attleboro community.

What can one lunch, a supper once a month, pencils and a free bag of groceries make for one family? It can make the differences between having money to pay the rent or going to the emergency room and having to make it without, according to volunteers of the Attleboro Area Council of Churches. The big difference is when many churches work to feed and impact a group of people you start to see smiles appear. Before Tropical Storm Irene hit Attleboro, families were already going through a difficult time because it was the end of the month and a time when supplies and clothes were needed to go back to school. The Attleboro Area Council of Churches extended their food programs to the East St (Briggs) Playground. Twice a week the Council packaged…

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ViewFinder: Summer Fun, Education and Collaboration

If your kids are looking for crafts, swimming or fun reading incentives- there are a lot of choices in the 'Boro.

The Attleboro Recreation Department has plenty of fun programs for kids this summer. One program has Bishop Feehan High School students, Samantha Bodge and Anise Arsenault, working this summer as instructors with the traveling crafts program.Each day the students bring a fun craft to each of the City's playgrounds. It is a drop-in program with no registration needed. The most recent project was a money bank made from donated Pringles cans. If crafts isn't your forte, but swimming and staying cool is, then one of the three city-owned and one state-owned pool is something to consider. Each Tuesday and Thursday a free lunch is being provided to all the children at the Briggs Pool by the Attleboro Area Council of Churches. The AACC …

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Viewfinder: Loaves and Fishes

Sue Smith knows how to stretch the donated food for feed the hungry.

The Attleboro Area Council of Churches reaches out into the community in many ways. One of the most significant ways is through the Food 'n Friends program. Sue Smith is the kitchen coordinator for the Food 'n Friends program at Memorial Baptist Church. The kitchen operates every Friday night and offers a hot meal the about 40 to 60 men and women from the area. Some come by bike, others drive and most come via a bus program. Scroll through the photos to see the church's volunteers at work.

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Five Things To Know Today

Winter Fest, Free Family Dinner and Coffee with the Congressman

Here's a look at what's going on this weekend in Attleboro!

The Attleboro Elks Club hosts a fish fry from noon to 8 p.m. Friday. Congressman James McGovern is hosting coffee with the Congressman at Jonathan's Cafe on Saturday from noon to 1:30 p.m. The Attleboro Winter Night Festival in downtown Attleboro is Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. Families are invited to enjoy a free dinner served restaurant style at Attleboro Council of Churches' Food N' Friends Family Cafe. The Saturday evening dinner will be at Living Waters beginning at 6 p.m. The will also be activities available for kids. BINGO! at the Elks Club begins at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

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Chinese New Year Cause for Celebration and Donation in Attleboro

The Attleboro Area Council of Churches held its Chinese New Year auction to raise funds for its Food 'N Friends Soup Kitchen, which services several Attleboro area communities.

The Attleboro Area Council of Churches celebrated Chinese New Year Saturday night by hosting a silent auction to feed the hungry in Attleboro and surrounding communities.  Approximately 200 people were treated to a high-energy auction with traditional Chinese lion dance performances by the Rhode Island Kung Fu Club of Pawtucket, performances by the different groups of the Red Dragon Martial Arts Academy of Norton and Foxboro and demonstrations of Chinese calligraphy by North Attleboro High School students.  Funds from the auction will support the Food 'N Friends Soup Kitchens, which provide meals to the hungry Monday through Saturday in Attleboro, North Attleboro, Mansfield, Norton and Seekonk. 

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Council of Churches Seeks Small Grant to Make Big Difference

Attleboro Area Council of Churches applies for Lenny Zakim grant.

Members of the Attleboro Area Council of Churches are hoping a small grant from the Lenny Zakim Fund will make a big difference in its recently launched Food 'N Friends Free Family Cafes.  For the past three months Attleboro area families have been treated to a restaurant-style dinner hosted by Living Waters Church and the Evangelical Covenant Church. While the two churches host the home-cooked meal, the Family Cafes are organized by the Attleboro Area Council of Churches.  As volunteers from the Evangelical Covenant Church served families a nutritious and hot meal, Council for Churches Director Kat Wright and members of the board sat with Jude Goldman, executive director of the Lenny Zakim Fund in hopes of securing a $7,400 grant.  The …

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A Leader in Finding Surplus Food for Needy

She patrols the Attleboro area year-round looking or donations to help others.

If you want to find out where, when and how to obtain food for the needy, contacting Pamela Tarallo might be the best course of action. Behind the scenes, she has become a valuable resource whom many organizations depend on to meet emergency food needs for identified hungry and impoverished citizens in the Attleboro area. As the Food n' Friends Coordinator for the Greater Attleboro Area Council of Churches, Tarallo responds swiftly to businesses who say they may want to donate food  and travels to other organizations that have already graciously agreed to provide free food items of all kinds. She also coordinates food distribution as fairly as possible for the six soup kitchens sponsored by the Coucil and other organizations. A typical …

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