News

January 27/28, 2011 - Community food drive returns to Ambler Theater

September 30, 2009 - Thanks to Ambler Theater

July 17, 2009 - Article in the Ambler Gazette about our Food Drive at the Amble Theater.

March 30, 2009 - We will have our picture taken by the Ambler Gazette at the Jarrettown United Methodist Church, 1460 Limekiln Pike, Dresher PA. 

Food drive returns to Ambler Theater

Monday, January 24, 2011

By Thomas Celona, Staff Writer

A local nonprofit is hoping residents will make giving back a regular part of a night out at the movies.

For the second time, Bridge to Action has partnered with the Ambler Theater to organize a food drive to benefit the Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard.

"We're collecting nonperishable food items — canned goods and food goods in a sealed package," said Mike Pancione, vice president of Bridge to Action. "It could also be things like soap and dish washing liquid or laundry detergent."

The group has set up a collection bin in the lobby of the theater.

"All they have to do is bring the item or items to the theater," Pancione said. "We'll have a sign in the lobby and a tub there. They can just put the items in the tub."

Bridge to Action is hoping the food drive will be an easy way for local residents to give back to their community.

"When you go to the movies, just bring something with you," Pancione said. "Deposit it in the tub, and we'll do the rest."

The food drive began Jan. 22 and will run through the end of April.

The organization chose this time frame since food donations tend to be high around Thanksgiving and Christmas but can often drop off after the holiday season.

"We thought during the wintertime would be a good time to ask people to help contribute to this," Pancione said. "We thought this time would be one where the need is the greatest."

Bridge to Action did a similar food drive at the theater that ran for four months beginning last July, bringing in more than 500 items that were donated to the community cupboard.

"It was such as successful thing we wanted to do it again," Pancione said.

Bridge to Action was formed last January by local volunteers who had previously worked on the Obama campaign in a response to the president's call to serve. The nonpartisan group looks to help out other local service organizations.

"Our group's mission is to try to help others by bringing resources," Pancione said. "The community cupboard is helping those who need various things. We're just trying to supplement that by helping the collection process."

© 2011 Montgomery News, a Journal Register Property, Ambler Gazette
Original article

Heeding the call to action

Local Obama campaign workers heed the president's call to community service.

By Teri Aldelfer, Staff Writer

Although the campaign for the presidency is long over, volunteers who once dedicated their time to the Ambler Obama/Biden campaign office are now heeding the president's call to community service through a group called Bridge to Action.

The group of about 35 came together in January, and operates under a nonpolitical, nondenominational mantra. It welcomes anyone, not just those from the Ambler area, to join its cause.

“We’re just trying to commit to helping people,” said Donna Lima-Monteiro, former coordinator of volunteers and office manager for the Ambler office. “There’s a commonality to that, I think.”

At monthly meetings, members are encouraged to tell the group about a specific cause that are interested in supporting, and causes are then chosen by a vote. Currently, Bridge to Action has four projects on the table.

They have been working to collect Spanish language books for schoolchildren in an area of Costa Rica, where one member met a couple who told him about the need. Another project is planning yearly fundraisers to assist children with hearing problems and their families in a village in Kenya.

On a more local scale, Lima-Monteiro said the group is working with the Montgomery County Sheriff s Office to plan informational social hour events with senior citizens in the area to discuss the problem of identity theft and how to mitigate it. She added that the group is also hoping to host

Food drives during non-holiday times of the year, when fewer donations are generally received.

The group’s mission statement ensures that its charitable projects include local as well as national and international focuses.

The name Bridge to Action was chosen by the group because it recognizes that community members often have intentions of volunteering, but sometimes struggle to find a group or make a commitment.

"So what we offer is a place for them to come to really get used to us," Lima-Monteiro said.

Bridge to Action member and Ambler resident Maria Rosen said that was what she liked about the group's concept.

"We're not trying to reinvent the wheel, and for me '" I don't have a place to say 'I want to help out, what can 1 do,' so it's a vehicle for that," she said.

Bridge to Action will occasionally work with a similar group in Baederwood called Be the Change-Baederwood, which also formed after the election was over.

"If there's something that we're working on that's quite similar, then we'll work together," Lima-Monteiro said.

Bridge to Action meets once per month at different locations throughout the area. The next meeting will be April 15 at 7:30 p.m. at The Foundation for Islamic Education at 1860 Montgomery Ave. in Villanova. For more information about Bridge to Action, call 215-918-1399.

The Ambler Gazette Vol. 127, No. 13 pp1 & 3, April 1-7, 2009