"We’re not staying silent, but jumping into the community. "

From a single-night silent auction fundraiser to a monthly, community-wide donation model.

 
We are evolving the way we give back! The Party for the Pantries is officially transitioning from a single-night fundraiser into a year-round, community-wide donation effort. Instead of waiting for one evening, local OEC member businesses will feature donation buckets and run custom mini-campaigns—like Match Months, Raise-Up Days, and point-of-sale round-ups—January through May. Every drop of small change adds up to a massive impact for our local community pantries.

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• Save the Date (Either May 11, or May 25) The Grand Finale:  To wrap up the year-round push, we are ditching the traditional silent auction dinner for a high-energy, casual community gathering!

• Location: Goodwood Tavern (catered by Trappers II Pizza & Pub - T2) 

• The Fun: Casual event featuring trivia with the infamous Spice Master himself, Josh Amidon

• The Highlights: The big reveal of our total year-round collection, impact stories from our pantry partners, and the presentation of the John Goodfellow Community Impact Award.

Keep an eye out for official donation buckets at your favorite OEC establishments, drop in your spare change, and get ready to celebrate with us on the courts! Together, we can turn small change into a big impact for our neighbors.

 

Membership - please reach out if you want to participate in hosting a bucket to collect for our pantries from January to May 2027.

• Every OEC member receives an official "Party for the Pantries" prominent counter signage to drive bucket engagement:

• Establishments are encouraged to run custom mini campaigns

• Match Months: The business matches all change collected during a specific month.

• Raise-Up Days: Dedicating a percentage of a single day’s sales to the bucket.

• Point-of-Sale Push: Staff asking patrons if they'd like to "round up" for the pantries.

• The "Friendly Rivalry" Angle: Introduce a leaderboard to track which business raises the most (bragging rights are a great motivator). Whoever creates the coolest-looking donation box (i.e. Spill the Tea: a coffee bag, Trappers II: Pizza/Chicken Wing)

Will you put a donation bucket in your business to help our pantries?

Contact onondagaeast@gmail.com

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Across our local communities, more families than ever are turning to our local food pantries for essential support. Inflation and rising costs continue to squeeze household budgets, making the services provided by the FM Food Pantry and Heaven’s Pantry critical.

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Today, the FM Food Pantry provides healthy, nutritious meals to over 150 families—supporting more than 350 neighbors in our area. One-third of these households include young children, and another third support seniors on fixed incomes. Heaven’s Pantry sees the exact same urgent demand serving families across the East Syracuse Minoa school district. Beyond daily nutrition, both pantries supply essential hygiene and household items that often fall out of reach when budgets are tight—deodorant, paper towels, toilet paper, and laundry soap.

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To ensure these vital services continue uninterrupted, we need the backing of our local business leaders. We are reaching out to ask for your support for our upcoming Party for the Pantries benefit.

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Every contribution—no matter the size—directly fuels the operations of both pantries and stays right here in our community.

If you are able to contribute an item or have questions about getting involved, please contact Lauren Burdick, Director of the Onondaga East Chamber, at (315) 637-4760 or via email at onondagaeast@gmail.com.

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Thank you for standing with our neighbors and supporting the businesses and families that make our community strong.