Member’s Birthday Wish of Feeding the Hungry Comes True

When Karen Stairs turned 50 years old, she did not want to be known as ‘over the hill’ so instead she went back to ‘Blueberry Hill‘ to find her thrill.For her half-century birthday, Stairs’ wish was to help end hunger in the Lowell area. To help make that wish come true, she threw a 50’s Sock Hop/School Dance party for the community with proceeds to benefit The Open Pantry of Greater Lowell — and the members of Christ Church United in Lowell pitched in.

The Open Pantry serves over 1,500 people each month and more than one-third of those helped are children.

Stairs, a former Head Start teacher and daycare provider, is a single mom who raised four children. During that time, however, she never had to worry about feeding her own children. Family, friends, church family and co-workers would never let them go hungry, and Stairs felt blessed to have that community around her. The story, however, was not so happy for other families with whom she was acquainted.

“I saw many families that were hungry. Sometimes the only food the children in my classroom had was supplied by the Head Start program,” Stairs explained. “One day I saw a little boy put mashed potatoes in his pocket to take home for his little sister to eat. From that day, I have made it my mission to help end hunger when and where I could.”

The Sock Hop was held at Christ Church United in Lowell. During the dance, there was an old fashioned “School Bake Sale,” a silent auction and a raffle. The mayor of Lowell, “Bud” Caulfield, acted as Honorary “Principal” for the evening. Members of the church helped set up and clean up, provided auction and raffle items, sold tickets, and bought tickets. The youth group ran the bake sale. Two members even appeared in costume as Elvis Presley. The Rev. Dr. Peter Lovett, the pastor of Christ Church, served as the master of ceremonies and was dubbed the “Dick Clark” of the event.

“This was a great opportunity for our ChristCare Small Group Ministry to support Karen and her vision,” said Lovett. “But what really amazed me was the support from the community. We underestimated the meaning to an urban community of an event like this — a reasonably priced source of entertainment and fun. Over one hundred people showed up; a lot of strangers came to support Karen and were not bashful about getting out on the floor and dancing. It was amazing.”

Stairs calculates it cost $160 out of pocket, for flyers, raffle tickets, decorations, dance tickets, and miscellaneous items to run the party. A DJ volunteered to play the music. Tickets cost $15.50 per adult and $5.50 for children under 12 years old.

“I couldn’t believe how fast we filled up the red thermometer,” said Lovett. “We eclipsed the projected proceeds of $1,500 and just blew that goal out of the water.”

Over $3,100.00 was raised at the event — not counting the food pantry items people brought to the party — and checks are still coming in. According to Stairs, since The Open Pantry receives major discounts on the food they purchase, $3,000 translates into approximately $30,000 worth of food the Open Pantry will now be able to purchase for the hungry individuals and families in the community.

“In our vision quest last year the congregation concluded that Christ Church stands for: Being Loved by God, Loving Our Neighbors and Walking in the way of Justice. That is what we are all about,” said Stairs. “I knew that I needed to do something I was passionate about — that is making sure that no one goes hungry. That is why I did it and I am hoping that the word will spread and people will think about doing something like this for the milestones in their own lives.”

It looks like Karen Stairs’ birthday wish is already starting to come true.

The Rev. Dr. Peter Lovett can be reached at the church office at (978) 459-9631 or Email: revlovett@cculowell.org.

“Source: Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ, www.macucc.org/spotlight”