It's an amazing donation in a particularly difficult time.”

Tap-In President Tirza Rivera-Cira, about Shaw's Supermarket's donation

We're proud to be a partner with them.”

Shaw's Barrington Manager Karen Medeiros

Last week, Debbie Thurston received a phone call from Karen Medeiros, manager of the Barrington Shaw's Supermarket.

Ms. Medeiros said the store had about 100 loaves of fresh bread that they wanted to donate to Tap-In's food pantry.

Ms. Thurston, who serves as Tap-In's food director, jumped at the offer. She drove her car over to the market and filled it with bread, packing loaves wherever she could find enough space.

Tap-In volunteers put the bread on a table outside the Peck Center building and within hours, the bread was gone.

"Our clients are so appreciative of fresh food," Ms. Thurston said.

The offering of bread paled in comparison to the market's $10,000 donation, however. On Friday afternoon, Ms. Medeiros stopped by Tap-In's headquarters on the first floor of the Peck Center building and gave the all-volunteer non-profit organization the generous gift. The $10,000 grant from the Help Feed Families During the Crisis fund-raiser, is a part of the Shaw’s and Star Market Nourishing Neighbors Community Relief Initiative aiding families during the Covid-19 crisis and beyond.

"We've worked for years partnering with them (Tap-In), with food drives and to give product to them for their needs," Ms. Medeiros said. "We're proud to be a partner with them."

Tap-In President Tirza Rivera-Cira shared heartfelt appreciation for the donation.

"Karen has been an amazing partner for us, unconditional to us," Ms. Rivera-Cira said. "This is not the only thing she has done for us. She's been with us through the years, helping us with the spirit of giving. Providing products when they have things. Helping us all the time."

Ms. Rivera-Cira said this has been a particularly difficult year for many of Tap-In's clients — the non-profit agency services people in East Providence, Barrington, Warren and Bristol, offering food, household items and other necessities. Tap-In (Touch A Person In Need) has been helping people in need for more than three decades.

"It's an amazing donation in a particularly difficult time," Ms. Rivera-Cira said. "A lot of our clients are going through very difficult times because of Covid-19 and unemployment. And we've been trying to help as much as possible… we're serving 550 families a month. And on top of that we've organized for this year as we do every year a program for Thanksgiving and the holidays and we've given them gift cards so they can have meals and presents for their children."

Ms. Thurston said Ms. Medeiros and the people at Shaw's have been very supportive over the years.

"It's just amazing that we're corporate partners with them… and Karen is just exceptional," Ms. Thurston said. "Karen does such a wonderful job for us. She's always thinking about us. She sits on our board of directors, so she's very familiar with what goes on at Tap-In. Any time there's extra food, I'm the first call. She's amazing."

Tap-In is quick to praise all the people and organizations that help them, and in turn, help people across the East Bay. On Monday afternoon, a group of boys and girls from Barrington Pop Warner stopped by Tap-In's headquarters to present a donation of $500. The gift was appreciated, especially considering that local youth sports organizations have been impacted financially during the pandemic.

— With reporting from Richard W. Dionne Jr.