POUGHKEEPSIE – On Thanksgiving Eve, the Shamrock Association in Poughkeepsie held its 6th annual pie raffle to benefit Dutchess Outreach.
More than $1,700 was raised for the Dutchess Outreach food pantry.
Event coordinator and Shamrock member Brian Laffin said this year’s event “far surpassed our expectations.” He said that the annual event started with just a few members brainstorming about a creative fundraiser to support a community organization. The Shamrock members are constantly seeking ways to give back to the community and this is what we do,” said Laffin.
The club solicited both homemade and store-bought pies from members and the community as a whole. The donated pies were displayed on tables while attendees purchased their raffle tickets. As tickets were drawn, winners were able to choose a pie of their liking from more than the 100 that were available.
“Our club does a tremendous amount of work for the community and we are proud to partner with Dutchess Outreach to support their efforts – it’s what we do,” said Marty Fralick, President of the Shamrock Association.
Tara Whalen, associate director for Dutchess Outreach was at the Shamrock for the event. When the final tally was announced, Whalen said “The Shamrock Association events like this help us to help the less fortunate. Our food pantry is always in need of money and non-perishable food donations. The Shamrock members help us with both.”
Many of the ticket-holders won more than one pie and were provided the option of setting aside their additional winnings as a donation for local first responders. At the end of the evening, the donated pies were delivered to all three Poughkeepsie firehouses. Additional pies were delivered to the Mobile Life Support Services station in Poughkeepsie on Thanksgiving morning. Several pies were also dropped off to the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department.
