S.O.A.R. fundraiser to be held in CBS next week

By Mark Squibb

Bernie and Lousie Mercer will be hosting the 11th annual Spirt of Alex and Riley (S.O.A.R.) Celebration Memorial Food Drive at the Salvation Army Church in Long Pond on Thursday, May 9 — the heavenly birthdays of Alex and Riley Mercer, who both passed away after valiant battles with cancer.
Students in CBS and Paradise will also be participating, and local fire departments will be picking up school donations Thursday morning.
The Mercers will be receiving donations from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m.
“Everyone is welcome to drop by,” said Louise. “We’ll have birthday cake and refreshments, tea, coffee, and juice.”
Louise said that as support for the fundraiser has grown over the years, so has the need in the community — 11 years ago, the food bank served roughly 150 families monthly: nowadays, it’s helping about 350 families a month.
“Food banks everywhere are practically empty,” said Lousie. “The population is growing but the economy is not.”
All food items, including staples such as tea bags, sugar, jam and peanut butter, tinned products, pasta, and cookies, as well as monetary donations, will be accepted.
“The need keeps getting bigger every year,” said Mercer. “But everybody is so kind and generous.”