Sponsored Meals Help Alleviate Hunger in Memory of Loved Ones
A local family is honoring a loved one today by putting dinner on the table for those in need of a little extra help.
Friday’s Community Meal at The Open Door, a hearty ham, pineapple, vegetable stuffing, and mashed potatoes dinner, is given in loving memory of Charlene Acker by her husband Dennis Acker and daughter Maya Acker, and her father LeRoy Ross.
Charlene Acker, age 57, passed away in October 2021 from ovarian cancer. Today would have been her 58th birthday.
With her birthday approaching, Dennis Acker saw the opportunity for meals sponsorship on social media.
“The minute I saw it, I knew I had to do it. It was just perfect, and I can’t think of a better way to honor her birthday,” Acker said, adding he has a few other plans this week to honor Charlene.
The Acker roots run deep with The Open Door. Several years ago, when their daughter, Maya Acker, began looking for community service opportunities in high school, The Open Door was a natural pick as Dennis Acker had served two terms on the nonprofit’s Board of Directors, and the family had volunteered together through the years. For Maya Acker, volunteering in the kitchen to prepare dinners on Saturday night worked well with her high school schedule. Charlene Acker volunteered alongside her daughter, and it became a special activity for both of them.
“They did everything together. They definitely looked forward to going there and helping out,” Dennis said. “They enjoyed it. It was fun, it wasn’t work.”
He adds that his daughter continues to seek out opportunities to help others today.
The Community Meals program sponsorship opportunity is a new initiative at The Open Door, first inspired by another family’s annual tradition.
“We launched our Community Meals sponsorship opportunity as a way for anyone to sponsor a meal, whether they be a local business, community group, a family, and so on,” President and CEO Julie LaFontaine said. “To turn one’s grief into an act of kindness and to put food on the table for someone else pays tribute to the life of a loved one and makes a difference. We take this honor as a responsibility, and we are thankful to the families who choose to remember their loved ones in this way.”
The initiative is inspired by another local family who honor a loved one each year with a meal at The Open Door. For the last four years the Testaverde family has come together to honor the late Capt. John S. Testaverde by sponsoring a Community Meal, including his wife Jean Testaverde; children Nina Testaverde Goodick, Theresa Testaverde, John Testaverde, and Mary Marcantonio; and his loving grandchildren. The group bring a cake to be sent out along with the meals, sometimes flowers, and some even sign up to deliver meals.
From left: : Theresa Testaverde, Sally Nicastro, Stephen Goodick and Nina Goodick delivered Community Meals, flowers, and cake on Sept. 2, 2021 in loving memory of Capt. John S. Testaverde.
As a lifelong fisherman with a passion for cooking for family and friends, Capt. Testaverde taught his children to always cook with love.
“It was a wonderful, positive way to honor the memory of our father,” said Goodick of a previous year’s meal. “Our whole family appreciated it, and it brought joy to us, allowing us to remember him by feeding others. He was all about the food. I’m sure my family will laugh that I said that. We know he would love this.”
While groups that once volunteered to prepare meals in-person at The Open Door kitchen are not currently able to amid the ongoing pandemic and precautions limiting the number of people in the building at a given time, The Open Door is making the Community Meals program sponsorship a formalized option for those looking to feed their neighbors in another way.
Click here to learn more about sponsoring a Community Meals program.
Nina Goodick drops off the cake for the 2021 Community Meal in honor of her late father, Capt. John S. Testaverde.
Click here to learn more about sponsoring a Community Meals program.
The Testaverde family gets together each year to honor the late Capt. John S. Testaverde with a Community Meal.
Click here to learn more about sponsoring a Community Meals program.
A sign from a previous year’s Community Meal in loving memory of Capt. John S. Testaverde.