Girl Scouts raced around sorting red boxes of StoveTop stuffing. Teenaged boys carted full purple bags of cans and boxes to storage closets. And more than 100 volunteers shouted, “Does anyone have an extra pie crust?” and “This bag needs mashed potatoes!” 
It was a noisy night, but when the clamor died down in the NCCF gym on Nov. 14, volunteers at the annual Pie and Stuffing Party had packed 215 full bags of Thanksgiving groceries, and 75 partial ones. Plus, NCCF distributed 150 gift cards to help families in our area buy turkeys for the holiday.
The volunteers who packed the gym that evening included Girl Scout troops 34014 and 3158, NCCF Neighbors, members of the Marriott community engagement team and many others. Donations of food and paper products came from all over the area, including a drive at Bethesda’s Westland Middle School led by student Megan Gurganus.
“It wasn’t a hard task to do, but it just showed that smaller things can make a difference in people’s lives,”
“The girls really enjoy it and believe in the spirit of giving back,” said Kathleen Glassman, who co-leads fifth-grade Troop 3158 at St. Bartholomew School with Marilyn Federowicz. “My daughter thought it was exciting to see all the people running around filling up the bags with food.”
Only two hours of frenzied work by volunteers meant that Thanksgiving was a lot more festive for the families that NCCF serves.
“It wasn’t a hard task to do, but it just showed that smaller things can make a difference in people’s lives,” said Jake S., 14, a Bethesda eighth-grader who volunteered with two friends. “When you’re working together as a community with kids and grown-ups, you can get a lot done.”
