Thanks go to all the incredible residents of Old Saybrook and the Connecticut shoreline and beyond! They made this year’s Shoreline Fire Departments 10th annual Food Drive on April 9 another great success for the Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries (SSKP).

Of the six participating shoreline fire departments, the Old Saybrook Fire Department (OSFD) collected nearly 4,000 pounds of much needed non-perishable food during the food drive and OSFD also received cash donations of more than $1,500 to directly benefit SSKP. Total donations from the April 9 event were an amazing more than 7,500 pounds of nonperishable food.

Thanks go to volunteers Nadine “Deanie” Sabrin; OSFD support member Steve Goodstine; Old Saybrook Firefighters John Romano, Geoff Sinibaldo, Tony Cronin, Bruce Watford, David MacNeill, Brian Toolan and his children Sam and Ann Toolan, and Fernando Guimaraes; and junior firefighters Dempsey Watford and Leah Sliz. Thanks as well go to superstar volunteer SSKP driver Dave Festa.

A big thank you also goes to our print media sponsor Harbor News; our radio sponsor Full Power Radio’s Jammin 107.7 and Soft Rock 106.5 FM, which hosted a live remote broadcast at the OSFD featuring Lee Elci of 94.9 News Now; Walmart in Old Saybrook; The Pete Mezzetti Show; and our very special volunteer Chief Meteorologist Gil Simmons of WTNH.

And finally thanks for the generous donations from the following organizations: Parthenon Diner in Old Saybrook for collecting food and providing a delicious breakfast for the OSFD volunteers; Mirsina’s in Old Saybrook for collecting food and providing the delicious lunch and amazing homemade rice pudding for the grateful volunteers at the OSFD; and the Essex Savings Bank on Main Street in Old Saybrook and Scotch Plains Tavern in Essex for providing food drop-off locations.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank all these supporters!

Max Sabrin,

Media Relations/Special Events Coordinator

Old Saybrook Fire Department