Gabrielle Allen: Donor & Volunteer

“Erring on the side of generosity” has long been the philosophy at FSC when delivering on our mission “to ease stress, reduce hunger and improve the quality of life for our neighbors in need.” This philosophy is what spoke to Gabrielle Allen’s heart and drew her in, first to become a FSC donor and later a volunteer.

More than 25 years of Gabrielle’s career involved working in Worcester as a vocational rehabilitation counselor for a major insurance firm. When her first grandchild was born in 2015, she was able to live in Falmouth full- time and shift to part-time, remote work from home. It wasn’t long before Gabrielle retired to focus fully on her family and her community.

Making FSC one of her philanthropic priorities before she started volunteering was easy for Gabrielle. Why - because FSC’s reputation for providing the basics; food, clothing and financial assistance, are fundamentally important to her in supporting her community. Gabrielle’s giving became more frequent and creative when she learned about the range of FSC’s services, such as the back to school program, Fresh Start; the Foods to Encourage program that helps those with hypertension and diabetes improve their heath through diet, regular monitoring and education; and FSC’s twice-monthly visits to Joint Base Cape Cod with a mobile market in support of military families.

In fact, in the spring of 2020 as COVID was beginning to take off and as the need for assistance was beginning to increase, Gabrielle and her husband made special birthday gifts to one another; gifts to FSC in honor of each other and in recognition of FSC’s critical mission. These donations, like most of Gabrielle’s gifts, came with no specific designation because she believes that her support will be put to good use where needed most. With her time freed up in retirement, Gabrielle looked to FSC for regular volunteer service. She served Thanksgiving dinner one year at an area church; she supported FSC clients in the Pantry pre-COVID; and she negotiated a connection with Penzeys Spices to provide FSC clients with some tasty seasonings for their meal preparation. COVID prompted her to step away for a time to provide some preschool activities and childcare for her two New England grandsons.

Now Gabrielle has returned to support FSC’s client choice grocery distribution and applauds her fellow volunteers, their friendly, welcoming ways and devotion to FSC’s mission, as one reason for her return. She acknowledges the dignity and respect shown to FSC clients as a real and authentic strength of the organization; and she credits her grandchildren with inspiring her continued philanthropy because as she told us when we chatted with her recently, “one of the best ways to teach generosity is to model it.”

If you would like to support FSC as Gabrielle has, or would like to learn more about how to get creative with your own giving, please visit FSC’s website or call to speak with a member of the staff.