This Coastal Connection is sponsored by Baths by Spicer Bros.
LEWES, Del. - Helping those in need is a good deed any time of year, but when an entire neighborhood joins together, the impact grows even stronger.
Neighbors of the Headwater Cove community have been collecting donations for local food pantries, Toys for Tots and the Brandywine Valley SPCA, a project that began in June when Wendy Mactaggert volunteered herself and her husband, Steve, to lead the effort.
Neighbors at Headwater Cove
"Once a month or so when it gets full, we go deliver," Steve Mactaggert said. "We deliver to the Cape Henlopen Food Basket or the Community Resource Center in Rehoboth. We also work with the Georgetown SPCA to drop off donations for the animals."
Mactaggert spreads the word through the neighborhood’s Facebook page, often posting a "hat of the day" photo along with a list of items the food pantries accept.
Headwater Cove Shopping for a difference.
Headwater Cove resident Eydie Spinelli said the effort has brought neighbors closer together. She recalled how quickly donations added up this year.
"After one day, we had collected over $400," Spinelli said. "So my neighbor Marsha, my husband Vic and I decided to go to BJ’s to see what we could buy. By the time we got there, it had gone up to $650. We had to make two trips to the food pantry with our SUV full."
After donating Thanksgiving food baskets, the neighborhood has now turned its attention to the Christmas season.
"We are having Toys for Tots, and we’re bringing in toys for kids who need a brighter Christmas," Spinelli said.
The giving won’t stop when the holidays end. Spinelli said neighbors are already planning future projects, including collecting personal hygiene products for women an often overlooked but essential need.
"There’s so much more to give back than just food," she said.
Residents say they have no plans of slowing down and hope other communities are inspired to do the same showing that neighborhoods truly are stronger together.