Give Back, Forge Friendships, Make Memories

Whether you are looking for a great playgroup, trying to find a service-oriented group in town to get involved with or perhaps you're just looking to make new friends in a new community or even the community you've been a part of for years, Merrimack Friends and Families has a multitude to offer.

Though MFF technically runs from September to June, the friendships formed last 12 months of the year and exist for years to come.

As Merrimack Friends and Families gets ready to kick off its 40th year in the community, members of the group are busily preparing for its annual fall yard sale (scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 7), it's first information social of the year (half-priced wine and fun at the Common Man, anyone?) and it is finishing up its first service-project of the year – preparing backpacks for children in need for the upcoming school year.

Co-presidents of the club, Dawn Legay and Jill Mitchell, are looking forward to kicking off the official Friends and Family year for 2013-14, and they are looking to make it a special year.

Already in the works, but still in the idea phase, is a big celebration in the spring that would incorporate activities for members to get out and spend a day in town playing games, socializing and celebrating four decades of connecting people in Southern New Hampshire.

LeGay said during an interview with members of the board last week, that after 40 years in town, she is surprised how many people don't really know much about Merrimack Friends and Families.

It's not just an organization for mom's with young kids, although that is an active arm of the organization, Mitchell added. But for Mitchell, her connection with Friends and Families started before she had kids of her own, and has continued through the years, giving her a chance to build new friendships through different parts of the group.

It's also not just for women, though, historically it has been mostly women actively involved, said Gretchen Ricks, who is this year's service coordintor.

“We're actually looking to bring back men's night,” LeGay said.

Currently, MFF and family has one male member, Mitchell said. Ricks said it's a great fit for him, not because he gets together for weekly activities with the ladies, but because as part of the group, there are various listservs where people will pipe up if they are looking for help in different areas of life. Their male member is a plumber and is able to connect with people exclusively in Merrimack and other parts of Greater Southern NH who are members of the group and find themselves needing a plumber.

People have many reasons for joining, Ricks and Membership coordinator Julie Akers explained.

“I needed to do something more for myself,” Ricks said.

For others, it's about finding a play group, for some women who work hard, they are looking for other adult women to connect with on a social level outside the office or home office. For Akers, she had other moms she frequently hung out with while their kids were young, but as they grew older, some of those connections started becoming lost.

Akers said Friends and Families gave her a chance to connect with people doing things she likes to do.

And the best parts, the interests are wide and there's no commitment.

A $25 membership fee for the year helps the organization get projects off the grounds that help raise money for the group's charitable fund, which is then distributed to community organizations around Merrimack. From the library to the welfare department, the food pantries to the YMCA, funds raised throughout the year go toward important programs.

The Sept. 7 fundraiser is one of the group's biggest fundraisers of the year.

This past year, MFF donated $6,500 back into the community.

They sent four kids to the Merrimack Parks and Recreation summer camp, five to Camp Sargent. They donated to the library, both food banks in town, Home Health and Hospice Care's bedside music program and Meals on Wheels. They are distributing backpacks to the Welfare Department this week – with extra help getting supplies through a program at Walgreens and collection boxes in other businesses in town. They will donate 27 backpacks to 14 families.

They purchased a new Easter Bunny costume for the big egg hunt and fun day each year at Easter, and new for the 40th year, they are planning to start scholarship funds with scholarships going to community-service oriented students.

They also just adopted a portion of Lawrence Road to clean up, Ricks said, and are busy planning cleanup days now. There are opportunities for teenagers to get involved with service projects.

There's a book club, and recipe swap, monthly trip to the Common Man for Wine Down Wednesdays. There are groups who train for road races in the Couch to 5k group and others who get together to go for a hike on a sunny day.

“If it can be done and is fun, we do it,” LeGay said.

One of the most beloved programs each year is secret sister, where participants are assigned a random “sister” to remind throughout the year that they are special. The program runs from October to June and members fill out a questionnaire about themselves so their secret sister can learn more about them and send them gifts once a month with clues as to who their secret sister is. In June, participants try to guess who their sister is.

“That group alone has been great,” Mitchell said. “Somehow, things seem to show up on your doorstep from your secret sister when you've been having the worst day.”

With an extensive list of special interest groups, there is a little something for everyone.

Merrimack Friends and Families is a diverse group and its always looking for members, from Merrimack or any community in Southern New Hampshire. Membership is $25 a year. Check out what MFF is all about at the first information social on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at the Common Man.

The community yard sale is Saturday, Sept. 7 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and items people want to donate to the yard sale can be dropped off in the Town Hall parking lot between 7 and 8 a.m.

On Sept. 25, there is an information social at 10:30 a.m. at the Merrimack Public Library and there is plenty more to check out on the MFF calendar on their website MerrimackFriendsFamilies.org.

Learn more about the club, check out the list of interest groups, find out how to get involved in service projects and download a membership form to fill out. Have questions? Email info@merrimackfriendsfamilies.org or stop by one of the information sessions. Also check them out on Facebook.

“We want people to know we're still here, we're having fun, and we're doing good things for the community,” LeGay said.