Coventry Lumber Raises $10K for Food Bank

Director of Coventry's Human Services Department Pat Shurtleff and Coventry Food Bank Coordinator Stefani Dugas accepted a check on behalf of the food bank on Thursday morning for $10,000.

The check was awarded by Coventry Lumber Owners Mike Durand and Bill Finnegan, who hosted a fund-raising golf tournament on Sept. 10 at the Potowomut Golf Club. Through golfer fees and the sale of raffle tickets, the tournament raised $10,000, bringing the company's total food bank donations to nearly $75,000 over the six years that the fund-raiser has been hosted.

Dugas explained that the food bank spends about $15,000 a year on food products alone that is used to support more than 500 Coventry residents in need per month.

"This donation definitely gives us buying power," she said. "We buy a lot of our food from the Rhode Island Food Bank for 10 cents a pound, so this will go very far. It will help get us through most of the year."

The business also lends a truck and a driver to the food bank during the winter months to help transport donations for the holiday "Tis the Season" food drive.

"Coventry Lumber and its employees are really invested members of the community," said Shurtleff. "Mike Durand and his staff are some of the unsung heroes of our community and they do a lot of things for us and don't expect anything in return."

"Our customers love participating in the tournament and we had lots of great items donated as raffle prizes by local businesses this year," said Sales Representative Tina Diggle.

"I was born and raised here in Coventry, so it really is a great pleasure to us that we get to help and give back to our community," said Durand.