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History of Ipswich Caring
Our organization was founded more than 40 years ago when a local Ipswich mom realized that some of her daughters’ classmates did not have warm winter coats. A group of friends banded together and simply took care of it—and the mission to help families in need was born. We rely on the generosity of local residents, businesses and community organizations to fund our work which helps more than 100 families, almost 200 children ages birth to 18, and 700 senior citizens in town each year. We are a completely volunteer-run 501(c)3 organization dedicated to supporting Ipswich families in need. We have no administrative fees and this enables us to direct 100% of the donations we receive to children and families.
Organizational Structure
There are no paid staff and approximately 200 volunteers from all walks of life supporting our efforts each year. The sole qualification for any volunteers is their desire to help. Our key coordinators oversee a variety of tasks such as toys, clothing, food, book tree, publicity, Giving Trees, donation tracking, Birthday Program, Back to School Program, Senior Citizen Program and holiday sorting and delivery. We are governed by an 8-member Board of Directors who meet throughout the year, including hosting a public Annual Meeting in the fall.
Board of Directors
Cheryl Forster-Cahill
Executive Director
cherylf@aol.com
Ellen Kallman
Fundraising
Public Relations
Holiday Program
Barry Cahill
Treasurer barrycahill825@gmail.com
Lauri Carlson
Donation Coordinator
Back to School Program
Sheila Taylor
Back to School Program
Laurie Fenton
Birthday Program
Linda Murphy
Empowerment Program
Holiday Program
Cheryl Scibisz
Empowerment Program
Holiday Program
Liz Seltenrich
Holiday Program