Gather Supporters’ Remarks on Meaningful Work

It was a tour of Gather’s pantry market and warehouse in Portsmouth that really brought home the need of those who experience food insecurity in the Greater Seacoast area to Paul and Jessica McKeon. They had been involved in giving to Gather before then but the tour led them to step up their involvement, sponsoring both the recent Gather gala held in June and the one that took place at Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club in Portsmouth during the fall of 2021. 
 
“Taking a sight tour – seeing the people there — it becomes more real when you actually go there,” Paul McKeon says. “You get a general sense of what need means when you see the people coming in. It pulls at your heart strings.” 
 
It also shows there is no one type of person who may be going hungry. While the McKeons had donated to Gather in the past, Paul says their real introduction to the food security nonprofit came through Gather Development Director Patti Gormley, who invited him to tour the West Road facilities. 
 
“Patti has been good at keeping us up to date. She’s really key to keeping me involved, continuing to create the awareness,” he says, noting that after Jessica took the tour, the couple gave Gather $100,000.” 
 
“We’re thinking about doing more. We like causes like Gather — it doesn’t get much more potent than needing food,” Paul says. “We think Gather is doing good, meaningful work. Especially with the cost of food now. I don’t go to the grocery store that often but I did recently and it was $150.” 
 
The piece that the McKeon’s often reflect on, he says, is that if you are fortunate to be in the position of being able to make a difference then you should.
 
“You need to give when you’re capable of giving,” he says. “After all, there but the grace of God goes all of us.”