PEABODY — With food insecurity at unprecedented levels, a Peabody woman is back in business, doing what she can to make sure residents can find a little holiday happiness.
Gina Goodwin, a registered nurse, has kicked off her latest Gina’s Giving Back project. Last year, Goodwin delivered 3,318 Thanksgiving meals to needy Peabody families. This year, she hopes to feed 300 families on Easter Sunday and is launching a unique fundraising campaign, selling raffle tickets for gift cards that have been generously donated by local businesses.
“People have lost jobs, there are greater food security issues and people have lost lives, so the need is there,” said Goodwin, the mother of six children between the ages of four and 14 — all of them adopted. “We were so successful (last) Thanksgiving and had planned to do it again on Thanksgiving (but couldn’t due to an unexpected family medical emergency), and we wanted to make up the joy that we had hoped to spread at Christmas, so we settled on Easter.
“We also wanted to support local businesses, so we felt that when people were using the gift cards, that would help the businesses maybe generate more business.”
Among the businesses that have stepped up to the plate are Champions Pub, Classic Faces Day Spa, Ricky Prezioso, The Cannoli Corner, J Cakes, Half Baked Cafe, Arielle’s Treasures, Mixed Creations by Taylor, Giovanni’s, Kelly Slattery Jewelry and Pink Ladies Cleaning. A smart TV and lottery scratch ticket boards will also be included in the raffle.
Goodwin has been organizing meal drives for about five years but said the most she ever delivered prior to last year was 250. The pandemic changed all that.
“This year with so many people needing so much more than ever before, it just blew up,” Goodwin said. “We feel we need to accommodate everyone who needs help, so we just kept with the demand as best we could.”
Goodwin’s success was recognized on The Drew Barrymore Show, which gave her a “Big Thank You” shoutout on Nov. 23. At the end of the show, Goodwin and Jackie Willis, who received a donated meal, received $5,000 gift cards to Whole Foods, gifts matched by Barrymore, bringing the total to $10,000 each. Goodwin said she plans to use some of the money for a family trip to North Conway in the spring.
“The kids deserve it in that they are involved in every aspect of the meals project, so you might say they work for me,” said Goodwin. “They’ve been doing so since day one, and my husband (Ed) and I have always preached the need to be proactive and to give back to the community.
“The show was crazy and a little nerve-wracking at the same time,” said Goodwin. “The producer said we had to film it in a quiet space with a lot of light, but it was my 9-year-old son’s birthday, so we had to rent a hotel room nearby. It was so much fun and I felt very humbled by it all.”
Raffle tickets for the Easter meal drive go on sale Wednesday. They can be purchased either on Goodwin’s personal Facebook page or Gina’s Giving Back Facebook page. Tickets are $5 for one, $10 for three and $20 for eight. Winners will be announced on Facebook Live on Sunday, March 21.
Once again, the meal kits will include an assortment of canned goods, beverages and stuffing mix as well as instant mashed potatoes, juice and a $15 gift card to be used at a local supermarket for purchasing a ham or turkey. Meals can be ordered online via Facebook message or by email at [email protected] beginning Feb. 15. Contactless deliveries will be made on or before April 3.
“We appreciate any and all help, but we offer meals to everyone. There isn’t any qualification or documentation requirement,” Goodwin said. “I encourage local businesses to reach out to me on Facebook. No donation is too small. Anyone needing a meal should reach out to me by email. In these times, you can’t say no.”