6 | Snowmobile VERMONT 6 | Snowmobile VERMONT VAST News By Patty Companik The Andover Mountaineer Snow Riders held their Fifth Annual Pancake Breakfast and Blessing of the Season event on Dec. 8. Breakfast is free, and everyone in the community is welcome to attend. They served pancakes, sausage, eggs, coffee, milk and juice. After breakfast, there was a Blessing of the Season given by Pastor Tom Charlton. This event is a fundraiser to benefit the community, not the club. People bring non-perishable food items and make monetary donations to benefit the Chester-Andover Family Center. The Family Center served over 1,000 households this year as of November. When looking at the support they provided in 2017 versus 2018, they had a 79 percent increase in financial assistance requests year over year. Some of the type of requests they receive for financial support are for electricity, rent and heat assistance, vehicle tire and insurance assistance, as well as gas cards. Food is always in demand at the CAFC, but it is not just the perishable items that are needed. Hygiene donations are in high demand, too. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo and baby care items are just a few of the other items needed. In the season of giving,186 pounds of food and hygiene items were collected in addition to generous monetary donations of almost $600. A representative from the center attended ANDOVER MOUNTAINEER SNOW RIDERS PANCAKE BREAKFAST the event and spoke about the needs in the area and how thankful they were for what the AMSR club was doing to support the Chester-Andover community. In addition to the contributions collected for the center, folks were able to purchase their Early Bird TMA at the event. It was a pretty productive morning to have breakfast with a few neighbors, purchase an early bird TMA, and do something nice for the community. Like many clubs in the VAST community, the Andover Mountaineer Snow Riders are about much more than just snowmobiling. This is an annual event, so look for it next year. If you can’t attend but would like to donate, reach out to any of the AMSR club officers. (Patty Companik photos)