CARMEL- A gala in Carmel where some 150 people came together at James Church Hall to celebrate a milestone—Putnam Community Action Partnership’s (CAP) 40 years of serving Putnam County’s most vulnerable community members.
CAP Director Marisa O’Leary told the enthusiastic gathering: “For four decades, Putnam CAP has been a bridge between crisis and stability. But as I look around this room, I am reminded of a fundamental truth: Our staff of seven simply cannot build that bridge alone. Impact is never a solo act. For forty years, our achievements have been built on strong partnerships that have transformed common goals into realized accomplishments.
O’Leary went on: “The results of this collective work speak for themselves. In 2025, our volunteers contributed an astounding 6,231 hours of service to the agency through our food pantry and soup kitchen programs. To put that into perspective: That’s over $200,000 in saved staffing costs that went directly back into program services.”
CAP’s partners in the local business community received recognition as well.
O’Leary thanked DeCicco & Sons, ShopRite, Stop & Shop, TOPS, and Trader Joe’s for providing over $493,000 in donations of fresh produce, meats, dairy products and whole
grain bread.
Second Chance Foods and Cornell Cooperative Extension were also recognized for their efforts to help every family access healthy food.
Last year the CAP Food Pantry served 4,500 Putnam households while the soup kitchen provided more than 11,000 nourishing meals.
During the year gone by CAP also connected over 1,500 at-risk individuals with vital community resources and provided over $99,000 in direct financial assistance. “Whether it was preventing an eviction, keeping the lights on, or repairing a car so a parent could get to work, our goal is always the same: Helping families move away from living crisis to crisis and toward true self-sufficiency,” said O’Leary.
O’Leary also thanked Putnam County for its 40 years of partnership, as well as the county’s elected representatives, donors, volunteers and community partners—for their steadfast support.
“Forty years ago, we made a promise to this community. Today, because of you, we are keeping that promise. Let’s continue to unite, to serve, and to make an even greater impact for the next 40 years and beyond,” she said.
Comments