As we begin a new year, I want to thank you for your extraordinary generosity. In the final weeks of 2025 our community raised over $90,000 through our end-of-year campaign — bringing the total impact to $140,000 with our donor match. Your support directly strengthens local food pantries and the families who depend on them. During a year when
more neighbors turned to pantries for help, your gifts ensured they could meet growing needs with dignity, consistency, and compassion.
Your support also fueled meaningful growth. In 2025, PORCH Communities launched 30 new chapters, expanded into three additional states, and increased the number of neighborhoods showing up for their local pantries month after month.
We also strengthened our leadership by welcoming Lori Webber and Rick Brown to the PORCH Communities Board of Directors. Their leadership, perspective, and shared commitment to community-powered hunger relief will be invaluable as PORCH continues to grow and deepen its impact nationwide.
At the same time, I want to express my deep gratitude to Aimee Munsell, who is retiring from the board after three years of passionate service. Her expertise, thoughtfulness, and unwavering commitment helped drive meaningful growth and opportunity for PORCH Communities, and we are deeply thankful for all she has given.
Looking ahead, I invite you to join me for our State of the Communities webinaron Tuesday, February 17th, at 7:00pm ET / 6:00 pm CT. During this 30-minute conversation, members of the PORCH Communities family and I will share highlights from our 2025 impact and offer a preview of our goals and priorities for 2026.
I am so grateful to be on this journey with you, and I look forward to all that we will continue to build together.
With gratitude,
Christine M. Cotton
CEO/Founder
Our volunteers are making a real difference where it counts most. With food donations from grocery stores and food banks shrinking while community needs grow, PORCH Youngsville helps The Journey Ministry Pantry bridge the gap so neighbors don't go hungry. The pantry's board chair said it best, "It's a wonderful thing when two great organizations team together." We are proud to see our volunteers stepping up, bringing compassion, teamwork, and hope to their communities every day.
We’re thrilled to expand our PORCH Family! Please join us in welcoming nine new chapters:
These additions bring us to 30 new chapters in 2025. Thank you for sharing our story and inspiring others to get involved — together, we’re creating sustainable, neighborhood-based hunger relief programs!
This winter, we continued building momentum through partnerships that activate communities in meaningful ways. A great example is our collaboration with Kennesaw State Women’s Basketball, which hosted a food drive during a November game.
A video message from our CEO, Christine Makhuli Cotton, introduced PORCH Communities to a new audience on the arena jumbotron, while PORCH Marietta Chapter Lead Liz Platner shared information and invited attendees to get involved. Though modest in size, the event showed the power of partnering with athletic and student communities to raise awareness, mobilize volunteers, and spark local action. If you’re connected to a team, club, business, or organization interested in partnering with PORCH, we’d love to hear from you at info@porchcommunities.org.
PORCH South Brunswick Neighbors
Step Up During Growing Need
PORCH South Brunswick shows what neighbors helping neighbors looks like in action. Since 2020, volunteers from several neighborhoods have collected food from porches, churches, and local drop-off sites to support local food pantries — gathering over 35,000 pounds of food in October and November of 2025 alone.
During the federal shutdown that paused SNAP benefits, the community stepped up. As Chapter Lead, Mike Claxton said, "The communities, they know the problem. Especially when the government closed and SNAP was frozen, and they're really stepping up to donate."
Bring people together and make an impact by hosting a "PORCH Party" — a feel-good gathering where friends, neighbors, and colleagues can connect to learn more about PORCH Communities. If you’re interested in hosting or want to learn more, contact our Business Development Coordinator, Jordan Cole, at jordan@porchcommunities.org to get the party started!
And please join us on Tuesday, February 17th to learn more so you can share more!
National News:
H.R. 1 Able-bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) H.R. 1, signed into law on July 4, 2025, eliminated several exemptions.As a result, some individuals who were previously exempt, including veterans and young adults who were in foster care on their 18th birthday, are now subject to the work requirement unless they qualify for another exemption. In addition, H.R. 1 increased the age range for the ABAWD Work Rules time-limit to 18 through 64, and eliminated exemptions for persons who live in households with older children (ages 14-17).
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