On behalf of the Old Creamery for the Co-op Steering Committee in Cummington, MA, Michael Kalagher writes:

Dear Co-op Supporters,

Thank you for your enthusiastic support. Since July 30^th, 117 of you have joined the Old Creamery Cooperative as Founding Member-Owners! This terrific show of support creates the momentum we need to keep going toward our goal of 300 founding member owners by year end. Thank you!

We’re writing now to provide an update on other work in process and how you can stay involved and help us bring the Old Creamery Cooperative closer to purchasing the business from Alice and Amy.

Member-Owner Enrollment: We received some helpful feedback and have made some improvements to our systems, which we hope will make it easy for more people to sign up and remit their founding member-owner equity payment. Here’s how:

1) Stop by the Old Creamery and pick up a brochure, fill it out, and hand it to the Cashier with your personal check or cash.

2) Visit the Website, and download a brochure to fill out and mail it with your personal check to PO Box 11, Cummington, MA 01026 (or drop it at the store).

3) Sign up Online, click the Join/Pledge page on the website and follow the instructions to join right away by filling out the sign up form and paying by credit card or Paypal. Or, help reduce credit card processing fees and select the pledge option (please remember to bring or mail your check to the Creamery with your pledge form).

The member-owner equity share payment is $150 and installment payment plans are available. See the brochure and website for more information. And thanks for signing up!

Outreach Coordinator: The Steering Committee is searching for a paid Outreach Coordinator to help us educate the community about the values and principles of a co-op, invite households and businesses to become owners and supporters of the Old Creamery Co-op, and to work with our Volunteer Coordinator to help volunteers implement an array of activities designed to help the Co-op developoment efforts. We’re seeking someone who can work with us for the next 6-9 months in a part time paid consulting capacity. If you or someone you know is interested in this position we’ll send you a job description and application instructions. Please send a note to info@oldcreamery.coop – and put “Outreach Coordinator” and your name in the subject line. Please do so no later than August 30^th and we’ll get right back to you with more information.

Volunteer Opportunities: We need people to help with a wide range of work, including one time tasks and ongoing routines. Volunteer opportunities include: maintaining the Co-op bulletin board at the Creamery store, serving on committees, helping with outreach, conducting market research, building some brochure racks, creating signage for Co-op related events, and many other things we haven’t thought of yet. If you are interested in volunteering for the Co-op, please send a note to volunteer@oldcreamery.coop with your name, your daytime and evening telephone numbers, and a brief summary of your areas of interest or particular skills you can contribute. Our Volunteer Coordinator will then be in touch with you with more information.

We’re so excited by the tremendous show of support since we officially launched the Old Creamery Co-op last month, and we look forward to keeping you updated about our progress and how you can remain involved.

Sincerely,

Michael Kalagher, Old Creamery Coop Steering Committee

P.S: Mark September 19^th in your calendar now; we have a surprise in store for you! More soon…..