Several Peterborough Churches are coming together to host a Day of Caring for the community on Saturday, August 15, from 10 am to 2 pm at Union Congregational Church at 33 Concord St.
The UCC and and the Peterborough United Methodist Church are co-hosting the event, and All Saints Episcopal Church will provide overflow parking as well as help sponsor the event.
Christine Robidoux, a volunteer with the PUMC, said the churches are partnering with Boxes of Love, a New Hampshire nonprofit that assists people in transition, on the event.
“A volunteer from the Congregational church went to a training and learned about Boxes of Love and brought the idea back to us, and we thought it would be a wonderful thing to have in our community,” Robidoux said.
According to Robidoux, Boxes of Love focuses on people in transition and people at risk in rural NH communities.
“They bring actual ‘boxes of love’ for people, with comfort items that might make things a little easier,” Robidoux said.
The Day of Caring will include live music, free food and groceries, a mobile clothes closet from Rise Again Outreach, free barbering and haircuts by local stylists, and hygiene kits and personal items, including for children.
“For people who are really struggling, paying for a haircut or a barber may be one of those things that doesn’t happen, and it’s something that is so important,” Robudoux said. “We’ll have hairstylists providing haircuts and beard trims, we’ll have a meal and some fun treats, we’ll have live music.”
The Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter and the Grapevine will host information and resource tables for the public at the event.
Robidoux said several local businesses, including Monadnock Community Hospital, Shaw’s, and Nature’s Green Grocer, have donated to the event. A local band, Three Shades of Gray, is donating their time to provide live music.
According to Housing Action NH, a nonprofit housing advocacy group, New Hampshire’s housing shortage, estimated at 23,500 units, has created workforce shortages and an increase in homelessness in the state.
Robidoux, who also volunteers with the Eastern Monadnock Housing Security Coalition, said that, along with haircuts, another high-need service for people in transition is laundry.
“That is a nut we are still trying to crack. We really tried to figure that out for this event, but we’re not there yet,” she said.
According to advocacy groups such as the ACLU, recent state laws, including a 2025 loitering statute, may make people struggling to find housing afraid to seek help.
“Anyone who needs assistance, especially if they are struggling to keep or find stable housing, is encouraged to attend the event. This is about, come on in and get what you need,” Robidoux said. “It is open to anyone who needs assistance, who might like to connect with some resources.”