The Anna Banana Milk Fund, A Dedication to the Memory of My Little Sister

Dear Friends of Molly Moon's,

This is probably the most important letter I will ever send out to the Molly Moon's community. I'm writing today to tell you about a fund I've helped create at FamilyWorks food bank in memory of my little sister, Anna.

Like many siblings', Anna and my relationship was a complex blend of best friends and nurturing. But we also shared something a bit strange: a LOVE of milk! It is with great pride that I've set up a fund to honor her. With donations of $10 per month, the Anna Banana Milk Fund and FamilyWorks will provide all the milk individuals and families will need.

Long before I opened the Wallingford shop, with much help from Anna, our childhoods were full of milk. We never could have imagined growing up without limitless amounts of milk being available to us. We always had a glass of milk with dinner, slurped our cereal milk at breakfast, and if we didn't have ice cream, drank milk with cookies for dessert. Our family members would even prepare for visits from us by buying more milk to have in the house! Well into adulthood, when Anna moved in with me shortly before the Wallingford shop opened, our mom would slip me extra money to support our milk-drinking habits. After a devastating motorcycle accident, Anna passed away in the fall of 2009 from injuries sustained in the crash, though she did not suffer a single broken bone.

And so, it's in Anna's honor and sweet, giving spirit that I've set up a fund to honor her. And I am now asking the Molly Moon's Ice Cream community to help me fund it. With donations of $10 per month, the Anna Banana Milk Fund and FamilyWorks will provide all the milk individuals and families will need. Anna would have loved knowing that she and I could contribute to a world where fewer kids and families went without milk and the strong bones and healthy smiles that come along with it.

FamilyWorks food bank is right across the street from the shop Anna helped me open. Approximately 350 families and individuals utilize the FamilyWorks food bank each week and I couldn’t envision a more meaningful way to honor Anna’s memory than to create a fund that will provide those in need with our favorite beverage. My goal is to secure enough monthly donors so that milk will consistently flow freely to all FamilyWorks patrons for as long as they need support from the food bank. I have arranged for my milk man, John, from Smith Brothers Farms, to deliver fresh milk weekly and the deliveries can start just as soon as monthly donors start signing up. Please consider signing up for a monthly donation to help me remember and honor Anna, and for the families who need our help. To support the Anna Banana Milk Fund at FamilyWorks, please click here.

Thank you so much,

molly moon

p.s. My AMAZING employees have gotten the fund started and we can already support 37 families with milk every week starting in November. Let's see if we can get to 350 donors by Thanksgiving!

**UPDATE 10/20** Thank you so much to the donors who've gotten us started! Thank you Alan, Amanda, Andie, Andrew, Ashlyn, Barbara, Brian, Catherine, the Chapmans, Christina, Cindy, Debbie, Eric, Heidi, Isabel, Jack, Jake, Jared, Jen, Kerwin, Kim, Lauren G., Lauren P., Linda, Lisa, Aunt Lynn, Mary, Matt, Meghan, Monica, Patrick, Paul, Rebecca!!!, Scott, Sophia, Tamara, and Tobias! I will be calling my friends & family dialing for dairy dollars this week, so I can't wait to update this bottle-meter again soon!