About

In the summer of 2003, members of the Seacoast Community brought some bagged lunch to young people hanging out in Market Square, Portsmouth. Friendships developed week by week over a meal and soon groups of up to 40 people gathered in Market Square and (presently) in the Vaughn Mall, downtown Portsmouth, for a meal each Saturday. We call this meal the Community Table. What began as a simple meal turned into deep friendships and helping hands. The volunteers were motivated by a common faith to help empower those they were serving to grow into all that they could be. In order to include the wider community in their efforts, this early core team formed a 501(c)(3) non-profit called the Acorn Foundation with the hope to one day provide transitional housing for those coming out of homelessness. An arts initiative called the Art Den also developed, as many of those coming to the Community Table desired to express themselves artistically. Recently, we have renamed ourselves "Restore 61" to avoid any confusion with the group, ACORN.