Andrea Spuck and Tim Southerst, owners of Lewes Gourmet and Puzzles on Front Street, are great believers in giving back to the community.

In 2019, they started the Tea Can and the Lewes Design programs to benefit local nonprofits.

The Tea Can project was an effort by Lewes Gourmet to support nonprofits directly. A portion of sales from these items is given directly to the nonprofits connected to the iconic images of Lewes pictured on the tea products.

For her second project, Spuck commissioned the Lewes Design, incorporating the logos of various local nonprofits, iconic sites and images associated with Lewes. This design was then used for stationery, tea towels and posters. Nonprofits interested in participating in the project provided their logos and, in return, retain all monies made from merchandise sales by offering the items directly to their membership or selling them in their museums and friends group stores.

Spuck also sells the products in her store, and all proceeds from those sales are distributed among the eight nonprofits that currently participate in the program. She also is considering putting the Lewes Design on other products  such as aprons and mugs.

Spuck said she believes that such an iconic design that so broadly represents Lewes and its strong nonprofit and volunteering culture belongs to the whole Lewes community. She welcomes any local nonprofit to offer to its membership available items as a direct fundraiser for their organization’s benefit.

To date, more than $3,000 has been distributed to Lewes nonprofits.