Hands & Hearts Together
You made the virtual Hands & Hearts Together celebration a great success! Thank you to all who watched the event, donated, sponsored, donated or purchased auction items, volunteered, and worked to make this event such a success. Your support will provide food and neighborhood services to our Hartford neighbors who are struggling (more than ever in these COVID-19 times) to make ends meet.
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Renee DiNino of iHeart Radio, and Janet Bermudez, MANNA Program Manager - Emcees |
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Left: Harvest Salads ready to go in the Gourmet Supper Packages. Right: Clem Kasinskas of Bozzuto's and the Hometown Foundation, lead sponsors of the event, assisted by daughter Jackie Kasinskas of Hands On Hartford, runs the show! |
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Thank you to all of those who supported Hands On Hartford in this year's Foodshare Walk Against Hunger! We know that all this summer, ending with a big push from September 13-19 walkers and teams found fun and safe ways to participate. We truly appreciate all of the generosity from our friends that made this unique event so successful, allowing us to meet the nutritional needs of our neighbors!
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Backpack Nutrition Program is up and running! |
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We are excited to share that we had our first backpack delivery of the school year on Thursday, October 8th. We're delivering backpacks full of kid-friendly food to 250 students each week at 9 different schools in Hartford, to make sure the children have enough food to eat on the weekends.
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Or email volunteering@handsonhartford.org with questions.
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Are you an online shopper?
Check out Amazon Smile – for all Amazon.com shoppers, start your shopping at smile.amazon.com. Select Hands On Hartford as your charity, and you’re off and running! .5% of eligible purchases will go to Hands On Hartford.
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A huge thank you to our amazing friends at the Church of St. Peter Claver in West Hartford for their amazing donation of 3,762 pounds of food (yes, almost TWO TONS) and 650 diapers. This donation will go a long way to help so many of our MANNA Community Pantry families!
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Farewell Anne, we will miss you! |
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We bid a fond farewell to Anne Goshdigian, coordinator of the Faces of Homelessness Speakers' Bureau. Anne has been involved for the past seven years and has done incredible work building up the Faces program, fostering an incredible group of speakers who not only share their stories with heart and courage but who have bonded with each other in an inspiring way. She has been a huge supporter of Hands On Hartford's mission and we will all miss her (although she promises to stay connected). We wish her all the best and know that she will always be part of the team. |
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Anne Goshdigian with Joe Krystofalski, Faces of Homelessness speaker. |
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We All Have Our Hands on Hartford! |
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Great service project cleaning up Hartford's Pope Park with Vox Church! We are proud to partner to the City of Hartford to beautify our community parks. Thank you Vox Church for such dedicated volunteerism and community engagement!
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Thank you Carmen Coard for this generous donation of 300 face masks and 20 bottles of hand sanitizer. It's support like this that helps keep our community safe and healthy!
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Our awesome friends at Square Peg Pizzeria donated pizza for all of our guests at Community Meals. Many thanks - once again - to the generous team at Square Peg for all of your support!
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Cricket Wireless joined us for a park clean up service project at Pope Park in late September. Thank you Cricket Wireless for your commitment to doing great work in the community!
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Welcome to your new role, Jackie! |
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Jackie Kasinskas finished up her role with us as a LISC AmeriCorps Service Member, and will be continuing with us in two new positions: Community Engagement Program Coordinator and Case Management Coordinator for the Housing CHESS Project. We are excited to welcome Jackie into these new roles!
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Great Volunteer Opportunities Available! |
We are in need of strong volunteers to help deliver backpacks for our Backpack Nutrition Program on Thursday afternoons.
We are also seeking volunteers in the MANNA Community Pantry to stock shelves, pack grocery bags, and help keep things nice and clean on Mondays.
Kitchen assistant volunteer opportunities are available during weekday mornings for our MANNA Community Meals program and for the Cafe at Fifty-Five too.
If you are interested, contact Geoff Luxenberg at gluxenberg@handsonhartford.org or volunteering@handsonhartford.org. Thank you in advance for helping keep our community strong!
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Cafe at Fifty-Five and Caterers Who Care |
You've probably heard about the new menu in the Cafe with lots of new offerings along with old favorites. Take a look HERE.
Did you know you can also order catered meals or apps for groups, large and small. Perfect for a long-overdue family gathering, in-person work meeting, or community or faith group picnics - our place or yours.
Contact Molly Reynolds at mreynolds@handsonhartford.org or 860-706-1537 for more information.
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Hands On Hartford, in partnership with others, strengthens community in Hartford by responding faithfully to people in need through programs that change lives and renew human possibility.
We are committed to increasing food security and nutrition, improving health and providing housing while we engage volunteers and connect communities.
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How Can I Help?
Go shopping! If you're an online amazon shopper, be sure to start your shopping at smile.amazon.com and select Hands On Hartford as your charity. .5% of eligible purchases will automatically go to Hands On Hartford.
Make a donation! You will be part of a network of donors, volunteers and staff who work together to provide food, housing and related services for families who are struggling to make ends meet. To make a financial donation, click "Donate Now" or mail your check to Hands On Hartford, 55 Bartholomew Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106. Our inkind donation wish-list is HERE
Request a matching donation from your employer! Many employers will match all or part of your donation - a great way to double your impact.
Add us to your estate plans. Contact Executive Director Barbara Shaw to explore planned giving ideas and to join our Legacy Society. bshaw@handsonhartford.org or 860-706-1502.
We are grateful for this amazing community and the love, caring, compassion and support we see every day.
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