Quota Club of New Haven Gives Back Through Connecticut Food Bank
WALLINGFORD, CONN., April 18, 2016 – For more than a decade, members of the New Haven Quota Club have volunteered time at the Connecticut Food Bank, as well as donating food and funds to help feed hungry neighbors. This week, club members presented a $500 donation to the Connecticut Food Bank, bring to more than $11,500 the total amount of funds given since 2004.
“We are grateful for this donation,” said Connecticut Food Bank Chief Development Officer Mary Kate Carofano. “But even more, we are grateful for the gifts of time and talent that the members of the Quota Club have shared.”
Carofano said the club was instrumental in the launch of the Connecticut Food Bank Kids’ BackPack program, which helps to bridge the weekend meal gap for children receiving free or reduced-price meals at school. For two years, the group was the sole volunteer packing team for the program.
The club is part of Quota International, a service organization founded in 1919, with more than 5,600 members helping communities around the world. Quota Club members have sorted and packed food, helping the Kids’ BackPack program grow to serve more than 3,300 children in 22 school districts. Club members have also sorted and packed fresh produce that is distributed on the Connecticut Food Bank Mobile Pantry, serving thousands of people at 31 sites each month.
Quota Club members visit the food bank three times each month to volunteer. Individual members have also stepped up to fill other volunteer shifts when additional help was needed, as well as helping out at Connecticut Food Bank special events, Carofano said. She noted that the volunteers from Quota rarely show up empty-handed. “Each month they bring food items they have collected and they have participated in several special community food drives over the years.”
“Donations of funds, food and time are what power the mission of the Connecticut Food Bank,” Carofano said. “The members of the New Haven Quota Club are truly partners in feeding hungry neighbors.”
Quota Club member Doris Dewees said the group values its role with the Connecticut Food Bank. “We loved starting the Kids’ BackPack program and now feel that the Mobile Pantry program we support three times a month not only fulfills a great need in the community, but [also] our pledge to give to others.”
In the photo above:
Members of the Quota Club of New Haven recently presented a donation to the Connecticut Food Bank. Pictured left to right: Susan Lish, of Bethany; Lynne Maser, of New Haven; Georgia Erickson, of Wallingford; Doris Dewees, of Madison; Connecticut Food Bank Chief Development Officer Mary Kate Carofano; Connecticut Food Bank Volunteer Coordinator Kim Damien; Quota Club President Anne Baltzell, of Wallingford; Gerry Borgerson, of Branford; and Sue Hanson, of Meriden.
About the Connecticut Food Bank:
The Connecticut Food Bank is the state’s non-profit leader in the fight against hunger and the largest provider of charitably donated food. The Connecticut Food Bank partnered with the food industry, food growers, donors and volunteers to provide enough food last year to prepare more than 18.5 million meals. We distribute that food through a network of community based programs to more than 300,000 people across six Connecticut counties. Visit us on the web at www.ctfoodbank.org, like us on Facebook and follow @CTFoodBank on Twitter and Instagram.
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