A few ways we are giving back to our community and the organizations close to our heart.
With the arrival of spring, many of us were looking forward to celebrating the upcoming holiday’s with family, weekend BBQ’s with friends and lots of time spent outside. Covid-19 continues to have an enormous impact on the world, especially on older adults and low-income families (lets not forget about the animals in shelters) and I am so thankful that my loved ones are healthy and safe at home during this time.
In an effort to help and give back, I’ve joined many others who are bringing awareness to organizations doing good and am sharing a few that we have donated to as well as different ways we’re trying to support the businesses in our local community.
A nonprofit organization founded by Westchester, NY mom, Adrienne Harper and a member of the Baby2Baby Network, Bundles of Joy provide babies and toddlers in critical need with the essentials to thrive.
How you can help:
- Contribute to the Baby Formula & Essentials Fund via website or Venmo: @bundlesofjoyNY
- Share @bundlesofjoyNY on social media.
- If anyone you know is struggling to provide for their children, please have them reach out to Bundles of Joy.
Coco + Lala, a family-run boutique in Darien, CT is one of my go-to’s for giftable items and special tot finds. Like many of us, Shannon Doherty, the boutique’s owner, found her children were missing their extended family, friends and teachers while social distancing. In response, she created these adorable “Spread Love, Not Germs”, tie-dyed T-shirts to inspire people to be proud about staying home.
Every Spread Love T-shirt sale provides 10 meals to children in need through #NoKidHungry, which provides meals to kids at home from school in need of food.
How you can help:
- Infant Onesies are $24, Short Sleeved T’s are $30 and Long Sleeved T’s are $40. The shirts may be purchased through Coco + Lala’s online shop at cocoandlala.com, and on Instagram @cocoandlalawatchill.
- Share your stories on Instagram #washhands4grands @cocoandlalawatchhill
Supplies for Success mission is to ensure that all children start school with the tools they need to succeed. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Supplies for Success has created the Eric Richenstein Memorial Fund to provide educational CareKits for children aged 3-7 to keep them busy and learning while schools are closed.
The CareKits include art supplies and more, are being distributed to disadvantaged children by food providers such as Island Harvest and to hospitals like Northwell Health, for the children of the frontline healthcare workers.
How you can help:
$15.00 will supply a CareKit to a child in need. Text eric4kids to 44321 or visit the link here.
As we cook more meals at home, now, more than ever, we’ve made it a point to continue to support our local grocers. Although we still order in takeout from some of our favorite nearby mom and pop restaurants, we purchase many essentials from Rowayton Market, our in town grocer that is a short walk from our house and happens to be one of the oldest continuously running markets in the state of Connecticut.
How you can help:
The store has been dedicated to the health and safety of our tight knit community and is offering at no additional cost, grocery delivery (within a 5 mile radius) and curbside pick up. If you’re running out of ideas for lunch and dinner, the Market is offering a simple solution, freshly made prepared grab and go meals.
Shop small, shop local. Call the store at 203-852-0011 and place your order.
Health experts have reiterated that seniors and those with underlying health issues are the most vulnerable to Covid-19, they are considered to be high risk. To ensure these members of the community are able to receive the product they normally would, Palmers Market has been offering a grocery delivery service and accepting volunteers to ‘pick’ the groceries and deliver them.
How you can help:
1. If you can pick groceries off the shelves, reach out to Marcella Rand of Darien’s senior programming at mrand@darienct.gov.
2. If you can drive groceries from Palmers to seniors’ homes, email Alexandra Ramsteck, Director of Darien Human Services at aramsteck@darienct.gov and she’ll coordinate with Palmer’s.
WoofTrax and ActiVet Insights showed that 65% of local animal charities saw a moderate to sever risk of closing operations. To ensure these community rescues and shelters are able to continue their amazing work, download the WoofTrax app. It’s a free app that allows you to support your favorite animal organization just by walking your dog.
Most recently, we’ve been supporting PAWS, a no-kill animal shelter dedicated to the rescue and adoption of our community’s homeless and abused dogs and cats in Norwalk.
How you can help:
1. Walk your dog with WoofTrax. The more walkers use WoofTrax, the more sponsor dollars they can funnel to animal charities. Simply download the app, select the charity that you wish to support and start walking. Even if you don’t have a dog, you can still participate by selecting the Walk with Cassie option (Cassie is the Chief Walking Companion).
2. Spread the word, share and promote Walk for a Dog on social channels.
Classic Sofa, the beloved NYC based custom furniture company has transitioned from creating bespoke furniture to bespoke masks. The masks are made with a high density cotton inner layer and tougher textured weave outer layer to allow for breathability, available in 7 SKUs. Classic Sofa will be distributing masks directly to the front line doctors at Beth Israel Medical Center.
How you can help: Purchase a $20 mask. If you’d like to refer to any other hospitals in need, please call Classic Sofa at 212-620-0485
