Spring 2008 Newsletter

1. Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Visits Loaves and Fishes Ministries
Recently, Loaves and Fishes Ministries hosted a group of funders from the Hartford
Foundation for Public Giving. The group was visiting Hartford-area organizations supported by HFPG in order to learn more about where their money was going and what it was doing to help residents of Hartford. We decided that these individuals didn’t need one more lecture about mission, programs, and outcomes from staff—instead, we let some of our clients talk about their experiences at L & F.

First, our visitors heard from Lavon Chaney, a regular client at Loaves and Fishes who now eats in the soup kitchen. As she related, however, this was not always the case. Lavon grew up in Hartford, and she had been too proud to come to the soup kitchen, preferring to feel “that I didn’t need the help, until one day I came with a friend and found out about all there was to take advantage of…I never looked back, I’ll tell you!” She spoke of learning about our computer class offering, a component of the Opening Doors program, and her enrollment. For Lavon, this was the first time she had found success in an academic setting, and her enthusiasm for our program was evident. Since graduating from the computer class, Lavon has also met with our Jobs Counselor and after much effort has now found work. We miss seeing her in the soup kitchen, but we are thrilled she has such a wonderful reason to be absent!

Luis Rodriguez also spoke to the group. Luis is a former client who is now our Kitchen Aide, working daily in the soup kitchen under the tutelage of our Kitchen Manager. Luis spoke of the wonderful training he is receiving in sanitation, safe food handling, meal planning and preparation, and cooking techniques. More than this, however, Luis wanted the visitors to know about the atmosphere at Loaves and Fishes Ministries, how “Alyce [the Executive Director] always knows everyone’s name, and always smiles.” Luis was candid about how low his self-esteem had been, how low his “sense of self” was, but that with our help, he feels that “I got that back, I got my confidence again, not to mention a paycheck!” We are glad to have him on board.

Finally, Sadie Walker, a member of our Sewing class and a client who has been part of the Opening Doors program, spoke. Sadie first came to the soup kitchen for the sandwiches, bag lunches, and bread that clients take home with them. But, she testified, once she ate some lunches here, she was hooked! “The food here, especially the chicken, is excellent!” Sadie is proud that she has learned wonderful, employable skills in both our sewing and computer classes, and as a result of her new skills now has a part-time job at CRT. Sadie particularly loves the respect that staff give clients; in her words, “you always feel like a full person, not just a number, when you are at Loaves & Fishes.”

We couldn’t have said it better!

2. Volunteer from Bloomfield Uses Special Skills to Fundraise:
John Casner has been a long-time volunteer at Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen with the First Church, Bloomfield. We learned recently that John and his wife Vicky also have artistic skills that they put to use on behalf of others. The Casners created a joint project carving and painting wood replicas, employing self-taught skills for both, which help Loaves and Fishes’ clients. “Crafts for Charity” is the name of their project.

The wood replicas are intricately carved models of historic buildings in Bloomfield, where the Casners live. John designs, creates and carves the replicas, and his wife Vicky paints them. Both are involved in very intricate and detailed work. According to those who have seen them, and bought them, they “are truly masterpieces.” John’s fellow soup kitchen volunteers enjoyed bragging about the skill John exhibits in these works, and the joy the couple gets from creating them. In addition, the couple creates tree ornaments and crafts as part of their designs. The Casners donate all their time and all the materials used in these beautiful replicas.

John and Vicky originally became intrigued with the idea during a trekking trip in Nepal and the Himalayas, where they learned about the Nepali Youth Opportunity Foundation and the Togo African Village Poultry Project, two charitable organizations which helped locals and impressed the Casners. Their goal became to replicate these charitable efforts, and “Crafts for Charity” was born. At times, the proceeds from the Casners’ work have gone to help these two charities. Loaves & Fishes’ clients have also benefited. On one occasion, on the Sunday before Christmas, the Casners set up a table at their First Church, Bloomfield and sold out their creations in only 90 minutes! The proceeds from these sales, over $1,600, have been used to support the delicious meals that First Church, Bloomfield prepares and serves at Loaves and Fishes Ministries each month.

We salute these wonderful charitable efforts, and the ongoing support of John and Vicky Casner to our work.


3. BI$ Graduate Opens Restaurant—“Sweet Potata’s” is here!

NOW OPEN!
Bernard Curry, a 2007 Business Initiative$ graduate, has now opened his restaurant, Sweet Potata’s, at 1028 Blue Hills Ave., Bloomfield!! The grand opening was held on April 26th, 2008, with dancing, free hot dogs and hamburgers, and even a sweet potata’ pie baking and eating contest. Bernard learned to cook from his mother, and it is her recipe he now uses for his famous dessert. The restaurant features Southern smokehouse cooking, in Bernard’s words “Southern food prepared with a healthy food consciousness.” For more information, call 860-243-8040. Stop by and enjoy!


4. Message from the Executive Director
A March 26th, 2008 article in the Boston Globe seems to provide a warning for Loaves and Fishes Ministries. “Nonprofits could find donations dwindling as economy limps along” it alerts, calling attention to the fact that while large educational and cultural nonprofit institutions may have large endowments on which to fall back, typically the smaller organizations feel the pinch when their donors do. “In tough economic times, small social service agencies like food pantries and homeless shelters are most vulnerable….” Traditionally, 35 - 40% of our income has come from individual donations. Loaves and Fishes Ministries is acutely aware of the economic troubles facing all sectors of the population, from our client to our individual supporters to the corporate donors who help us finance our work in Hartford.

The current economic hardships are not limited to the private sector. A most important food resource for us is the government program called FEMA. These food supplies are provided via government subsidized programs. The budget (Washington DC) has been cut considerably this year, and we are seeing an unusually large local impact. Last year, Loaves and Fishes’ received $7,700 in our FEMA grant. This year we are to receive $3,300. This will make a difference of hundreds of cases of food for us.

However, we are not sounding the alarm bell just yet. For many reasons, we have confidence that our supporters will continue to do what they can to ensure that our organization remains strong and our programs intact. We have seen donors create tremendously innovative ways to make a difference in our organization, one instance by the Casners noted in this newsletter. Many are getting their entire families involved—the Schiro family, for instance, has created gorgeous homemade holiday decorations for our dining room on many occasions, brightening up the room and bringing smiles to the faces of our clients. The 6th Grade Sunday School class at Asylum Hill Congregational Church completed a youth project that resulted in over 100 athletic socks filled with full-size personals that we were able to give out to clients on Mother’s Day, and will again do so on Father’s Day. We are seeing a large increase in interest amongst volunteer groups who want to be involved in the soup kitchen, and of course many, many supporters helping us through efforts with the annual Walk Against Hunger.

These volunteer efforts not only show the support we enjoy, they also save us money. But nothing can replace financial support. At Loaves and Fishes Ministries, long-term funding strategies have been in place for many years, as evidenced by our 25-year history. We consider our ability to build new programs on the foundation of existing programs to be a wonderful success. We are confident that such long-term funding will continue to be obtained through local foundations and corporations, as well as individual support. Our ongoing relationships with local funders and individual supporters demonstrate their excellent understanding of our organization’s work in Hartford, and their confidence as we move forward. We plan to continue building these connections with responsible and effective programs at Loaves & Fishes Ministries.

5. Still United Way eligible: Code #5328
Loaves and Fishes Ministries has long been a partner agency with the United Way—this means that while we do not receive grants through United Way, we are able to receive donor-designated funds through corporate involvement with United Way. Many of our supporters take advantage of this opportunity to choose Loaves and Fishes as the recipient of their charitable United Way donations. However, the United Way has recently altered their policies for listing partner agencies in their literature, and so when you next update your United Way designations for giving, you won’t see us listed. We ARE still eligible to receive these funds! Simply use #5328 as the designation code in the State United Way Campaign, and we will continue to receive your donations.


6. Check out the new and improved www.loavesfishesministries.org. We have updated our site, so visit us on the web and learn more about what we do!