2008- 2009 Projects

Special Olympics Bowling

On November 22, several members of the Northford Women's Club GFWC along with volunteers from all over Connecticut, participated in the Special Olympics 2007 Holiday Sports Classic sponsored by Pitney Bowes at AMF Lanes in East Haven, CT. The bowling alley was brimming with excitement and camaraderie that day and all weekend long as teams of Special Olympians of all ages competed for gold, silver, and bronze medals. The enthusiasm was infectious as Women's Club members made new friends and gained a new warmth and appreciation for people with disabilities.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded Special Olympics in 1968 with the intention to provide sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community.
On July 20, 1968, the Special Olympics Torch, "The Flame of Hope," was lit for the first time. On that day, one thousand young men and women with intellectual disabilities from 26 states and Canada took part in sports competition in the Olympic tradition and became the world's first Special Olympics athletes.
Since 1969, Special Olympics Connecticut (SOCT) has provided year-round sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. SOCT serves 5,079 athletes throughout the state through local, regional and state programs. In order to provide the most inclusive and meaningful school and community based sports training and competition for its 3,402 athletes with intellectual disabilities, SOCT opens its doors and offers the opportunity to an additional 1,677 athletes who train and compete as special partners alongside their peers with intellectual disabilities. Each year, SOCT hosts over 49 tournaments and competitions in 27 different sports. SOCT is a non-profit, charitable organization, which contributes to the lifelong physical, social and personal development of people with intellectual disabilities in the state of Connecticut. More than 10,000 volunteers, 900 coaches, numerous corporate and civic organizations, and 5,079 athletes and their families make up Special Olympics Connecticut's winning team.
For more information about Special Olympics Connecticut, visit www.soct.org.

Pay it Forward

Inspired by Oprah Winfrey, the Northford Women’s Club was inspired this year to take up the challenge posed by Oprah Winfrey to help others with a Pay it Forward project of its own. Oprah’s Pay it Forward program gave over 300 people $1,000 and challenged them to come up with inspiring and creative ways to help others. The challenge, presented by Alison Young, the Northford Women’s Club president, was to divide the club of 30 members into five groups, giving each group $100 to use toward their Pay it Forward project. Each group had to come up with a name and a theme and each group used their $100 to raise more money or to pay for expenses for their individual projects. The High Flyers and Happy Hearts and Smiling Faces groups directed their efforts with our nation’s vets in mind, Crusaders for Kids supported programs for children and families, Right to Read worked with reading programs for kids of all ages, and Budding Friendships used their funds towards helping the elderly.

The High Flyers raised over $3,000 by having a tag sale and a raffle, and soliciting area businesses for donations to pay for airline tickets for fifteen veterans from New Haven to Washington DC as part of the Honor Flight Program. Honor Flight is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. They fly veterans to Washington, DC to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – WW II survivors along with those other veterans that may be terminally ill.

Crusaders for Kids dedicated their $100 to helping children and their families in Northford and surrounding communities. Last fall, Crusaders for Kids, Gail Vendetto Wysocki, NCTM, and The Village Voices Soloists presented  “Back To Broadway,” a concert for the benefit of the Ronald McDonald House. The concert, featuring songs from famous Broadway musicals, raised $752 for the Ronald McDonald House to benefit sick children and their families. The group has also organized plant sales and raffled gift baskets to raise money to buy furniture and decorations for an area health clinic. The Group went to the health center and painted two murals for the pediatric unit of the health clinic.

The Happy Hearts and Smiling Faces group is working with CellPhones for Soldiers, a program that turns old cell phones into minutes of prepaid calling cards for US troops stationed overseas in 2008. ReCellular buys the phones from CellPhones for Soldiers to the equivalent of one hour of talk time per phone. Happy Hearts and Smiling Faces set up a collection box at the Northford Post Office. So far, they have collected over one hundred and fifty cell phones. The group also teamed up with Storytellers of North Haven to provide elementary school photos for the year to four families who could not afford it and sent a large box of personal care items to American troops in Iraq.

The Right to Read group collected new and gently used books for children and donated them to various reading programs, including Read to Grow, New Haven Reads, and “If I can read, I can do anything.” So far, they have collected and distributed more than 1,350 books, including 450 books mailed to St. Labre Indian School in Ashland, Montana.

The Budding Friendships group bought fabric and made forty-four lap robes, one for each resident of Twin Maples nursing home, and wrote birthday cards for each resident that will be distributed by the staff at Twin Maples. The elderly residents were so happy to receive the lap robes. One resident commented that no one had ever given her such a beautiful gift.

The Northford Women’s Club Pay it Forward project, with only thirty women and $500, was very successful in its efforts to reach out to the community and make a difference, not just in Northford, but all over the world. The gifts of kindness were all well received but the satisfaction gained from helping others in need was the best gift of all.

Branford Animal Shelter

We will be collecting canned dog food for adult dogs and medium to large rawhide chews. The Branford Animal Shelter takes animals from Branford and North Branford now that we no longer have a shelter here in town.

Yale New Haven Hospital

Collecting magazines and books for teens, and toys for The Toy Closet.

Veterans

Collect DVDs and VCR tapes to donate to West Haven Veteran's Hospital.

Food Baskets for Needy Families

Other Collections:

Sheets and towels for the New Haven Animal Shelter (Alison)

Canned dog for for adult dogs and medium to large rawhide chews. The Branford Animal Shelter takes in animals from Branford and North Branford now that we no longer have a shelter here in town. (Laura P)

Campbell Soup labels or box tops for Education (Kathy T.)

Flip top ring from soda cans (Kim)

Magazines up to three months old and paperback books. (Paula)

Northford Women's Club members Mary Ellen Collet and Kathy Tobin (not shown) and Patty Meglio (not shown) with members of the Special Olympics Connecticut bowling teams.

The High Flyers present check to Honor Flight
representative.

Budding Friendships with throws at Maple Woods.

Painting murals for the new Hill Health Center.