2023—A Year of Empathy in Action

News

Dec 22

We thought we would give you a quick break from the holiday hustle and bustle to share what you helped us accomplish this year. Together, we assisted more than 50 of our neediest neighbors. As our gift to you, we wanted to share with you a video thank you from Rafaela, one of our year-round Critical Pro Repair (CPR) service beneficiaries. But, first, we came into 2023 with many big questions. Let's see if we got any answers.

Question #1: Would requests for help ease up in 2023?

Our hope was that some of the recovery from the pandemic would lessen the volume of requests, but 2023 had other things in store. More than 950 of your neighbors came to us for help with substantial repair issues.

Question #2: Would 2023 be the year construction material prices come back to Earth?

If you predicted that they wouldn’t, you win! But, we needed to make sure that those counting on us would not suffer. This challenged us to get as many materials donated or deeply discounted as possible. We also levelled up our creativity to tackle meaningful repairs as cost-effectively as possible. Just check out this Before and After for “Mr. M,” an older gentleman who cared for his Dad until he passed. Mr. M. developed a brain tumor and need trees trimmed, new front and back steps, fresh coats of paint, a working toilet, a debris purge and massive yard cleanup.

Would volunteerism recover to pre-pandemic levels?

It looks as though we are headed back in the right direction. Just take a look at these milestones from our 2023 participating volunteer groups:

30-Year Club

New Canaan Congregational Church New Canaan Exchange Club

St. Luke’s Parish, Darien

New Canaan Exchangers assisting a local veteran.

25-Year Club

Southbury Faith in Action (SOFIA)

20-Year Club

St. Edmund Campion, East Hartford

15-Year Club+

Synapse, Stamford

Rookies of the Year

Greenwich Association of Realtors

Hats off to our groups this year—many of whom stuck with their projects through three or four rain dates!

Looking Ahead

Surely, there has to be fewer washouts in 2023. Luckily, we can help families in need year-round and rain our shine through our CPR service. As we speak, HomeFront is tackling Winter Warmup/Health & Safety repairs for neighbors in need. Rafaela is a single mom to a young son with a heart defect and a single grandmother. When we sat down with her to announce we would be replacing her front and back steps, she had this to say. “This is a boost in my life. Without people like your organization, I don’t think I can find the empathy elsewhere. Sometimes you feel alone and just by having someone have your back in difficult times is a blessing and an amazing thing.” You don’t have to take it from us. Hear it straight from Rafaella.

A New Year will bring many questions of its own. But, one thing is for sure. With your help we can keep sparking community to build on what we accomplished together. We are ready to help with many more Winter Warmup CPR repair projects right away. HomeFront’s Board of Directors believes so strongly in this that they are matching every dollar donated before December 31st up to $30,000. With the materials we get donated and the volunteers we mobilize, a dollar donated could not possibly go farther. Thank you for considering a gift of any amount that will help us restore heat for struggling neighbors, eliminate the cold winds with new doors and windows and provide the basics of safe passage in and out of their homes.

From Rafaela’s home to yours, wishing you many blessings this Holiday and beyond! You are certainly an enormous blessing to your community!

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