Community Corner

Sheets of Love for Neighbor to Neighbor


A volunteer's phone call has made Neighbor to Neighbor, the Greenwich anti-poverty agency that also serves Stamford and Port Chester residents, has created sheets of love from those more fortunate than the agency's clients.

The way the story goes, the agency which provides tens of thousands pounds of food to the area's needy every month, realized an increasing demand for queen- and king-sized bedding—sheets, blankets and pillow covers, according to Nancy Coughlin, executive director of Neighbor to Neighbor that is based in Christ Church Greenwich.
 
"August is very slow for us and this  month, even slower than normal. A volunteer was doing research and came up with the number for Joe Kaliko. I spoke with Joe and he said he ideas of how to meet our needs," Coughlin said.

It was a fortuitous phone call. A few months ago Kaliko, an intellectual properties lawyer in Greenwich, and state Rep. Fred Camillo (R-151), established the Needs Clearing House, an organization that creates public—private partnerships to fill the void municipal government cannot.

A few phone calls later, Kaliko enlisted The Nathaniel Witherell, the Greenwich-run nursing home, which agreed to donate single-bed sheets and blankets the Parsonage Road facility no longer needs. The same went for the Stamford Marriott which uses queen- and king-sized linens that Neighbor to Neighbor clients need the most.

"I was looking at stores like Target ... Bed, Bath & Beyond. I never thought of hotels" Coughlin said. "Within 48 hours The Nathaniel Witherell had 150 sheets ready to be picked up."

Kaliko said the Marriott's chief housekeeper agreed to donate the 50 to 100 queen and king-sized bed sheets and blankets its discards every month to the anti-poverty agency. Kaliko said two other local hotels have agreed to donate unwanted but usable linens but do want to be identified. 

"Partnerships have been forged and I'm very pleased we could do this," Kaliko said.

Coughlin said the lack of summer donations of household items including linens as well as clothing also is reflected in its food bank. There are fewer food drives in the summer because schools are out of session. "We have many schools that holds food drives for us," Coughlin said.

The food drives such as the one a couple weeks ago organized by the Salvation Army and Greenwich town hall employees helped replenish some stock. "Luckily, we had a fabulous response to the postal service's food drive where this year we gave out bags with flyers. They collected 54,000 pounds of food—and that lasted us two months," Coughlin explained.

The food pantry also relies upon fresh produce grown by several local churches at the Armstrong Court Community Gardens and on church properties including Second Congregational Church and First Congregational Church of Old Greenwich.

"That has been great. It is so mission-oriented. It's great for the community and I hope it will encourage our clients to grow their own organic food," Coughlin added.

The agency will be set to accept food, clothing and household items after a brief summer maintenance hiatus. "We will be closed Aug. 24 for annual summer maintenance and painting, and reopening Sept. 3, the Tuesday after Labor Day," Coughlin said.


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