For when I was hungry....

Last weekend, The Backus Federation of Nurses, together with the United Way, held a food drive at Stop and Shop in Norwich.
The people of Norwich were extremely generous.  We collected 1739 pounds of food!
Our brothers and sisters at L+M locals 5051, 5049, and 5123 held a drive the week before at Stop and Shop in Groton.
Combined, the 4 AFT Connecticut locals, working together and with the United Way, collected 2661 pounds of food and a large sum of cash!
It all goes to the Gemma E. Moran United Way Labor Food Center which provides food to over 14,000 individuals each month. The Center supplies free food to pantries, community meal sites, day care centers, shelters for the homeless, after-school programs, shelters for battered women and children, programs for the elderly, and many, many more.

We received the following letter from the Executive Director of St. Vincent de Paul Place pantry of Norwich:

We went to Gemma Moran  yesterday United Way Labor Food Center and picked up 1,739 pounds of food from your food drive. What an amazing food drive! We are so so grateful! Thank you so much for your efforts. Please send me an address that we can send a formal thank you.

Peace,
Jillian Corbin

It was yet another example of all of us coming together for the good of all, labor unions, Stop + Shop, WICH, WCTY, and KOOL 101 radio, the wonderful and generous people of the communities, and the United Way, all working in cooperation.

We have a responsibility as members of a community to help our brothers and sisters.  We have an even higher level of responsibility as labor organizations and as health care workers.  The 4 AFT locals at Backus and L+M accept and endeavor to fulfill those responsibilities, assisted as always by the greater labor community of southeastern Connecticut, our AFT Connecticut leadership, and all the fine people and organizations listed above.

I'll close by saying thank you for the opportunity to help, in reality we gain as much or more from helping as those we assist.  I'd also like to thank those who do this work every day, at all the food distribution centers like the Gemma Moran United Way Labor Food Center and St. Vincent de Paul Place.
Here is a short clip from the Jim Reed of KOOL 101 with a few photos.