Thank you so much to all those who donated to DESK in response to the 2007 annual letter appeal! Through your generous support we set an all-time record for this important yearly fundraiser. Your contributions enable us to continue to fulfill our mission of feeding the hungry of greater New Haven.

 

In honor of this past Valentine’s Day, Marie Robert put on a wonderful performance to benefit DESK, an event which was a great success despite that evening’s awful winter weather. The Graduate Club (155 Elm St) graciously made their space available free of charge and provided delicious hors d’oeuvres for the pre-show cocktail hour. Marie dazzled the audience with her heartfelt renditions of a variety of love songs, accompanied on the piano by Mathew Harrison. It was a full house!

 

Thank you Marie for sharing your wonderful talents with DESK, and thank you to Sandra Gervais, who made it all happen on The Graduate Club side. Thanks also to board members Rosa Nieves and Bettina A. Pierre, who helped with the evening festivities. Finally, thanks is also due to the DESK board’s acting president, Cindy McCarroll, who provided a beautiful Valentine’s basket donated by the DESK board of directors for the raffle. In addition, the Graduate Club gave DESK a magna of wine for the raffle, which made the winner very happy.

 

Look in the photo section on this website for pictures from the event.

 

The Benevolent Protective Order of Elks #25 (New Haven) has just announced its sponsorship of this year’s annual Ride To End Hunger, which will take place on Sunday, September 14. Next September’s event will be DESK’s third time holding this charity motorcycle ride. We are excited to have received this sponsorship, and we look forward to working with the Elks. Save September 14 on your calendars now, because this year’s ride will be bigger and better than ever!

 

 

The Ladies Home Missionary Society recently helped DESK purchase a new three-door refrigerator for the central kitchen at 311 Temple Street. Chef Jeanne May is very excited about the new addition to the cooking operations, which was made possible by a generous donation of $5,000 from the Ladies Home Missionary Society. The Society has supported DESK throughout its 20-year history, and DESK will be honoring The Ladies Home Missionary Society during the Toast on the Terrace event at the Yale Peabody Museum on Wednesday, June 26.

 

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven continues to support DESK with two grant programs:

 

DESK was recently awarded a $20,000 grant from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven to support our direct foodservice programs, hot evening meals, bag lunches, weekly food pantry. This grant is crucial to DESK’s survival in the nonprofit world. The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven has continued to support DESK for years and is one of DESK’s biggest funders. DESK will be honoring The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven during the Toast on the Terrace event at the Yale Peabody Museum on Wednesday, June 26.

 

Since 1928, donors to the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven have built the community’s endowment currently valued at approximately $280 million. In 2006, the Foundation’s Board of Directors distributed over $11.6 million in grants from approximately 640 different named charitable funds supporting a wide range of programs and projects. The Foundation’s service area encompasses: Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, West Haven and Woodbridge.

 

For more information about The Community Foundation visit www.cfgnh.org.

 

In addition, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven has announced DESK as a recipient for the second year of the “Making a Good Gift Better” program. This program is designed to encourage nonprofit organizations to strengthen their operational and development capacities and focus on increasing resources through fundraising. The Making a Good Gift Better program is open to established nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations with operating budgets of less than $2 million that are actively providing basic needs services including food, shelter, fuel, and/or clothing to residents within the Community Foundation’s 20-town service area. The Community Foundation will match on a one-to-one basis up to $5,000 of new gifts from individuals, institutions, and corporations, including some types of irrevocable planned gifts, to qualifying nonprofits; a total of $75,000 has been allocated for the entire Making a Good Gift Better program this year. DESK has received a matching gift of $5,000.

 

A big thanks goes to ACES in Hamden for assembling beautiful fruit bags for the DESK guests on Valentine’s Day. Each bag was personally decorated and filled with a variety of fresh fruit. The guests loved them! You kids rock!

 

DESK would also like to recognize the Energizer Company for their donation of razors, the sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon for the cookies they baked, the CT Food Bank for the beautiful chocolate hearts that DESK purchased there, and Deacon Angela Robinson of Center Church for her donation of hats, gloves, and scarves for all.

 

A big Valentine goes to Henry Ford, without whom DESK could do what we do. He is a tireless trooper and a wonderful man, DESK’s full-time volunteer and friend!

 

Members of the Our Lady of Assumption Church, organized by Janice, prepared and served an entire meal on Tuesday, February 19.

 

Quinnipiac University students have been fulfilling hours required by their Professor as part of a course on caring and compassion.

 

The brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon have also begun helping DESK in a big way.

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day brought many new faces to help at DESK, including two Yale Sororities as well as our new “Pantry Whisperers,” who help Tuesdays, and whom we have nicknamed “Everyone,” Henry, and Franchesca. They are a three-person dream team!

 

A big heartfelt thanks to the two Hamden Hall groups whose members are helping us twice weekly in the daytime. They have good hearts and quite a lot of dedication.

 

Members of Saint Martin De Porres church have also helped us out also in a big way.

 

DESK would also like to welcome a new group of volunteers: Squash Haven (a youth group). They will begin helping on Monday, February 18.

 

A big “shout out” to Hilla for her amazing help every Tuesday in our kitchen: she helps me (Jeanne) create fresh new recipes, and she also lends an ear on our most busy and stressful day of the week.

 

Welcome new Yale Hunger Heroes co-coordinators, Efan Wu, Elizabeth Bershad, and Joshua Purtle, who will be coordinating DESK Friday and Sunday meals. Efan will be joining the DESK Board of Directors as part of her Yale Hunger Heroes duties, Joshua will be actively coordinating Friday evening meals, and Elizabeth will be coordinating Sundays. A big thanks goes to retiring Sunday coordinator Pria Anand and first Yale Hunger Heroes president, Eliza Schafler, who left a very well organized group ready to help DESK.

 

Text from the Heroes themselves:

 

DESK  has received funding from the annual YHHAP (Yale Hunger & Homeless Action Project) Fast. Thank you so much for supporting DESK in all the ways that you do!

The YHHAP Fast is YHHAP’s semesterly fundraiser, and a tradition since 1974, that enables students to give up their meal plan for a designated day during the semester. The Yale Dining Services donate all the money that would have been used for the meals to YHHAP, and YHHAP then donates all the money it receives to various charities that combat hunger and homelessness. For the YHHAP Fast, YHHAP also collaborates with other undergraduate organizations, whose members help to “table” and advertise for the fast. In exchange, those groups are offered the opportunity to apply for a grant from some of the money raised, which must be donated to a charity of their choice that deals with hunger or homelessness.

 

The twelfth annual Soup Night is quickly approaching! Join us on Sunday, April 6 at 5:00 p.m. for a special evening of volunteer awards (awards start at 6:00) accompanied by wonderful soups, salads, desserts, wine, and entertainment! The Soup Night will take place at the Unitarian Society in Hamden. Tickets will be $25 at the door, and children are welcome.

 

 

DESK Chef Jeanne May will prepare a special Easter Sunday evening meal for our DESK guests on March 23. It’s too soon to tell, but Jeanne usually has special gifts for guests as well.

 

If you are a DESK guest and a veteran, or know someone who is, note well: DESK is helping to sponsor a special Easter Sunday breakfast for veterans on March 23. The meal will be hosted by DESK and the Elks of the B.P.O.E. #25 (New Haven) from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Elks Lodge #25 (524 State St).

 

 

DESK is starting a new campaign to replace the old wooden shelving at its 311 Temple Street pantry. Several shelving units have collapsed and others will soon follow if we don’t replace these wooden shelves with new, stainless steel ones. Metal shelves will also be easier to clean, more durable, and safer. Individuals or groups have the opportunity to donate a single shelving unit, which is priced at between $300 and $400. Each unit donated will have a metal face plate with you or your group’s name. Shelving can also be donated in memory of a specific person or group.

 

If you or your group wishes to help with this campaign, please send your donation and information of how you wish to have the face plates on each of the shelving units you donate engraved to:

    DESK

    c/o PSC08

    P.O. Box 1478

    New Haven, CT 06506.

 

DESK will be working on estimates and floor plans throughout February and March. Dependent on donor response, we would like to have some new shelving in place by the end of March or early April.

 

Diana and Jeanne, the DESK directors, will appear in February and March on North Haven TV’s “Community Focus,” a weekly half-hour program hosted by Joann Scinto that spotlights many Connecticut nonprofit groups and organizations. DESK will be featured during February and March 2008. Look for us in New Haven, Hamden, and West Haven on CTV Cable 26 (Comcast) Mondays at 6:00 p.m. and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m.

 

Joann, the program’s host, also donates hand-knitted scarves and hats to DESK every year around the Holidays. We love you Joann!

 

 

Rimagé Salon & Spa (1210 Chapel Street, New Haven) was incorrectly recognized regarding a wonderful food drive they put on in December 2007. Please accept our apologies for the mistake. The food drive from your patrons and staff was much needed; thank you for your continued support.

 

 

Currently we are only accepting volunteers at the following times during the week:

    Monday and Thursday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

    Tuesday and Wednesday, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 

 

Please email Jeanne starting in April for summer volunteer openings.

 

Our current most needed items are:

    butter (we are desperate!)

    rosemary, fresh or dried

    dried red kidney beans (for stews)

    family-size jars of spaghetti sauce

    tomato paste

    Italian seasoning

    adobo

    bay leaves

    family-size cream of mushroom soups

    spiced cider mix (we heat healthy apple juice to make our cider—a great source of vitamin C!)

    dried cranberries or dried “cran-raisins” (for salads)

    vanilla cake mix

    coconut

    boxes of Graham Cracker crumbs

 

 

 

 

To be removed from the E-Newsletter mailing list, please email webmaster@downtowneveningsoupkitchen.com.

 

Diana M. Richter

Executive Director

P.O. Box 1478

New Haven, CT 06506

Phone: 203-624-6426

Fax: 203-624-2116

director@downtowneveningsoupkitchen.com