STAMFORD—Catholic Charities will bring the Bishop and the Rabbi together—you’ll have to bring your own coffee and bagels!
That’s the plan for this Friday’s Virtual Celebrity Breakfast to benefit the emergency needs of New Covenant Center (NCC) in Stamford. The breakfast will be live-streamed from 8 am to 9 am with guests logging in to www.NewCovenantCenter.org/virtual-celebrity-breakfast from your laptop, computer, tablet or cell phone in the comfort of your home. All are welcome!
While guests will miss the in-person camaraderie and the good food that accompany the annual NCC celebrity breakfasts, they will be asked to give generously online to support NCC’s work during the COVID-19 crisis. As Stamford’s only soup kitchen, NCC is feeding the hungry, homeless, and working poor of the area seven days a week.
The main course for the breakfast promises to be a lively and inspiring conversation between Most Rev. Frank J. Caggiano, Bishop of Bridgeport, and Rabbi Jay TelRav of Temple Sinai in Stamford. The bishop and Rabbi will discuss how people of faith are dealing with this crisis and other critical topics.
They will also field online questions. (Anyone who would like to present a question to be included in the discussion can send them to John Gutman at jgutman@ccfc-ct.org.) Also, Stamford Mayor David Martin will make a cameo appearance with a special COVID-19 update for the Stamford region.
“The discussion between the bishop and the Rabbi will be very interesting, and it is a great time for diverse faiths to come together to help those in need during the pandemic. New Covenant Center has seen skyrocketing demand for food as we now serve 500-700 meals per day up from 175 per day last year,” said Mike Donoghue, new Executive Director of Catholic Charities.
Donoghue said that in order to meet rising demands, Catholic Charities and parishes in the Stamford area, have been holding “drive-through” food drives with more planned for the coming weeks, and that New Covenant Center urgently needs financial support.
To ensure everyone’s safety during the pandemic when guests cannot sit together communally, New Covenant Center has implemented a new strategy of bringing food to the hungry. Lunch and dinner are served Monday through Saturday and one meal on Sunday in a “take-out” format. The program now also prepares meals for the clients of several other Stamford non-profits including Pacific House and Inspirica, Building One Community, and ARI Center for Special Needs.
“The Covid-19 crisis has placed New Covenant Center as the charitable food insecurity leader of the crisis’ response in the Lower Fairfield County area,” said New Covenant Center Executive Director John Gutman. “The Center has been handing out much needed food to the unemployed, the homeless, and local families. This is especially true now that many of our area’s citizens have lost their jobs.”
The mission of New Covenant Center is to provide a nutritious meal to all those who are hungry. This is accomplished from their 8,000 sq. ft. facility located at 174 Richmond Hill in Stamford. The facility includes an efficient and modern kitchen, a welcoming dining area, expanded food storage area and refrigeration, a spacious food pantry area and additional space for other services.
Founded 41 years ago, New Covenant Center is an inter-faith project of Catholic Charities of Fairfield County, serving the homeless, elderly, disabled, working poor and children.
“As the mission states, ‘No one is turned away. There are no requirements to enter the New Covenant Center doors, except a mutual exchange of respect and dignity.’ These words have never been more true as they are now.” States event co-chair Nils Dahl. “While the number of volunteers helping us on-site have declined due to safety precautions, there has been a huge increase in the number of people and companies donating food and meals to New Covenant Center’s soup kitchen and food pantry to help feed the most vulnerable in our area.”
Sarita Hanley, who is serving event co-chair, said that available resources remain stretched to the limits during the pandemic. “This program is a primary utility for the City of Stamford and remains the largest combined daily soup kitchen and food pantry serving Stamford and the surrounding Lower Fairfield County communities. It is the reason why donations are so very much needed at this time.”
Please consider making an online donation at www.newcovenantcenter.org/donate. Checks can also be mailed to: New Covenant Center, 174 Richmond Hill Ave., Stamford, CT 06902. For more information, contact Leisa Hinds-Simpson lhinds-simpson@ccfc-ct.org or 203.964.8228
