Dear friends,
I am grateful to launch our annual Month of Giving today. It's always very humbling to kick off our month of giving. We've spent the past few months trying to pinpoint a local charity that needs our help... when you start to look, the list of people needing assistance in so many ways can seem overwhelming. But as with last year, this year we are focusing on children and families. Our children's lives have changed so drastically over the past few years and the impact of those changes are still being felt.
I wanted to find a service that supports youth and teens, and their families, with mental health issues. Seeing first hand how hard it is for the young to 'figure it out' with so many pressures, world-changing events, plus the ongoing difficulty of emerging from COVID... it can all be crushing. Any support and tools we can give the kids to cope and thrive is critical for their futures (and ours!).
The Child and Family Guidance Center, the organization we are donating to this month, is based near to us in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Founeded 90+ years ago, the center provides children and families with culturally-informed mental health care and complementary supports, regardless of ability to pay.
Their programming strives to increase the emotional well-being of the people they serve and create stable and nurturing environments for children through counseling, family support and critical youth in crisis intervention services.
