Rotary – Liberty Bank Thanksgiving Drive – a Major Success 1

Spencer DeNiscio from Spooner House holds a check as (L-R) Debbie Leclerc, Betsey Doane, and Joanne and & Joe Shapiro look on.

Remy Kocurek from St. Vincent de Paul received a check as Julie Blakeman and Judy Gulish are all smiles over the success of this year’s effort..

This year’s Thanksgiving Food Drive with Liberty Bank was a record-breaker at the Club was able to raise $19,691 to be distributed to local food banks in Derby and Shelton. Committee chair Betsey Doane distributed checks to the Spooner House of Shelton and St. Vincent de Paul in Derby at a brief ceremony hosted by Debbie Leclerc Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager at the Seymour office. In presenting the checks, Doane said, “I am privileged to make this presentation on behalf of the Derby-Shelton Rotary Club to your organizations. It has been a project that my team really enjoyed doing. I would like to thank Liberty Bank for the opportunity to do this work and for their 25% match of the funds raised”. She was joined by committee members Joanne and Joe Shapiro, Judy Gulish and Rotary President Julie Blakeman.

This year’s effort received a major boost when former Rotary President Tom Wilson had announced that the Friend A. Russ Fund was donating $12,000 to the effort. That donation coupled with Rotary fund raising and the Liberty Bank match contributed to making this the largest amount ever raised by the Derby-Shelton Rotary Club since they began participating in the program several years ago.

Earlier Story:

Committee members Rosemary Allen, Joe Shapiro, Julie Blakeman and Betsey Doane are brightening Thanksgiving for others

This Thanksgiving, let’s be a special type of kind… Let’s #BeCommunityKind!  Last year at this time, your local Derby-Shelton Rotary helped collect over $14,400 which was donated to Spooner House in Shelton and St. Vincent de Paul of the Valley in Derby. We need your help to support them again this year.

Liberty Bank, the Liberty Foundation, and over 40 Rotary Clubs across Connecticut are working hard together to exceed last year’s $1 million total donations.  The drive began October 12 and will continue through Saturday, November 20, just before Thanksgiving.

“The Derby-Shelton Rotary began this collaboration in 2016 raising $12,758. Since then, the program has only grown and we are grateful to Liberty Bank for matching our monetary contributions with twenty-five cents on the dollar!  The Derby-Shelton Rotary chooses this Thanksgiving food drive not only for the additional matching contribution but also because all of the funds raised will go directly back into our community. We are encouraging everyone to donate to this drive this year to fill the bare shelves at our food banks,” said Julie Blakeman, 2021-2022 President of the Derby-Shelton Rotary.

Every dollar raised stays local to help those in need.  Help by donating at Derby-SheltonRotary.org or at any Liberty Bank Branch.  The closest local branch is at 49 Pershing Drive, Derby. Betsey Doane, President-Elect and Chair of the Derby-Shelton Rotary Liberty Drive Committee this year said, “We are excited to be a part of this effort again this year, especially since there is so much need during the pandemic.  This year’s focus is on the need through Thanksgiving and beyond.”  Other members of the Committee this year are Judy Gulish, JoAnn Shapiro, and Joe Shapiro.

This year, we are making it easy for community members to join in the effort. Simply click on the link below to help make this a better Thanksgiving for those most in need in Shelton and Derby.