Simsbury Crew Team Gives Back With Food Drive for Gifts of Love

Sometimes all it takes is a spark of inspiration to incite a movement, which is exactly how the Simsbury community came together for a food drive to donate to Gifts of Love.

When Lydia Tedone came across an article about local schools giving back to the community, the wheels started turning. She is a long-time member of the Simsbury Board of Education as well as a member of Gifts of Love Board of Directors. Tedone contacted Jeff Pinney, Athletic Director of Simsbury High School, and together they created the idea of a Gifts of Love food drive.

Ann Carabillo and Adam Askham, coaches of the Simsbury High School Crew teams and their team captains took up the charge. They reached out to Tedone to see what Gifts of Love needed. From there, they created a ‘socially distant’ food drive.” To preserve social distancing and offer as much convenience as possible, Carabillo put a donation box on her porch. Members of the team and the rest of the Simsbury High School community spread the word. Carabillo also reached out to those in her hometown of Granby.

The drive was a great success, collecting 315 pounds of food over the span of a week and $500 in cash donations. The contribution included a generous $100 donation from the Simsbury High School Student Council.

Carabillo, Askham and her crew teams are no strangers to giving back to the community. The team often raises money and collects food donations, although this is the first time that they have been involved with Gifts of Love. “We encourage them to be responsible citizens by giving back to the community that they are a part of,” she says, citing a quote from Harry Truman: “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

Tedone shares similar values when it comes to giving back to the community, “Especially in times like these, it is important for the community to step up and help those community members who need it most,” she says. “Everyone knows somebody who has been impacted by this pandemic. I am extremely proud of the way that the Simsbury High School Students have been able to create a relationship with Gifts of Love. I hope the experience has shown the students and community members the importance of giving back and encourages them to continue doing so throughout their lives. The food the community donated went directly to those who need it, a group that, unfortunately, keeps gwoing as the outbreak continues,” she says. Over the next few weeks, the Simsbury High School community will continue to hold these drives. “It’s great to have the spirit of giving engrained in the next generation of Simsbury residents,” concludes Tedone.

Members of the community who are interested in assisting those in need, can contact Denise Phillips at Gifts of Love, (860)676-2323 to schedule a food drive.