Heritage Village Women’s Club Celebrates Giving

The Heritage Village Women’s Club celebrated the season with their annual Giving Tree event yesterday, December 7, at Sarah Cooke Hall in Heritage Village in Southbury, .

Originally called “The Mitten Tree,” this festive event started over 35 years ago in the Village as a collection of hats, mittens, and scarves for the Southbury Training School. It quickly expanded, teaming up with the Southbury Needy Fund, Southbury Food Bank, and the Southbury Senior Center to serve families, seniors, veterans, and armed service members in all of Southbury.

Thursday’s event included a 9-foot Christmas tree, lovingly decorated with mittens, scarves, hats and other winter items made by Heritage Village’s talented knitters. The Heritage Village Men’s Club donned elf hats to help bring order to the many gifts of clothing, toys, and foodstuffs brought by residents for distribution by the Needy Fund and the Food Bank to families and children. Heritage Village residents and clubs set up tables along each wall, featuring scrumptious baked goods, hand-made donations of afghans and throws by the Stitch and Chat Club, warm and decorative quilts by the Quilter’s Club, dreidels, menorahs, and chocolate coins at the Hadassah table, all manner of commissary items donated for service men and women far from home, as well as a stunning special quilt made by the Quilters for the day’s donation raffle.

Mid-day saw special talent take center stage with snappy dance numbers by the Heritage Village Happy Tappers, music and song by the Heritage Village Singers, led by Floyd Higgins, and a Christmas bell chorus by Bethlehem’s “Chime In - Music with a Mission.” Santa also stopped by, delighting all the young at heart.

The Heritage Village Women’s Club is co-led by Karen Knox and Judi Murray. With over 200 active members, HVWC has been organizing entertainment, holiday, and social events in the Village since 1969. The Giving Tree kicks off their holiday season each year, followed by a New Year’s Day Social for Village members, as well as the April Card Party, and the September Walk-a-thon hospitality station, both of which benefit Heritage Village Ambulance Association.