Neighbor News
New Covenant House Appoints John R. Gutman as New Executive Director
Stamford Soup and Food Pantry selects long term Fairfield County resident as new head.
Stamford, CT - New Covenant House, Lower Fairfield County’s Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry announces the appointment of John R. Gutman as Executive Director. John, a longtime volunteer at New Covenant House, brings a wide range of experience from the corporate world. Prior to joining New Covenant House, he was CEO of his own consultancy focused on growing start-ups and mid-tier enterprises through strategic positioning, and corporate sponsorship. Previously, John was an SVP at several media companies and Director at the National Basketball Association. Mr. Gutman holds a BA from Syracuse University. He lives in Norwalk and has two sons, Andrew and Daniel, who both attend college out of state.
John will be responsible for leading New Covenant House through the balance of a Capital Campaign targeting to raise $1.7mm for a new facility scheduled to open Spring 2015. The “new” New Covenant House will encompass 8,000 sq. ft. at 174 Richmond Hill, a major expansion from its current 2,000 sq. ft. location.
“I’m excited to join the New Covenant House team and to continue the mission of feeding the hungry in a safe and compassionate environment,” says Gutman. “With our new facility, we will increase our services to include basic needs such as food, clothing and hygiene, along with health, immigration and self-help counseling services…which we hope will help our guests reach their personal goals.”
The New Covenant House is the largest soup kitchen in Connecticut. New Covenant House serves hot meals twice a day, 365 days a year. Including the breakfast program and food pantry, it provides over 700,000 meals a year. The need for this humanitarian service has doubled in the past 6 years.
Founded over 36 years ago, New Covenant House is an inter-faith project of Catholic Charities of Fairfield County, serving the homeless, elderly, disabled, working poor, and children. No one is turned away. There are no requirements to enter the NCH doors, except a mutual exchange of respect and dignity.
To learn more and to donate, please go to:
Nchstamford.org/capital-campaign
