West Hartford Shows It's a 'Town That Cares' at 25th Annual Holiday Party

The auditorium was filled with smiles, laughter and "Ho, Ho, Hos" Tuesday evening as 350 children and their families took part in the annual “Town That Cares Fund” holiday party.

Volunteers, many donning festive attire, served pizza and ice cream to the steady stream of people who lined up from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

The superstar of the evening, Santa, sat in a comfortable chair on the auditorium stage as he received the children one by one on his lap – listening to all of their wishes and posing for photographs.

West Hartford’s established the Town That Cares Fund in 1981 to aid town residents with emergency financial assistance following a financial hardship or crisis. It serves as a resource for those who need help paying for utility bills, food, clothing, shelter costs, and medical expenses. The Town That Cares Fund provides annual subsidies for Thanksgiving food distribution for homebound residents who are elderly or have a disability. The fund supports the holiday and gift card distribution parties as well as the town’s , located on the lower level of Town Hall.

Tuesday night’s party marked the 25th year of bringing holiday cheer to needy families in town. Numerous boxes of pizza were donated by the town’s police union, and three flavors of ice cream were scooped, courtesy of and in conjunction with the Park Road Association.

For many, pizza, ice cream and Santa were followed by a visit to the food pantry where families received gift cards to local stores; they also could stock up on some non-perishable essentials like cereal and canned goods.

The trying economy of the past few years was reflected in the evening’s huge turnout.

Linda Hanson, Volunteer Coordinator with the Town’s Department of Human and Leisure Services, was worried when the food pantry’s donations slowed down in the aftermath of last October’s power outage. Fortunately, she noted, the past two weeks have seen an upturn in donations.

Hanson emphasized that the need for pantry supplies is great all year long. “I have been here 13 years and the need for food has continued to grow and grow while the donations are less than they used to be.”

Food pantry volunteer Russ Pound noted a sobering comparison; in July 2005, he packed 50 bags of groceries for families. Last July, that figure was 250.

Back upstairs, children played with each other and dug into their bowls of ice cream topped with M&Ms, gummy bears, Sour Patch kids and chocolate chips.

Director of Human and Leisure Services Jim Capodiece smiled from the sidelines as the excited children ran around. When asked what importance the evening held for him, he replied, “What it means is helping as many families as we can that, as you can see, truly have some kind of need. It’s amazing the amount of kids and how happy they are to come in, get some food and get a present. It has always been a wonderful event and it has served many, many families over the years.”

Those wishing to make a deductible cash donation to the Town That Cares Fund may do so by credit card online by going to www.westhartford.org and clicking on town services, or by sending a check payable to the “Town That Cares” addressed to Town of West Hartford, Department of Human Services, 50 South Main Street, West Hartford, CT 06107. Food donations may be made at any time during the day by dropping off bags of non-perishable items in the Town Hall lobby. For further information, call (860) 561-7561.