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Between April of 2020 and June of 2021,  members of the Suburban Garden Club of Cheshire spent countless hours making and selling face masks to help feed the hungry.  More than $29,000 was raised  for food banks in Cheshire, Waterbury, Wallingford, Hamden, Meriden and Southington.  We also donated masks valued at over $1,200 to local organizations that help people in need, bringing our total contribution to over $30,000. 

In addition to the wonderful members of our community who helped feed the hungry by purchasing face masks, we are very we are grateful to the local businesses who volunteered to sell our face masks:  Cheshire Nursery, Main Street Café, Olive and Henry Fine Foods, Norton Brothers Fruit Farm, Premier Wines, and Tops Marketplace.  We would also like to extend special thanks to Bill Beebe at Cheshire Nursery for donating elastic when it was impossible to find, Paul Majewicz  at Wallingford Sew Vac for ‘rush’ sewing machine repairs and loaners, Heather Potter for donating a huge supply of beautiful fabrics, The First Congregational Church of Cheshire for allowing us to hold in-person sales on their Green, and the Cheshire Herald and Cheshire Citizen for helping to generate sales by keeping the public informed about this effort.

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While many club members  eagerly volunteered to help in various ways, a core group was instrumental in the success of this fundraiser:  Ginni Donovan, Helen Richardson, Nancy Sewitch, Deb Poach Tony Poitras and Susan Dillman.