At First Church we understand that we truly are the body of Christ, and our outreach missions reflect our belief in showing kindness and compassion to all of God’s creation. There are countless ways to get involved in the outreach work of First Church — whether you want to serve hot meals to your neighbors or build houses for those who desperately need them, your hands are needed here! First Church Outreach is involved in helping people who struggle with food insecurity and homelessness, and we are particularly involved in working for equity and social justice.
Outreach Team
Annual Hat and Mitten Drive: click to enlarge
Annual Thanksgiving Basket Drive: click to enlarge
We are partnered with missions at the
Universalist Church of West Hartford:
Fern Street Backpack Program & Free Food Resources
First Church Outreach Team is partnering with the Fern Street Backpack Program to support their mission of providing weekend nourishment to West Hartford Public School Students in need. More than one in four WHPS students experience food insecurity. Fern Street Backpack Program offers food and household essentials to students and their families that help bridge the gap between lunch on Friday and breakfast on Monday.
Fern Street Backpack program was founded in 2014 and is based out of the Universalist Church of West Hartford on Fern Street. The volunteer-led team packs nearly 200 brown grocery bags every week throughout the school year, and delivers them to 15 school and library sites across West Hartford. The program is 100% volunteer-run, receives no public funding, and relies on partnerships with Connecticut Foodshare, Midwest Food Bank, and community donations to continue its work serving the children of West Hartford.
Please leave donations in blue buckets around the building. You may take a bag found by the bin outside the auditorium or use your own.
Please see list below and volunteer opportunities. Click to enlarge to view or print.
We continue to collect food for the West Hartford Food Pantry
The West Hartford Food Pantry’s most needed items
*Non-perishable items only
- Canned fruit/applesauce
- Pasta and sauce
- Cold cereal and oatmeal
- Canned chicken, tuna, and meat
- Rice – 1-2 lb. packages
- Peanut butter, 16-18 oz. jars.
- Soup
- Macaroni and cheese
- Canned ravioli, chili and baked beans
- Rice and pasta mixes
- Cooking oil
- Juice
- Snacks- cookies, granola bars, cake and brownie mixes, pudding cups, etc.
- Toothpaste, toilet paper, soap, feminine hygiene products
NOTE: We do not accept expired, opened, or perishable items.
Thank you for your support!
West Hartford Food Pantry
We continue to collect for Loaves and Fishes Ministries:
Pantry Wish List 2024-2025
- Canned tuna fish & chicken
- Nutritious soups
- Beef stew or chili
- Canned beans
- Canned vegetables
- Tomato sauce/canned tomatoes
- Canned spaghetti and meatballs (or similar products)
- Boxed macaroni and cheese
- Canned fruit
- Ramen noodles
- Granola bars / Cereal bars (without nuts is preferred)
- Pasta
- Toiletries/personal items
Thank you for your support!
Loaves and Fishes
Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance (GHIAA)
If you have questions about this, or if you want to participate in either or both parts of this new initiative, please email Linda Bronstein (lindadiane275@gmail.com) or Terry Schmitt (terryschmittwh@gmail.com). Thank you!
GHIAA invites us to share our experiences and shape GHIAA’s next steps
We are invited to come together with others in GHIAA’s network of 50 congregations, to share stories of personal impact and of what we are seeing in our communities regarding the issues GHIAA has been working on. Each gathering will focus on a specific topic — immigrant rights and protections, housing affordability, or the human impact of our state’s inequitable fiscal policies.
To register to attend a gathering, go to www.cljct.org/ghiaa/housemeetings. If you would like to join the conversation on more than one issue, you are welcome to register for multiple dates. You are also welcome to invite a friend or neighbor to register and attend with you. Everyone is welcome, especially those who have personal stories about the importance of these issues. These critical conversations will help to shape GHIAA’s next steps in each of the issue areas.
The topics, dates, times, and locations are as follows:
- Immigrant Rights & Protections
- Sunday, October 19, 1:00-3:00 p.m., UUSE, Manchester
- Monday, October 27, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Church of Christ (Congregational), Newington
- Housing Affordability
- Sunday, October 26, 3:00-4:30 p.m., First Church of Christ, Simsbury
- Tuesday, November 4, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Westminster Presbyterian Church, West Hartford
- Fiscal Policy Reform
- Sunday, October 26, 2:00-3:30 p.m., Emanuel Lutheran, Hartford
- Thursday, October 30, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Congregation Beth Israel, West Hartford
Let’s Make Lunches!
Every month as part of our Outreach mission, we make 80 sandwiches and fill lunch bags for folks in the Asylum Hill neighborhood with “very low food security.”
•After Sunday worship in the Auditorium
•Half-hour activity for all ages
•Lunch bag contents includes: sandwich, chips, apple, and homemade cookies
2025 upcoming Dates: Oct 26, Nov 23, Dec 21
Questions: Contact Outreach member Dottie Stone, dottie@stone-stonect.com, 203-856-7403
Judy, Bob, Jeanne and Carol all smiles at the March 2024 Loaves and Fishes prep. Yes Bob has a couple of black eyes; they look worse than they are; he checked out fine, and he didn’t let that stop him from helping on this day.
Hot Meals in Hartford
Loaves and Fishes, a local soup kitchen, provides warm meals and a safe place to eat for Hartford residents. Once a month, on the 4th Tuesday at 10 a.m., First Church volunteers work with Loaves and Fishes staff to serve a hot meal at Immanual Congregational Church. First Church members and friends also regularly donate grocery items for Loaves and Fishes’ “meals-to-go” program.
Covenant to Care
We support this partner by asking church members and friends to fill Easter baskets in the spring, fill backpacks in the fall, and Thanksgiving baskets for the holidays. And let’s not forget to mention the Hat and Mitten drive!
Communications Team. The Communications team is a branch of the Outreach Ministry, and is charged with spotlighting what goes on here at First Church. We employ many avenues to communicate and market our mission and events to the community and to our membership. In addition to digital messaging we design banners, signs, flyers, newspaper ads and good old word of mouth!
As the world of social media and publicity evolves, we do our best to evolve with it! Church members who have an interest in marketing are invited to check out the Communications Team!