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Outreach Team

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.

Find this month’s Reach Out partner by clicking here

 

HANOC Snack Donations

The Outreach Team will be collecting non-perishable snacks for the Hillcrest Area Neighborhood Outreach Center (HANOC) during June, July and August.   Needed snacks include but are not limited to:

  • juice boxes
  • small packages of crackers
  • granola bars
  • dried fruit
  • popcorn, pretzels, etc.

One of the blue food bins located outside the Auditorium will be marked and designated for these snacks.

HANOC is a collaborative effort of the Town of West Hartford, The West Hartford Housing Authority, West Hartford Public Schools and other community agencies.  HANOC helps families with limited economic means to become more financially independent and integrated into the schools and community by coordinating resources to help meet their needs. Programs include: After school homework program, Camp Hillcrest, Family Self-Sufficiency, Adult Education and Computer Basics, Play Groups, Middle School Groups, and Field Trips to name a few.

 

More information can be found on the Town of West Hartford website under Social Services.  

 

Sara Thompson and Yvonne Tafuto delivered some snacks to HANOC. Donna Cody, the program coordinator of HANOC, pictured here with Yvonne, in front of the bags!

Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance (GHIAA)

A broad-based social justice initiative piloted by the Center for Leadership and Justice. GHIAA is comprised of over 40 churches, synagogues, mosques, and meeting houses, creating a diverse organization of lay leaders and clergy from across bounds of race, class, gender identity, religion, and geography. GHIAA builds relational power in local communities to address social justice issues. GHIAA’s current campaigns are focused on the areas of Criminal Justice Reform, Education, Gun Violence, Healthcare, and Housing.

 

If you have questions, contact Linda Bronstein (lindadiane275@gmail.com) or Terry Schmitt (taschmtt@aol.com) directly.  Thank you!

 

 

. . . here’s an update from Jocelyn and the GHIAA team.

“Thank you to the clergy and core team leaders who turned out for our press conference on May 15! With 45+ GHIAA folks present, plus elected officials and media, we made a strong witness to the importance of this regional environmental justice issue. Check out the following links for coverage of the event:

We gathered in front of the former MIRA trash-to-energy site to celebrate the passing of legislation this session that will end trash hauling subsidies for 23 towns that still remain with MIRA. The bill calls for the subsidies to end in 2 years and the $6 million spent between now and then to be reimbursed by state bonding. GHIAA won new governance for MIRA in 2023 and has continued to advocate to preserve the funding in MIRA reserves to go towards a proper clean-up of the site.

This is an important change in the long-standing pattern of environmental racism in Greater Hartford. Waste management is a regional problem that requires a regional solution. We are grateful for the bill language introduced by Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, but also heed Senator John Fonfara’s warning that there is still a long way to go to ensure that the property is remediated.

Thank you to our dedicated Environmental Justice team and to all of you for showing up and raising your voices for the common good of our communities and our region. We are proud to be in this work with you.”

Thanks to all the donated and walked!

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.


Loaves and Fishes, a local soup kitchen, provides warm meals and a safe place to eat for Hartford residents. Once a month First Church volunteers work with Loaves and Fishes staff to serve a hot meal. First Church members and friends also regularly donate grocery items for Loaves and Fishes’ “meals-to-go” program.

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, newspapers 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!