My first donation for GardenShare

I have been touched beyond words by the outpouring of support and kind words of praise and encouragement from people in the Hartford area since my announcement two weeks ago that I will be leaving Foodshare at the end of the year to take the position of Executive Director at GardenShare. Opening our daily paper, the Hartford Courant one day last week was a real shock as I found this on the editorial page!

While I’m excited about this, as you can imagine, I do leave Foodshare, after 30 years, and the Hartford region, where I've lived my adult life and raised my family, with mixed feelings!  I will miss so many people in this community tremendously.

Trucks lined up for the Convoy of Caring

Those mixed feelings were brought home to me this week as I contemplated the series of "last" events or activities coming up for me.  On Tuesday, I was at my last "Food Industry Convoy of Caring," an annual event that recognizes all of the generous food companies that donate the food that Foodshare distributes.

One of those donors, the owner of a small chain of grocery stores, pressed an envelope into my hand.  I slipped in my pocket.  When I opened it later, his kind words in a hand-written note touched me, but his generous personal donation, in the form of two separate checks, one made out to Foodshare and one to GardenShare, nearly moved me to tears.

My first donation for GardenShare!

 

I look forward to getting to know and working with the committed and talented Board, staff, volunteers and donors at GardenShare and to having many more stories like this one to tell.

 

Gloria