Holiday Collection Drive

FUNERAL DIRECTORS ACROSS CONNECTICUT  COLLECTS TOYS & GIFT CARDS FOR
OPERATION ELF & YALE NEW HAVEN CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL'S TOY CLOSET PROGRAM
40 Locations Welcoming Holiday Toys & Gift Cards Now through December 4th

MEDIA CONTACT: Laura Soll, Communications - Connecticut Funeral Directors Association
860-688-4499, Cell 860-833-4466, Laura@sollpr.com

WETHERSFIELD, CONN., November 18, 2024 - The Connecticut Funeral Directors Association (CFDA) is holding its 18th annual statewide holiday drive to collect toys and gift cards for military families and for children receiving medical care. From November 18th through December 4th, 40 funeral homes and collection locations across Connecticut (listed below) are welcoming donations from the public for Connecticut National Guard's Operation ELF (Embracing Lonely Families) program and for Yale New Haven Children's Hospital's Toy Closet Program.

In addition, on Thursday, December 5th from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., people can drop off items to CFDA's 136th Convention at the Sheraton Hartford South Hotel on 100 Capital Blvd. in Rocky Hill, Conn.

"The funeral directors and suppliers of the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association have held our own charitable holiday collection efforts for 18 years,, and this is the eighth year we also invite the public to bring donations of gift cards and unwrapped toys to local funeral homes," explains Lionel J. Lessard, Jr., CFSP, President of the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association who is an East Hartford and Wethersfield funeral director. "By doing this, we add 40 convenient community sites that supplement Operation ELF's and Yale New Haven Children's Hospital's Toy Closet Program's own collection efforts. We encourage state residents to take a few minutes and come donate an item that can mean so much to another family."

All gift cards, unwrapped toys and funds collected by the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association will be delivered directly to Operation ELF and to Yale New Haven Children's Hospital's Toy Closet Program before the holidays:

Operation ELF supports families of the Connecticut National Guard and all branches of the military with a loved one in the deployment cycle, who suffer financial hardship as a result of the call to active duty. Operation ELF welcomes gift cards of any dollar value for grocery or department stores, home supply stores, gas stations, and pharmacies, as well as unwrapped new toys for youths of any age.

Yale New Haven Children's Hospital's Toy Closet Program supplies toys to pediatric patients when they are discharged from Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, and to units in its hospitals, Emergency Departments, and Pediatric Specialty Centers from Old Saybrook to Greenwich. Especially needed this year are toys and games for girls - from infants to teens.

Donations of gift cards and unwrapped toys may be dropped off during regular business hours at any of these 40 locations, now through December 4th (listed in alphabetical order of town/city):

Avon: Carmon Funeral Home & Family Center at 301 Country Club Rd.;
Branford: W.S. Clancy Memorial Funeral Home at 244 North Main St.;
Bristol: O'Brien Funeral Home at 24 Lincoln Ave.;
Cheshire: Alderson-Ford Funeral Home of Cheshire at 615 S. Main St.;
Cromwell: Cromwell Funeral Home at 506 Main St.;
Derby: Edward F. Adzima Funeral Home at 253 Elizabeth St.;

East Hampton: Spencer Funeral Home at 112 Main St.;
East Hartford: D'Esopo East Hartford Memorial Chapel at 30 Carter St.;
East Hartford: Goodwin University's Funeral Services Program in Main Campus Lobby at 1 Riverside Dr.;
Enfield: Leete-Stevens Family Funeral Homes & Crematory at 61 South Rd.;
Fairfield: Abraham L. Green and Son Funeral Home at 88 Beach Rd.;

Greenwich: Castiglione Funeral Home at 544 Old Post Rd.;
Meriden: John J. Ferry & Sons Funeral Home at 88 East Main St.;
Middletown: Doolittle Funeral Home at 14 Old Church St.;

Naugatuck: Alderson-Ford Funeral Home of Naugatuck at 201 Meadow St.;
New Britain: Duksa Family Funeral Homes at Burritt Hill at 332 Burritt St.;
Newington: Duksa Family Funeral Homes at Newington Memorial at 20 Bonair Ave.;
Newington: Neptune Cremation Service at 3153 Berlin Tpke.;
Prospect: Prospect Memorial Funeral Home at 122 Waterbury Rd.;
Rocky Hill: Rose Hill Funeral Home at 580 Elm St.;

Seymour: Ralph E. Hull Funeral Home at 161 West Church St.;
Shelton: Riverview Funeral Home, Inc. at 390 River Rd.;
South Windsor: Samsel & Carmon Funeral Home at 419 Buckland Rd.;
Southbury: Munson-Lovetere Funeral Home at 235 Main Street North;
Stafford Springs: Introvigne Funeral Home at 51 East Main St.;
Stratford: Adzima Funeral Home at 50 Paradise Green Place;

Torrington: Cook Funeral Home at 82 Litchfield St.;
Unionville: Ahern Funeral Home at 111 Main St.;
Vernon: Ladd-Turkington & Carmon Funeral Home at 551 Talcottville Rd.;

Wallingford: Wallingford Funeral Home at 809 North Main Street Ext.;
West Hartford: Molloy Funeral Home at 906 Farmington Ave.;
West Hartford: Sheehan-Hilborn-Breen Funeral Home at 1084 New Britain Ave.;
Wethersfield: Connecticut Funeral Directors Assn. offices at 364 Silas Deane Hwy.;
Wethersfield: D'Esopo Funeral Chapel at 277 Folly Brook Blvd.;
Wethersfield: Farley-Sullivan Funeral Home at 34 Beaver Rd.;
Windsor: Carmon Community Funeral Home at 807 Bloomfield Ave.; and
Woodbury: Munson-Lovetere Funeral Home at 2 School St.

The 136-year-old Connecticut Funeral Directors Association is comprised of funeral directors at more than 220 funeral homes. Based in Wethersfield, Conn., the professional organization is committed to the promotion and advocacy of high ethical standards in funeral service. This includes the development and presentation of ongoing professional training opportunities for practitioners and educational programs for association members and the public. For more information about the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association or its holiday collection drive, call 860-721-0234 or 800-919-2332 or visit www.ctfda.org.

The information on this page may be downloaded here.

 

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