Among Friends
News for friends and supporters of the
Friendship Service Center of New Britain
February 2010 - Vol. 2, No. 2
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Caring for neighbors in need
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Greetings!
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The Friends of the Friendship Center firmly believe that "Homelessness is for The Birds!" Find out how you can join their campaign to end homelessness and support residents of the Friendship Center on their journeys toward a "home sweet home."
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Build a birdhouse... here's how
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 "Home Sweet Home" for the birds comes in many shapes and sizes. Certain birds also have distinctive architectural and decorative tastes.
During the summer of 2010, birdhouses will start cropping up all over the New Britain community ... in stores, lobbies, waiting rooms, municipal buildings ... as part of the "Homelessness is for the Birds!" campaign.
Anybody can enter and donate their one-of-a-kind creation. Then in the fall of 2010, the birdhouses will be auctioned at the Grand Opening of the Friendship Center's permanent supportive housing project ... nine beautiful apartments in the newly-renovated Tomasso Family Building at 59 Arch Street, and 12 more apartments at 85 Arch Street that are currently under construction. Funds raised through the "Homelessness is for the Birds!" campaign will directly support Friendship Center residents.
 Birdhouses can be fully functional or strictly "flights of fancy." They can represent a theme, mirror a business or building in town or just be unique unto themselves. The two houses pictured here, created by Friends of the Friendship Center members, represent a wide range in real estate styles. Birdhouses can be built from the ground up like the Cape Cod beach house above, or prefab and decorated like the round house on the left. They can be stand-alone structures for individual bird families or apartment houses for bird communes. The sky is the limit!
The answers to just about anything you need to know can be found at the Friendship Center website - birdhouse building plans, materials and specifications to project entry forms and links to other websites for additional information.
So, give your creativity wings and show your support for once-homeless neighbors whose dreams for a home of their own are becoming reality!
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Be an EAGLE... or a chickadee?
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Enjoy the benefits of sponsorship of the Friends of the Friendship
Center's "Homelessness is for the Birds!" campaign at any level.
Eagle sponsors command the grandest visibility. Cardinal and blue bird sponsors naturally draw attention to themselves. Chickadee and
hummingbird sponsors are smaller but no less
important in the pecking
order of things. Sponsors can:
- Build, display and donate a
birdhouse for auction that represents their business or organization in preparation for the Grand Opening of the Friendship Center's Arch Street Housing Project in the Fall of 2010.
- Fly high in the New Britain community prior to and during the Grand Opening Event through website visibility, program book ads, signage and other forms of recognition of your support for ending homelessness.
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HUNGER is "For the Birds" too!
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Teams of walkers from congregations, schools,
businesses and community groups are stepping out to
end hunger through Foodshare of Greater Hartford's
27th Annual Walk Against Hunger
Sunday, May 2, 2010.
The Friendship Service Center is one of 20 agencies in addition to Foodshare that will benefit directly from the Walk,
meaning funds raised can be designated to support the
Friendship Center's efforts to feed hungry people in our community.
Our partnership with Foodshare, a regional foodbank and member of the Feeding America's national network, is an important one. Through Foodshare,
- The Friendship Center acquires food at a fraction of wholesale prices.
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every $30 raised through the Walk, the Friendship Center can feed one
person for a whole month, or for roughly $1 per person per day.
Walkers in the Walk Against Hunger can raise funds offline,
online, via letter, e-mail, telephone call, face-to-face or a
combination thereof. And, everybody can participate in some way by walking the Walk, walking "in spirit," or sponsoring another walker.
Every
Walk team needs a spirited leader, and a Walk team captain's job is made easy by following a
step-by-step process. Contact Kathy Cooley, the Friendship Center's director of communications and development, 860-225-0211,
for an easy-to-use team captain's kit. Then, go to Foodshare's
website to register your team or join the Friendship Center's online
team.
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