The Gift of Giving

The act of giving is tied to the very core of the Christmas holiday. Like many, we have a special charitable cause that is near and dear to our hearts this time of year.

Covenant to Care for Children is a charitable organization that provides direct assistance to Connecticut’s children who are neglected, abused and/or impoverished. Its beneficiaries are often foster children, many of whom might go without a Christmas gift if not for the organization’s efforts.

We got connected to Covenant to Care for Children through the design community. Local interior designer and product representative Pat Mackenzie-Thompson – a longtime friend of Centerbrook – annually leads a state-wide gift solicitation drive on behalf of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) New England chapter. This marked the 17th-consecutive year that IIDANE has collected gifts and held a holiday gala in the greater Hartford area to benefit the Covenant.

Our own interior design and products department of Sheryl Milardo and Seaneen Thorpe gracefully manage our contributions to the program each year. The gift requests come in the form of tags that include a child’s name, gender, age and gift wish – providing a personal connection.

Once collected, the donated gifts are then provided to the parents or guardians to give to their children.

This year Pat was able to collect 450 gifts from across the Connecticut design community, which benefited children in Hartford, Manchester, Meriden and Norwalk. We were especially heartened to learn from Pat that a special group of 150 kids under the age of five from a Head Start program in Bridgeport will also receive gifts this year.

Thank you Sheryl and Seaneen, Pat, IIDANE and Covenant to Care for all of your efforts with such a worthy cause.

From all of us here at Centerbrook, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!