It’s been a few weeks since many of us were scrambling and preparing for Tropical Storm Henri. As the founder and president of Connecticut Parents Union, an organization that focuses on protecting our children’s educational rights, I was especially concerned about what the aftermath of the storm would mean for children and their families and other vulnerable populations.
As we all know, Storm Henri made a slight detour, sparing a large portion of our state from major flooding and power outages. That change in direction also turned out to be a blessing for our local food banks and multiple community organizations, thanks to Eversource and their support teams.
In preparations of Storm Henri, Eversource had purchased a large quantity of food to feed the thousands of line workers who had come in from all over North America to help restore power — meats, vegetables, produce, beverages — much more than they ended up needing since Henri’s course changed. So Eversource donated all of that food.
Two tractor trailers full of food were delivered to Connecticut Foodshare locations in Bloomfield and Wallingford. Connecticut Parents Union also benefitted from Eversource’s generosity with four trucks of food that we were able to give to shelters, churches, senior centers and first responders in northern Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts.
As a consumer, I realize Eversource is often the target of criticism for various reasons but it’s important to also recognize the great things they do for our communities that never seem to be covered in the media. I believe in giving credit where it is due and Eversource helping to feed people in our region is something they deserve recognition for, along with my personal gratitude and appreciation from the many children and families that were blessed by this food donation in an unprecedented pandemic time in our history.
Well done and thank you, Eversource.
Gwen Samuel is Founder and President of the Connecticut Parents Union.