Locations: Cornerstone Foundation Soup Kitchen, Hammonasset Beach
Watching all of our hard work and long-time preparation finally turn our hopes into a reality has been one of the most amazing things I have been able to be a part of. As well as witnessing the biggest stepping stones for Little Homes Lifestyle yet!
We started planning for this weekend’s event for about a month and the planning and coordination haven’t stopped. We began with organizing a beach clean-up and then we ended up with a collaboration for the event with Girlfriends Gather Here. Along with the planning, we were fortunate to meet with Iran from the Peace Center of CT and we were introduced to Mom’s Demand Action. With these great connections, we were able to team up with them and participate in an event they were organizing. Which was finalized as a park clean-up, a flower planting project, and a care package giveaway at Bernard Park.
So here is how our weekend went.
The Day Before the Event:
It didn’t exactly start as our typical Friday evening because we all had a lot of things to do for the following day. We had two events to attend to and last-minute items to make sure were taken care of. While I had to work Friday, Ashlei and Abigail made the first run to the Cornerstone Soup Kitchen with the many donations we had collected. We donated many items such as pasta, peanut butter and jelly, mashed potatoes, among other items. We also had a meeting with the Peace Center of CT and Moms Demand Action in regards to any last-minute questions and checklists for the park event. We were finalizing the time to meet up and who would be at the event.
Unfortunately, Friday evening we got a call stating the Bernard Park event had been postponed due to the Puerto Rican Day parade, which was scheduled for Saturday. We were advised that the downtown area would not be safe while conducting other events. The event was therefore rescheduled for 06/19/21.
With this new discovery, as we were still doing last-minute arrangements with the other organizations, I collected the donations from Panera because with the parade and traffic we weren’t going to be able to do drop-offs at every shelter this weekend. We were able to collect 4 full boxes of bread from Panera Friday night and some of the staff there were even nice enough to help me load it into the truck.
Day of the Event:
Although we were all in good spirits getting ready for the beach event, there was so much preparation left due to the change of plans we had received the day before. While Abigail and Ashlei were getting the last-minute errands and pickups done before heading to Hammonasset Beach, I headed over to the Cornerstone Foundation Soup Kitchen and dropped off all the boxes we had this week due to the limited locations we had. The Cornerstone Foundation Soup Kitchen was super grateful to be getting even more donations 2 days in a row.
From there we all met at my house and loaded up the coolers with ice and drinks for the day. We did have a few people joining us along the ride to the beach: Shayla, Marquise, Sarah, Nicola, and Lily. Once we were all settled, it was time for the hour and ten-minute drive to Hammonasset Beach in Madison, CT.
We arrived and let me tell you that the beach was very busy, but it was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and we couldn’t be more excited. Around 2 p.m. we were finished setting up our tent, table, and other supplies. The tent was courtesy of the Hartenstein’s/Gallison’s for letting us borrow it. We also met up with our photographer Ingrid there.
Heading out we grabbed bags, gloves, and started our walk along the beach and the big rocks, which used to be part of a glacier if you can believe it! We got lots of funny photos and lots of team photos from this event and it was the replenishing event we needed for our souls because it’s been a long journey and team bonding was the perfect medicine. We spent about an hour and a half to 2 hours walking around the beach and cleaning, looking at shells, and enjoying the beautiful outdoors. We were grateful to find that the beach was kept very tidy, we did find a few things and were happy to contribute even if it was in a small way to those who work hard to make sure the beach stays clean! We headed back to our spot afterward to eat lunch, which was thanks to Ashlei’s Mom, and to relax before packing up and heading home. A few of us went to put our feet in the water and one daring person decided to swim. Overall the day was highly successful and we truly can’t wait to see what the future holds for us in the weeks, months, and years to come.
Until our next event,
Please Stay Safe and Stay H.O.P.E.F.U.L.!!
