June 22, 2025 • 4 mins
Laura Marchese, Executive Director of Gifts of Love, joins us live at the Travelers Championship. Gifts of Love helps meet the basic needs of individuals and families in the Greater Hartford area experiencing a short-term financial crisis so that they can return to self sufficiency.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm Alison de Mars over at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell.
My guest right now is Laura Marcesy, executive director of
Gifts of Love.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
How are you. I'm good.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
It's beautiful out here today, and thank you so much
for having us.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
It's my pleasure. You're an amazing organization for people who
don't know about Gifts of Love.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
What is it that you do?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
We are in an organization that helps our neighbors in
the community that are in immediate need, immediate financial crisis,
with food insecurities, household necessities. Also we've helped with some
of the utilities and whatever we can do just to
get them back on their peak.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
We also have a backpack program.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
We get backpack program for our students in the Great r.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Harvard and Farmington Valley area.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
We're in over forty school districts helping over Like I said,
almost three hundred and seventy five students with the family
of four, just so they have nutritious and healthy meals
on the weekends and also snacks during the week child
should ever worry about where their next meal is to
come from.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
How about is food insecurity in Connecticut?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Food insecurity is very bad.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
We served over fifty four hundred families last year, that
fifty four hundred individuals with a family at least four
to six.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Right now, we're having a tough time.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Especially where we have to purchase food because of all
the federal cuts. So it's very difficult, especially like I
had shared with Peanut Butter and Jelly just to obtain
three hundred and fifty jars of jelly, who used to
be under one hundred dollars. Now it's well over one
thousand dollars. So we're really really trying to find that
funding and be able to serve our clients. And we
(01:39):
have a waiting list at this point, both in our
Avon office and our new Harford offices.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Well, what kind of personal stories have you seen of
people who have positively benefited.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
From all of your services.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Well, the most recent one where we're so proud of
is we helped a young girl who had two young ldren,
was left on her own, you know, had the bare necessities.
We were able to get her back on her feet.
She had a part time job and probably about ten
hours a week, but we're proud to say now she
has purchased her first home and we are just so
(02:13):
proud of her.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
What a blessing, what a great job. To lay your
head down at the pillow at night and just think, Wow,
we're helping people for the better. Yes, it is such
a great feeling.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
But we need to help so many more in these
challenging times.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Like I said, with our food insecurities.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
And especially with the need of you know, fresh produce
or meat or dairy, it's just very tough to be
able to get that kind of food for our clients.
And like I said, we have a waiting list. So
there's a great, great meet and this could be your neighbor.
They're in our community. They're in Avon, they're in Sinsbury,
they're in West Harford, they're in Farmington. So we really
(02:50):
hooked the community for support and we have so many
wonderful donors out there.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
It could affect any walk of life than any time.
Just one paycheck away from it, God forbid. So you
rely on donations and the Britisher Charity program right now,
for everybody who donates one dollar, Webster Bank is going
to give fifteen cents.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
There's no processing.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Fees or anything, so for every dollar it's really a
dollar fifteen.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
If you go.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
If you go rather to give some LOVECT dot org
or Travelers Championship dot com, do it right now, make
a donation because it ends tonight at midnight and we
want to get as much money as we possibly can.
Are you looking for volunteers or sponsors for.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
We're We're always looking for volunteers of sponsors. We just
had our annual major golf tournament. Very lucky for all
our our good sponsors that are out there in the community.
So yes, and if you'd like to volunteer, please go
on our website or just give us a call.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
It gives a glove. CT. Like I said, we have
our new new location in Hartford on Scarborough.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Street and also in Avon which we're going to be
also renovating the building too, So we're very excited about
that that we'll be able to vide our clients with
a nice, beautiful place to come and where they actually shop.
They're able to have a shopping carriage and we treat
them with dignity and respect where they're able to taim
the items to get back on their feet.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
So summer is here next to the fall. What can
we do to help because you have so much coming up,
really in the summertime. It's very difficult, especially with the
food insecurities.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
If anybody's out there, we'd like to donate food to
our food pantries. We're especially looking for fresh, dairy, fresh
produce that would be a great help just for our clients.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Wonderful, and I'm speaking with Laura Marcaesy. She's executive director
of Gifts of Love Again. Go to Gifts of lovect
dot org to make your donation, or Travelers Championship dot com. Laura,
thank you for being here and for serving the community.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
And thank you so much, and thank you to everybody
out there through us wepping
I'm Alison de Mars over at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell.
My guest right now is Laura Marcesy, executive director of
Gifts of Love.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
How are you. I'm good.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
It's beautiful out here today, and thank you so much
for having us.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
It's my pleasure. You're an amazing organization for people who
don't know about Gifts of Love.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
What is it that you do?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
We are in an organization that helps our neighbors in
the community that are in immediate need, immediate financial crisis,
with food insecurities, household necessities. Also we've helped with some
of the utilities and whatever we can do just to
get them back on their peak.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
We also have a backpack program.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
We get backpack program for our students in the Great r.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Harvard and Farmington Valley area.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
We're in over forty school districts helping over Like I said,
almost three hundred and seventy five students with the family
of four, just so they have nutritious and healthy meals
on the weekends and also snacks during the week child
should ever worry about where their next meal is to
come from.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
How about is food insecurity in Connecticut?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Food insecurity is very bad.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
We served over fifty four hundred families last year, that
fifty four hundred individuals with a family at least four
to six.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Right now, we're having a tough time.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Especially where we have to purchase food because of all
the federal cuts. So it's very difficult, especially like I
had shared with Peanut Butter and Jelly just to obtain
three hundred and fifty jars of jelly, who used to
be under one hundred dollars. Now it's well over one
thousand dollars. So we're really really trying to find that
funding and be able to serve our clients. And we
(01:39):
have a waiting list at this point, both in our
Avon office and our new Harford offices.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Well, what kind of personal stories have you seen of
people who have positively benefited.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
From all of your services.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Well, the most recent one where we're so proud of
is we helped a young girl who had two young ldren,
was left on her own, you know, had the bare necessities.
We were able to get her back on her feet.
She had a part time job and probably about ten
hours a week, but we're proud to say now she
has purchased her first home and we are just so
(02:13):
proud of her.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
What a blessing, what a great job. To lay your
head down at the pillow at night and just think, Wow,
we're helping people for the better. Yes, it is such
a great feeling.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
But we need to help so many more in these
challenging times.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Like I said, with our food insecurities.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
And especially with the need of you know, fresh produce
or meat or dairy, it's just very tough to be
able to get that kind of food for our clients.
And like I said, we have a waiting list. So
there's a great, great meet and this could be your neighbor.
They're in our community. They're in Avon, they're in Sinsbury,
they're in West Harford, they're in Farmington. So we really
(02:50):
hooked the community for support and we have so many
wonderful donors out there.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
It could affect any walk of life than any time.
Just one paycheck away from it, God forbid. So you
rely on donations and the Britisher Charity program right now,
for everybody who donates one dollar, Webster Bank is going
to give fifteen cents.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
There's no processing.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Fees or anything, so for every dollar it's really a
dollar fifteen.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
If you go.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
If you go rather to give some LOVECT dot org
or Travelers Championship dot com, do it right now, make
a donation because it ends tonight at midnight and we
want to get as much money as we possibly can.
Are you looking for volunteers or sponsors for.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
We're We're always looking for volunteers of sponsors. We just
had our annual major golf tournament. Very lucky for all
our our good sponsors that are out there in the community.
So yes, and if you'd like to volunteer, please go
on our website or just give us a call.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
It gives a glove. CT. Like I said, we have
our new new location in Hartford on Scarborough.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Street and also in Avon which we're going to be
also renovating the building too, So we're very excited about
that that we'll be able to vide our clients with
a nice, beautiful place to come and where they actually shop.
They're able to have a shopping carriage and we treat
them with dignity and respect where they're able to taim
the items to get back on their feet.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
So summer is here next to the fall. What can
we do to help because you have so much coming up,
really in the summertime. It's very difficult, especially with the
food insecurities.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
If anybody's out there, we'd like to donate food to
our food pantries. We're especially looking for fresh, dairy, fresh
produce that would be a great help just for our clients.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Wonderful, and I'm speaking with Laura Marcaesy. She's executive director
of Gifts of Love Again. Go to Gifts of lovect
dot org to make your donation, or Travelers Championship dot com. Laura,
thank you for being here and for serving the community.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
And thank you so much, and thank you to everybody
out there through us wepping
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