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ImmaComm
Building & Informing Our Community
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A publication of ImmaCare Inc.
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ImmaCare is excited about our partnership with Root Center for Advanced Recovery for our new Housing and Recovery Build Our Roots (HARBOR) program. Check out the video from last month’s ribbon-cutting and check presentation ceremony, which also includes reflections from three program participants and video footage of the completed renovations.
To learn more about the collaboration click here.
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You've helped us increase AmazonSmile donations by 382% since 2018, and with your help, we can raise even more!
This link will redirect you to Amazon where you can set ImmaCare as your default AmazonSmile charity. Then that's it- Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchases to ImmaCare every time you shop Amazon!
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Looking for a unique way to help clients as they move out of shelter and into housing? Consider donating a Welcome Kit.
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40 Years of Service
“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead
ImmaCare’s roots began on a very cold night in 1981 when Father Donagher, a priest at the Immaculate Conception Church at the corner of Park and Hungerford Streets in Hartford, found a man frozen to death just beyond the front steps of the church. Father Donagher vowed it would never happen again and opened the basement of the church to serve the most vulnerable. Women parishioners of the church gathered their children and families to maintain the makeshift shelter. They willingly volunteered several hours daily to cook and clean the church so it would serve a dual-purpose as both a place of worship and a life-saving resource for the community.
The agency has come quite a long way in its 40 years of service to the community. What started as a grassroots basement emergency shelter has transitioned to a full-service agency also offering intensive case management services, mobile outreach, and both scattered-site and project-based supportive housing.
The growth in the most recent ten years has been transformative:
- Rebranded from Immaculate Conception Shelter & Housing Corporation to ImmaCare Inc., paying homage to our humble beginnings
- Updated the agency mission statement to include our wish to help build “a more vibrant community”
- Created ImmaCare Solutions LLC, a subsidiary of ImmaCare Inc., which provides property management to ImmaCare’s project-based Casa de Francisco apartment building
- Launched the “ImmaCare Endowment Fund” through the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
- Embarked on, and completed, a major renovation to our founding home, the 125-year-old Gothic former church into a facility that is up to date with building codes and features increased functionality to better serve our clients
- Rebranded the Emergency Shelter to a Housing Navigation Center, a new low-barrier, service-enriched shelter with a focus on individuals working on ending their homelessness
When Father Donagher came to visit about ten years ago and was asked what made him start the Shelter, he replied, “There was no vision per se; we just didn’t want to let anyone else suffer like that man did. We were all about that day, just living to get closer to spring. I believed in an active church; it is about ‘doing’ rather than ‘waiting’ to be asked. I thought then that I was so much better for the experience, very blessed by those who came…I received so much, yet gave so little – a roof, some food, and a hope that tomorrow would come.”
As a nonprofit agency, we are fortunate for the many people throughout our history who, just as our founders, felt compelled to offer their time, talents, and treasure to support ImmaCare on our journey to provide services to those experiencing homelessness. Your donation today will have real impact and allow ImmaCare to continue our mission. Thank you for believing in us.
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Shelter Renovations Win Merit Award
Last month ImmaCare was presented with a merit award for our shelter renovation project at the 2021 Connecticut Preservation Awards.
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PwC Hosts
Lasagna Blitz!
Employees of PwC pulled together resources and did their own version of the national Lasagna Love initiative for those being served by ImmaCare's Emergency Shelter. In addition to lasagna, salads and other delicious treats including cupcakes and homemade desserts were delivered - all of which were made with love!
Thanks so much to Corinne Santos for organizing this effort with PwC!
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Warming Homes and Hearts
Jennifer Hoyle and Lena DiGenti were friends for many years when they decided to combine their skills and education to go into business together. Jen had years of experience running the daily operations for a chimney company while Lena’s specialty was in consulting, marketing, and brand awareness. Together they co-own Caps & Dampers, a chimney servicing company.
Caps & Dampers does more than service chimneys, they also pride themselves in helping their community. Lena shared, “Given both of our backgrounds with foster care, volunteering, and a general belief that all humans deserve basic rights, we knew that it was not enough to provide warm and safe homes to our customers.” One night while at the dinner table, Lena and her three children discussed what each of them would do with a million dollars. Her youngest son shared that he would buy a building for homeless individuals to live and give them socks. This thoughtful answer would ultimately inspire an initiative to help homeless individuals in their community.
The Warming Homes, Warming the Homeless initiative of Caps and Dampers provides support for local homeless shelters. ImmaCare first met Jen in 2020 when she donated new socks to clients served by ImmaCare. These socks were donated by the business and the customers they serviced. Jen explained that for every chimney they clean, the business donates a pair of socks and gives each customer the option of donating a pair as well. These socks have benefitted many ImmaCare clients since Jen and Lena began donating to us last year.
Jen, Lena, and their families have already left their mark on local Hartford communities as they continue to find ways to make a difference. Since that conversation at the dinner table, they have been researching buildings to purchase and even partner with shelters to provide living-wage jobs to individuals who are homeless, some of whom they made a commitment to hire as part of their initiative. “We built this company to help keep families safe and warm, and that mission extends to our entire community… As we continue to grow, we have more opportunities to help. We would like to see a day when everyone has a safe and warm home, one chimney at a time.” ImmaCare is grateful to work with businesses such as Caps & Dampers that share the same hope of ending homelessness and providing housing for all.
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Pizza Time
Last month ImmaCare's Shelter clients were treated to homemade pizza from the Windsor High School Culinary Class. Guided by Culinary Arts Teacher Kathleen Taranto, students first made the dough from scratch, and then prepared five different types of pizza: cheese, turkey pepperoni, peppers and basil, anchovies, and the student choice topping of meatballs! The students all enjoyed preparing a meal to be served at ImmaCare’s Shelter and are looking forward to preparing a meal for next school year!
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Teresa A. Wierbicki
Director of Strategic Development
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