Reading can be a great escape for many people, regardless of age. In the summer of 2020, during the pandemic, reading was one of 9 year old Oola Breen-Ryan’s favorite pastimes. Wanting to share her love of books with other people, she started distributing books she’d read and enjoyed to her close friends, then adding little items like hand-bound journals and bookmarks to fit the general theme of the books. Soon, Oola was doing this for a nursing home, and then she reached out to a local homeless shelter, where she and her parents created 21 boxes, each with a unique theme, for kids ranging from 9 months to 17 years old. Oola’s non-profit reading initiative, “Reading Treasury,” was born! So far, Reading Treasury has donated 164 books, 69 handmade bookmarks, and about 72 journals to children in need.

Some of Operation Hope’s clients were fortunate to recently be on the receiving end of this kindness. Oola donated baby reader gift bags for the holidays, including a handmade quilt, stuffed animal and baby book. One of our clients, a new mom, was ecstatic to receive such a lovely gift. Thank you to Oola and her parents, Susan and David, for finding a way to encourage a love for reading and to be the light during a time when many are struggling. 

Last month, the Fairfield Early Childhood Center (ECC) held its “Colors for Caring” food drive to benefit Operation Hope. Colors for Caring is the ECC’s collection/donation drive that they do every other month. The staff and children all wear a color on the same day and the children are asked to put their donation (such as a can of food) on the table to practice giving back to others in need in the community. The drive was held across the district PreK programming located at Warde and Stratfield schools. The ECC program provides services to Fairfield students with delays and disabilities as well as preschool experiences for typical peers ages 3 to kindergarten. The ECC feels one is never too young to care, and believes in giving back to the community and helping those in need.

Thank you to the ECC community for feeding and caring for our neighbors in need. We are grateful for these lessons being taught early in life and love our littlest helpers. One day, we look forward to them becoming some of our biggest helpers!

Meet twins Mia and Anthony Khoury! The twins recently turned 6 and in lieu of presents to celebrate, they requested their party guests bring food and diapers for Operation Hope’s pantry. Their parents fully supported this idea, and are proud that the twins are aware of the inequality that exists when it comes to basic needs. The life lesson to help those less fortunate is a lesson actively taught to the twins by their family, here at home in Fairfield, in the greater New York City area and in Lebanon, the twins’ father’s home country, where the country is facing a severe financial crisis. The twins help neighbors in need locally as well as abroad. We are grateful for our littlest helpers, and that with understanding the lessons of empathy and generosity early in life, we know Mia and Anthony are well on their way to helping in big ways in the future!