In November, the Horseshoe Cafe​ hosted its 7th annual “Horseshoes for Hope” music series and month-long food drive to benefit Operation Hope. Our most sincere thanks to the Horseshoe management & staff, friends, local musicians - The Name Droppers, Brian & Vera, Kurt & Helen Band, Snakeskin Boots, Heavy Cream and all the open mic folks - and live music supporters who banded together for four nights of wonderful live music, raising $750 in cash donations and collecting approx. 750 lbs of non-perishable food to feed our neighbors in need during the Thanksgiving and December holidays.

Hunger doesn't take a break for Presidents' Day. If you're out grocery shopping this holiday weekend (or away and have access to ordering on Amazon), please take a moment to help us feed and care for our neighbors in need. Drop off at our pantry M-F, 9am-5pm at 636 Old Post Road or simply shop our Amazon Wish List and send directly to us at bit.ly/oh-amazon-pantry-wish-list. Thank you!

We treasure our littlest volunteers! On an almost monthly basis, the Horne family of Fairfield makes bagged lunches for our clients to grab on the way to work. In January, the family made 25 lunches with turkey and cheese sandwiches, apples, granola bars and flavored seltzer. Plus, the kids included kindness notes in each bag. Thank you for ensuring our neighbors in need have something healthy and filling to eat for lunch, Horne family! And if you’d like to provide bagged lunches, send Volunteer Program Manager Donna Schmidt an email at dschmidt@operationhopect.org. Thank you!

This year is the 30th anniversary of the Souper Bowl of Caring, and once again, Assumption Church has generously made us one of its beneficiaries. Stop by Assumption Church (545 Stratfield Road, Fairfield) and drop off non-perishable donations: -Saturday, February 1, 3-5pm -Sunday, February 2, 8am-1pm

TownVibe and Fairfield Magazine are organizing what’s sure to be a fun way to beat the mid-winter blues! Taste of Fairfield - WinterFest on Sunday, January 26, 1-4pm brings together restaurants, markets, vintners, distillers, brewers, and the people to enjoy it all. There will be music, standup comedy, bowling, and roving entertainment. The venue is the lavish Brooklawn Country Club, offering a great, warm indoor space, with plenty of parking and elbow room. Operation Hope is honored to once again serve as the charity partner of the event.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is upon us, and it's a time to reflect upon the legacy left by Dr. King and serving those in need. If you can, please take a moment to serve by helping us feed our neighbors in need. Grab a few extra groceries and drop off at our pantry M-F, 9am-5pm at 636 Old Post Road or simply shop our Amazon Wish List and send directly to us at bit.ly/oh-amazon-pantry-wish-list. Thank you!

We love seeing holiday decorations still sparkling in January! And we hope that the festive wooden cutouts created by Fairfield Country Day School​ alum Alex Staikos '19 back in December are still up! 15 year old Alex entered the Fairfield Parks and Recreation​ 2019 Christmas House Decorating Contest and WON! He started over the summer by hand-making all of the wooden cutouts and creating the entire display. What drive and creativity! And with his big heart, he donated the proceeds from those who visited the display to Operation Hope to help our neighbors in need. This is Alex's second year doing the display for Operation Hope. It began as a project to bring cheer to the younger kids on his family's street and has now grown into a larger sharing of Christmas cheer for all ages. Alex, thank you, and we can’t wait to see what you add to your amazing display next year!

We are honored to announce that Operation Hope recently received a grant of $13,600 from United Illuminating/Southern Connecticut Gas/Connecticut Natural Gas under Connecticut’s Neighborhood Assistance Act Tax Credit Program. Operation Hope will use the funding for energy efficient HVAC and roofs for some of the affordable housing units we own and operate.

Fairfield teens Grace Kenney and Vicky Sgaglione created "Birdhouses for the Homeless" to spread awareness and help solve one of the problems Fairfield County faces, homelessness. Recently, the girls, and little sister Maeve Kenney, donated $250 to Operation Hope, from proceeds raised by selling birdhouses at a Christmas bazaar. Any amount helps us end hunger and end homelessness, and we are deeply grateful for the time, talent and treasure Grace, Vicky and Maeve share to help our neighbors in need.

We are the fortunate recipient of quite a few recent food drives however our neighbors in need still have to put food on the table and especially through the holidays. We are looking for some very basic food items to help stock our Food Pantry and feed over 800 local families and individuals! With just a few clicks, buy items to fill our Food Pantry shelves and ship directly to us - no need to go to the store and drop off non-perishables to us, simply visit our Food Pantry wish list at bit.ly/oh-amazon-pantry-wish-list! There's an option to select our address (636 Old Post Rd, Fairfield) at check out. Or, feel free to take the list below and shop in store, dropping off items to us at 636 Old Post Road, M-F 9am-5pm. Thank you!