In light of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on hardworking families in the Danbury, TNADF has decided to postpone its annual scholarship gala, and place all of its efforts on supporting their immediate needs as the community fights the virus.
With that in mind, TNADF initially purchased 300 meals from its official gala venue, The Amber Room Colonnade, and distributed them at the beginning of April to students of Morris Street School.
With the overwhelming support they have received from the community after the first meal distribution, they were able to expand the program to two additional schools and provide 1,200 meals on two other days April 25, and May 2.
The organization's overall goal then became to provide hot meals to families in need at Morris St. School, Park Ave. School, and The Early Learning Center at Cottage St. on Saturdays through May. Linde's donation of $5,000, along with the contribution of an additional $6,000 from the Roby Dodd Family Foundation, made their goal possible.
"Our family foundation is honored to help support this critical program. We thank The New American Dream Foundation and the Amber Room Colonnade for quickly mobilizing to meet the need for food for families in our community," stated Anne Roby, Executive Vice President at Linde and Chair of the RobyDodd Family Foundation.
“We are proud to support The New American Dream Foundation and all of the great things they are doing in our community,” said Lisa Esneault, Vice President Communications and Global Giving at Linde. “It is now more important than ever to take care of local families and children in need as they continue to face challenges and uncertainty throughout the COVID pandemic.”
"We made a promise to ourselves to bring them some relief to families in need with this program. We have been working day and night on reaching our goal, receiving these gifts was utterly unexpected, and an answer to our prayers," said Celia Bacelar- Palmares, TNADF founder, and president.