Nearly four-hundred gather to celebrate RVNAhealth at 21st Annual Spring Breakfast

With lots of spring in their step, nearly four hundred people filled the Amber Room Colonnade in Danbury at 7:30 this morning for RVNAhealth’s 21st Annual Spring Breakfast. It was a true breakfast of champions and celebration of a nonprofit that has been an essential part of communities for 107 years! 

2022 marks the agency’s first Spring Breakfast as RVNAhealth, a rebrand that reflects the recent merger with Bethel Visiting Nurse Association and New Milford Visiting Nurse & Hospice. Now offering an enhanced continuum of care, RVNAhealth cares for patients from birth to end of life and offers nutrition, integrated rehabilitation services and even a therapy dog (yes, there was a 4 legged guest today named Sophia!)

A highlight of the morning was hearing firsthand the critical role RVNAhealth plays in the community.  A moving testimony came from lifelong Ridgefielder, Kate Fitzpatrick (who spoke with Therapy Dog Sophia by her side). A longtime volunteer with the agency, Kate turned to RVNAhealth hospice team (aka ComfortWELL) when her mom’s breast cancer returned for the third time and spread to her liver. Making the situation more fragile, Kate’s mom lost both of her sisters (one her twin) to breast cancer. 

The RVNAhealth hospice team allowed Kate’s mom to live comfortably at home and offered expert counseling, compassion and ultimately healing to the entire family, even supporting Kate’s young children who were grappling with death for the first time. 

After Kate’s moving story, the Executive Director of The Ridgefield Playhouse, Allison Stockel, did what she does best - she pumped energy into the room with her wit and robust auctioneer skills, encouraging attendees to bid on wonderful items that promised trips to faraway lands, sporting events, and exquisite dinner parties. 

Thank you to the many local businesses and individuals who stepped up to make the morning’s raffle (there were more than 60 prizes) and live auction hugely successful! 

Funds raised today allow RVNAhealth to fulfill its mission of providing care when and where it is needed to residents of over 35 Connecticut towns regardless of age, diagnosis, or financial circumstances. Most importantly, it helps the organization make a lasting impact on the lives of those served. Some programs the funds will benefit include providing Well Child Clinics, flu vaccinations, and nursing and rehab care for senior citizens in need of these services.

Thank you to the hardworking Spring Breakfast committee members, table hosts and event sponsors and donors. Special thanks to MJ Heller, RVNAhealth Director of Development and Julia Douglas, Development Manager. Hats off to the Amber Room for providing top-notch service with a smile at 7:30am and Mary Jones of Rodier Flowers for the beautiful floral arrangements.

If you missed today’s breakfast and still want to show your support - you’re in luck! RVNAhealth will hold their Annual Health and Wellness Fair next weekend on Saturday, May 7 at East Ridge Middle School. It is free and open to the public! Tons of health screenings and wellness guidance under one roof! Learn more here.

To learn more about RVNAhealth, visit them online here.

*Photos by Deborah O'Brien 

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Submitted by Ridgefield, CT

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