Opus for Person-to-Person wraps up its 20th year as a volunteer fundraising and out-reach organization by raising record amounts for Person-to-Person and returning to its roots — serving lower Fairfield county.
Twenty years ago two women, Katherine Michele and Lee Hulings, felt passionate about how important Person-to-Person was to their community and the clients that they serve every day.
Photo from Opus for Person-to-Person
The Annual Holiday Toy Store at Person-to-Person provides clients the opportunity to receive a toy, book, and game for their respective families. The Toy Store was held this year from Dec. 8-10.
Their hope, says Katherine Michele, “was to bring an entirely new audience, full of energy, creativity, professionalism, and a new perspective to Person-to-Person.” The name of the organization — Opus, the Latin word for ‘Great Works’ — resonated with the founders and continues, to this day.
As Ms. Michele stated recently, there are “very few agencies where you can do so much good and have immediate, tangible results” for people in need.
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— an announcement from Opus for Person-to-Person
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From the start, Opus was a collaborative team effort — between Opus members, Person-to-Person’s staff, and members of their board of directors. In the years since, almost 1000 women have contributed as Opus members; volunteering service hours and organizing fund-raising efforts.
Today, Opus has 277 active and alumni members who continue this tradition of service.
Since 1996, Opus has raised nearly $3.5 million for Person-to-Person. This past year alone, Opus raised more than $363,000 for Person-to-Person’s critical programs which include:
- Emergency financial assistance grants to over 1200 families,
- College scholarships,
- A campership program which sends more than 440 children to camp who would not otherwise have the op-portunity,
- The Baby Basics program which provides 190 Layettes a year to new mothers
- A food pantry and clothing store which serve 66 families a day
The 2016/2017 Co-Presidents, Anika Charon, Jennifer Clemow and Lindsay Rogers, hope that the next 20 years of Opus reflect the ideals that the organization has fostered.
For the upcoming holiday season, Opus would like to encourage members of the community to become more involved in the daily service efforts of Person- to- Person; starting with some-thing as simple as donating food to the local Person-to-Person food pantry — located behind St. Luke’s church at 1864 Boston Post Road. There are numerous ways to volunteer to improve the lives of those who need it most, especially during this holiday season.
For more information about joining Opus, please contact: Kathy Calio at kathy.calio@gmail.com or Beth Morgan at bethprevite@me.com.
