Toys for Tots 2017 Allstate image

You Can Drop Off a Christmas Gift for the Toys for Tots Program at These Allstate Offices

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Consider donating to a local Allstate agency’s Toys for Tots donation drive. All donations collected will go to local families in the community they were collected in. Since 1947 the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program has rallied local communities to collect new, unwrapped toys for less fortunate children within the community they are collected. Last year, local Toys for Tots coordinators distributed over 18 million toys to nearly 7 million children, with the requests for toys higher than ever. Between now and Friday, Dec.

Phil Kraft HonorBound Foundation National Veterans Services Fund 11-11-17

National Veterans Services Fund Becomes HonorBound Foundation and Changes Fundraising

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Darien-based National Veterans Services Fund, a four-decade-old group that helps veterans, particularly those in emergencies, announced Saturday that it’s changing its name, its website and the way it raises money. The HonorBound Foundation has the new website up, although the website for the group under its old name is also still on the Web. 
The former name “didn’t really convey the mission that we really need to convey, the mission that we really need to convey,” said the organization’s executive director, Phillip Kraft, who made the announcement on the morning of Veterans Day at the headquarters for the group on West Avenue. “That’s why, over the years, we decided that this was really the best direction to go,” he continued. “That’s because we — as veterans, we are honor-bound to help our brother and sister veterans in any way we can, and the name just suddenly popped up — like, that’s the name we should go with.” By raising its own money rather than relying on telemarketers and fundraising companies, the foundation expects to stop sharp criticism from some news organizations and charity watchdog groups that it doesn’t spend enough of its contributions on veterans themselves.

Ned Goodnow Edward Goodnow 05-19-17

Darien Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshal Announced: Ned Goodnow

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Ned Goodnow, a longtime resident of Darien who received a Purple Heart as a combat infantryman in World War II, will lead Darien’s Memorial Day parade as grand marshal. The Darien Monuments and Ceremonies Commission named Goodnow to the honor in an announcement Friday morning. Phil Kraft, executive director of the National Veterans Services Fund and chairman of the commission, was named the Memorial Day speaker. Here’s the announcement about Goodnow:

Edward B. (“Ned”) Goodnow of Darien, who earned a Purple Heart as a combat infantryman in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, will lead the town’s Memorial Day parade as its grand marshal. Ned Goodnow is a native of Norwich.