Connecticut Surgical Group, PC has proudly donated the proceeds from a fundraiser at its annual holiday party for employees, physicians and guests to two worthwhile local charities, We Are The Children and FoodShare.

 

CSG's introduced a charitable fundraising aspect to its holiday celebration, held at the Connecticut Convention Center, two years ago.  At the 2008 holiday gala, employees contributed cash and nonperishable food and unwrapped toys, and the physician owners of the corporation matched those contributions, resulting in over $4,000 of cash and food and toys.  "We are pleased and proud to support our community," said Doug McKell, CSG Chief Administrative Officer, when making the contribution to We Are The Children.  "It's not just the right thing to do, it's the important thing to do."

 

 

We Are The Children

 

We Are The Children is an effort coordinate by Gary Craig, morning DJ at CBS Radio/96.5 WTIC FM. For the past 23 years, We Are The Children has hosted a party on Christmas Day for children in the greater Hartford area, including children living in shelters or group homes and other children who might not otherwise have much of a holiday.  This year 1500 children are expected to join the event, which will include transportation and lunch and gifts for every child as well as entertainment and visits from Santa and the elves.  The entire event is run by hundreds of volunteers (including CSG's own Libby and John Leland!) and the expenses are paid entirely by fundraising and gifts like ours. 

 

 

 

FoodShare

 

FoodShare acts as a food bank, collecting more than 14 tons of food each day and distributing it to 400 agencies in Hartford and Tolland Counties.  They also were extremely appreciative of our food donations as well as our cash donation.  They find that for every $30 donated, they are able to feed one person three meals per day for an entire month, so our $2000 could provide food for more than 66 people for a month!  Plus, of course, our generous donations of actual food items, which went directly onto the shelves to be selected by agency representatives.