Local residents and community organizations drove into the Founders Hall Parking lot with cars and trucks overflowing with food that the volunteers loaded onto two trucks for the Connecticut Food Bank in an assembly line fashion. Volunteers included NVCC alumni, students, staff, and faculty; members of the community, members of the Waterbury Fire Department, and members of the United Way including Dr. Peter Jacoby and Frank Monteiro. The Honorable Neil M. O’Leary, Mayor of the City of Waterbury, also attended and showed his support.

All donated food helped to supply greater Waterbury food pantries throughout the summer months when students are not receiving lunch free or at a reduced cost through school lunch programs. NVCC has been working in partnership with the United Way for years to support community initiatives like this.

Fun, food and sportsmanship made light of the work on a hot first day of summer. The event featured a cookout, music, and a dunk tank where Jim O'Rourke, Executive Director of the Greater Waterbury YMCA, sported the attire and the spirit to provide a humorous diversion for the volunteers. Everyone seemed to agree, it was fun to dunk him!

NVCC President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D., thanked the generous participants of this event in her weekly campus bulletin. “This was a powerful event, demonstrating how the greater Waterbury community comes together to support those less fortunate.”