Guilford Interfaith Ministries

Mission

The mission of Guilford Interfaith Volunteers (GIV) is to promote the well being of the home bound, elderly, or those of any age who have special needs, by providing them with food - with the Guilford Meals on Wheels program, friendship - with the Friendly Visiting program, and medical equipment - with the Charlie's Closet program. Our motto is 'Neighbor helping Neighbor'. The organization's role is to fulfill a need in the community with volunteers who want to help their neighbors.

Needs Statement

GIV's most pressing needs include: ** Raising the funds not covered by client payments needed to run our programs: $81,000 for Meals on Wheels. We ask our clients to pay what they can afford (using a sliding scale). Last year, we provided 53% of the meals at a reduced price to our clients. ** Raising $28,000 to cover the cost of running the Friendly Visiting/Food Bank programs. Both programs are free of charge to the clients, but the service they provide is invaluable. ** Raising $65,000 to run Charlie's Closet. There continues to be an increase in the volume of requests for used durable medical equipment. Charlie’s Closet strives to meet this need and address these requests regardless of the client’s residency. Charlie’s Closet assists anyone requesting help.

Impact Statement

The highlights of Guilford Interfaith Volunteers' (GIV's) service to the community in fiscal year 22-23 include: * Guilford Meals on Wheels delivered 38,864 meals to 286 clients, an 11 % increase over last year. Our 99 volunteers drove over 22,000 miles delivering meals to Guilford Residents. * Friendly Visiting provided over 2,300 hours of social connections to 334 isolated or lonely Guilford residents with 30 trained, caring volunteers. * Charlie's Closet provided 6,649 pieces of used medical equipment to clients in Guilford and 101 Connecticut communities. If purchased new, the equipment provided would have cost over $880,000. 3,293 people received medical equipment, and we received over 1600 donations of equipment. GIV's goals for the upcoming year include: * Increasing fundraising to help cover the growing expense of providing nutritious meals to residents in financially fragile households.

CEO statement

We are proud of the services that our small organization provides to the community through the fantastic people who volunteer in our four programs. It is incredibly rewarding to know that we are making a positive difference in the lives of thousands of Connecticut residents, many of whom are going through some of the hardest moments in their lives. We are also proud that we are a grassroots organization, open to new challenges, and we have grown as new needs in the community have been identified. Our mission is to care for any individual in our community, despite their financial situation or age and help to make them feel that they matter. We do that by making connections with them, providing food and/or medical equipment, if needed.

Board Chair Statement

Areas Served Narrative

Guilford Meals on Wheels, Friendly Visiting and the Food Bank are solely for Guilford residents. Charlie's Closet provides medical equipment to and accepts donations from any Connecticut resident. This past year residents from 101 Connecticut towns received equipment. There are people who drive over one hour to pick up equipment.

CEO statement (optional)

We are currently exploring new Fundraising opportunities, to cover this year's gap in our Budget.