Governor Rell Launches 25^TH Annual Holiday

            Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced the kickoff of the 25^TH annual Governor’s Care and Share Holiday Drive, a collection of cash and non-perishable food to benefit Food Share and the Connecticut Food Bank.

            On October 17, Governor Rell announced the completion of a highly successful special Care and Share drive that raised nearly $150,000 in cash for the two food pantries. The Governor launched the special fund-raising effort with donations of $25,000 apiece to the two food pantries, challenging state employees, Connecticut businesses and residents to match the contributions.

            In the end – thanks in large part to a donation of nearly $60,000 from the state’s credit unions – the original contributions were nearly tripled.

            “It was a much-needed cash infusion for the wonderful work of these two community organizations,” Governor Rell said during a news conference at the state Capitol. “And yet the work simply cannot end there. In the economic times we face, it simply is not enough.

            “You have heard me speak in recent days about the extraordinary difficulties we face in trying to put together a state budget,” the Governor said. “Imagine the difficulties so many of our Connecticut families face. Far too many families are already making choices about heat, about meals, about gasoline and medicine. For many – too many – the coming winter season does not mean the familiar joys of family and holidays. It means nagging worries about bills; it means chronic anxiety about simply making ends meet.”

            Care and Share donations will be collected at sites around the state Capitol and in state agency offices.