Welcome to the main page of the Norfield Giving Fair 6.16.12!

A Day of Service!

On June 16, 2012, the Norfield Giving Fair will combine all of the Fair's best elements with a focus on serving. Specifically, Norfielders and neighbors – young and old – will be doing their volunteer work at the following non-profit organizations: Bridgeport Rescue Mission, CLASP Homes, Aspetuck Land Trust, Habitat for Humanity, Homes with Hope, KEYS, Family ReEntry, IIConn, Weston Warm-Up Fund, DOMUS, Open Door Shelter, George Washington Carver Center and Weston Social Services. They may serve in any one of the following service areas:

• Feeding the Hungry
• Hands on Help/Heavy Lifting
• Youth Projects
• Prison Related Projects
• Oral History of Weston
• Music Mentoring
• Environmentally Green
• Weston Service
• and more

As part of the event, each service has created an online pledging page here on this site, and we are now soliciting donations from family and friends for their day of service. 100% of the monies raised will go to our 2012 Beneficiaries:

• CLASP Homes - serving people with developmental disabilities
• Family Re-Entry – serving families and youth who are at risk or currently incarcerated
• International Institute of Connecticut (IIConn) – welcoming new refugee families from the Congo and other countries
• KEYS – bringing music instruction to children of Bridgeport
• UCC - United Church of Christ for oversees disaster relief and other projects
• Weston Food Pantry – to support our own neighbors in difficult times

The day will start at 7:30am with a Strawberry Breakfast at Norfield! Teams will check in, have a bite, and at 8:30 will gather and teams will meet with their liaison to learn more about their service project. At 9am, the teams will set off to serve at their predesignated project sites. Teams will serve either in the morning or afternoon or both. These service projects have been designed specifically to allow each Team to work side by side with the Beneficiary so as to ensure a meaningful experience and exchange of fellowship for all.

While most projects will be “off campus”, there will be some projects on the Norfield campus as well:

• Fill the Freezer is a cooking/baking project where we will be making items for our beneficiaries in the greater community and for Westonites as well.
• CLASP Dance is a dance party for the developmentally disabled that Norfield will be hosting.
• Telling Our Stories allows Westonites to come to the church and record their memories of their lives and their years in Weston.

Evening of Celebration

In the evening all will come together to celebrate the day and Norfield Church will say “thank you”. All are invited: Service Teams, Beneficiaries and the wider Community.The evening will start with a picnic dinner on the lawn of Norfield at 6pm. Guests will bring their picnic blankets and are welcome to a BBQ dinner hosted by Norfield, or are welcome to bring their own picnic dinner! Keeping with the strawberry theme, strawberry shortcake will be served to all. At 8pm we will be treated to a musical feast with the sizzling sounds of St. Luke’s Steel Band, a musical group based in New Haven! It is sure to delight. Finally the evening will be capped off with a slide show of the day’s activities!

We hope you’ll support your family and friends as they serve on june 16. And we hope you'll join us on that day when Norfielders and all our neighbors will come together -- to give back through unique and rewarding service projects all around Fairfield County, designed to help those who need us most. Rev. Dr. Bernard Wilson is delighted with the “re-imagining” of the fair: “Westonites, Norfielders and beneficiaries from a broad section of the wider community are coming together to make Norfield's 111th Annual Fair an event not to be missed. What Norfield is doing in our Re-imagined Fair ... is to help make the Gospel come alive in a real and tangible way.”

As it has been for over a Century, this will be a day of fun, spirit, fellowship, and most important, giving. Taffy Miller, Chair of Norfield’s Board of Outreach explains, “This is a unique opportunity to give a little and learn a lot about people from all walks of life. Amazingly, the answers to many of our community problems come when we truly listen to those we intend to serve. It’s going to be a great experience.”