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01/31/2023 02:04 PMEast Haven children got the chance to pick out new clothing to keep them warm throughout the winter season at the Rotary Club’s 20th Annual Ben Mazzucco Clothe the Children event on Jan. 14 and 15.
Children selected to participate in the event were invited to Kohl’s department store in Branford and given $100 to spend on clothing. The store extended a 30 percent discount to the Rotary, which enabled the club to serve a greater number of children, according to Tammy Afragola, a Rotarian and the event chairperson this year.
Towards the beginning of the current academic calendar year, Afragola, on behalf of the Rotary, worked with staff at East Haven’s elementary schools and Joseph Melillo Middle School to begin fundraising. The schools raised approximately $5,000, Afragola said.
“I reach out to all the principals, and I remind them that it’s that time of the year where we start to ask if we could be part of their school fundraising efforts,” she said. “Every elementary school in town participates, and they do a fundraiser dedicated to the Ben Mazzucco Clothe the Children.”
Ben Mazzucco, the event’s founder, is also Afragola’s late father.
Funds raised at the schools are then forwarded to the Rotary Club, after which Afragola returns to collaborating schools to work with their social workers in identifying children who are in need of clothing assistance. As winter began to settle in, members of the Rotary Club started the outreach to local families who “are on hard times right now” as determined by the school’s social workers.
“In December, we send a letter home to the families of all the kids we’ve gotten names for, and we explain the situation that we have this program, and that it’s unique, and it’s a program where people donate clothes and coats,” Afragola said. “In this program, [children] go to the store and pick out and purchase their own [clothes].”
Afragola said the event has generated significant interest from schools throughout the years, who never tire of contributing to its mission.
“I get teachers who start asking me early on in the year, ‘What are we going to do for Ben Mazzucco Clothe the Children this year? What’s our fundraiser this year?’” she said.
With a two-day schedule for the event sketched out by Joan Adamczyk, children arrived at Kohl’s ready to pick out their new clothes on Jan. 13 and 14, with space made available for families on either day depending on their availability.
“We set up a table in the children’s department and we have a couple of Rotarians at the front door, and then send the people back to us,” Afragola said. “We explain the process, which is simply ‘go enjoy yourselves, have fun, shop. You have $100, but Kohl’s gives 30 percent off, so make sure you calculate as you go,’ because we don’t want them to fall short.”
In the past, the event has given children the opportunity to pick out clothing items not just to keep them warm but some that they have never had for themselves.
“We’ve seen kids walk out holding just a box of Nike shoes…and they’ll say to us, ‘I’ve never had my own pair of Nike shoes, and this is really what we wanted.’ And nobody begrudges them for that, we’re just glad that’s what you picked out,” said Afragola. “Or we’ve heard kids say things like, ‘This is the first new coat I’ve ever had, I’ve only ever had hand-me-downs.'”
Since its inception, the Rotary has helped more than 1,400 children purchase new clothing. This year, the Club assisted 114 children, according to Afragola. She said the event's success has inspired Rotary clubs in Madison, Guilford, and North Branford to begin their events similar to the Clothe the Children. The help that many children have received is a meaningful sight for Afragola.
“It is just the most heartwarming feeling ever,” she said. “My dad used to come from these weekends, and he would describe it to us. And it wasn’t until I started going and doing it, too, that you don’t realize that there are some people out there who just don’t really have a lot or anything. They’re beaming when they leave, opening their bag, and wanting to show us [what they got].”