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10/16/2015 11:54 AMIf that scarecrow you stuffed a few years ago to benefit Branford-based Community Dining Room (CDR) is still standing tall, thank Jayne Nunziante, CDR director of fundraising and scarecrow architect extraordinaire.
"We have a lot of families who come back every year to support the dining room, and they tell us they still have scarecrows they made with us. They store them in their attic and take them out each year," says Jayne.
Jayne not only orchestrates the annual event, but is the one who developed CDR's no-hassle design that keep the 'crows standing up straight and tall.
CDR kicked off its annual Make Your Own Scarecrow fundraiser this month at the same site where the program has been running successfully every weekend in October for many years, next to the Little Red Barn at Bishop's Orchards Farm Market, 1355 Boston Post Road in Guilford.
"Bishop's generously donates the space and all of the hay every year, and we're so grateful to them," says Jayne.
She also thanks Guilford Rental Center for donating tents and tables for the rain or shine event; as well as Goodwill, which kicks in piles of clothes to choose from for scarecrows of all sizes as well as that essential scarecrow accessory, hats.
If you can't come out to stuff a scarecrow this weekend, no worries: CDR's Make Your Own Scarecrow takes place every Saturday and Sunday in October from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
Like so many of the people helping out with Make Your Own Scarecrow and many other CDR programs and services, Jayne is a volunteer. The former Branford resident, currently residing in New Haven, was a young mom here, then moved to Vermont to raise her three kids before returning to live in Branford for a second time, beginning in 1997.
"I'm a full-time volunteer, full-time realtor, full-time mother, full-time grandmother," Jayne says with a laugh.
Readers may recognize Jayne as part of the local "Dick and Jayne" real estate team with Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Branford (with her long-time partner, Dick Lorezno). She also thanks her Branford Coldwell Banker office for its charitable backing of CDR efforts.
"They are very supportive of CDR," says Jayne.
Other CDR supporters may recognize Jayne from her years of service volunteering at Tuesday Family Night dinners. Jayne first started helping CDR as a volunteer every Tuesday night about seven years ago, in honor of one of her own family members. She still helps out on Tuesday nights as often as possible.
"I started helping here after I saw an ad in The Sound advertising the new Tuesday Family Nights. My nephew, who was 39 years old, had just passed away from lung cancer, and his favorite charity was Connecticut Food Bank—he'd volunteer for holiday dinners," says Jayne, "So I said, 'That's where I'm going—I'll help Community Dining Room.'"
CDR Executive Director Pat Kral soon sussed out a bit more about Jayne's wealth of talents.
"When I offered my help for Tuesday nights, Pat said the overseer was just leaving and asked if I could take it on. She said, 'You never know where it might lead,'" Jayne recalls.
At the time, Jayne was also fundraising co-chair for non-profit St. Jude Connecticut Network.
"Of course, Pat learned about my background with fundraising, so Community Dining Room asked me to help with their Walk-a-Thon, and it grew from there!" says Jayne, who became walk co-chair, then was asked to join the CDR board, and went on to be named director of finance for CDR.
CDR's annual spring Walk-a-Thon and fall Make Your Own Scarecrow are CDR's two main fundraising events. In 2014, they combined to raise $36,656 for CDR, Jayne notes. The non-profit also relies on grants and donations. Jayne is proud to note CDR posted its first operating budget five years ago.
Based in Branford's Patricia C. Andriole Volunteer Services Center, CDR provides nutritious meals 365 days a year, serving more than 4,500 meals per month. Established in 1985, CDR today offers a home delivery program, lunch in its dining room seven days a week, Saturday morning family breakfast, Tuesday family dinner, and Wednesday Night Take Out dinner.
Jayne says Make Your Own Scarecrow is a great reminder that CDR serves the shoreline, from East Haven to Old Saybrook.
"We're in Guilford at Bishop's, helping a Branford-based program that helps the whole shoreline," says Jayne.
The Make Your Own Scarecrow event has also grown in the past 15 years, much to Jayne's credit. It was bringing in about $3,000 per year when she took it on and now successfully raises some $10,000 annually (and in good weather, a bit more).
"It definitely depends on the weather," says Jayne. "Last year we did about $10,000, but we lost three days because of the weather. One year, we raised close to $15,000 because we had good weather each weekend."
Jayne can also be credited with making every scarecrow stand tall.
"I was also a seamstress—I used to make costumes for Shakespearian theater in Stratford," she explains. "When I started helping out CDR, I noticed people would be leaving with scarecrows with heads bobbing and bottoms falling out! So I figured out how we're going to make these things sturdy."
The ingenious design connects the head to the center of the body and makes the scarecrows so sturdy, "...they don't even bend!" says Jayne. "It literally stands up straight."
Through the years, Jayne's helped to add some family-friendly activities to the annual scarecrow event and is proud to note the low donation price per scarecrow remains the same: $12 or $22 for two. CDR offers free home-baked snacks served up with each scarecrow and fun add-ons like glitter tattoos ($5) and pro face painting by Funderful ($3 of total cost contributed to CDR).
"It's a family day," says Jayne of visiting Make Your Own Scarecrow to benefit CDR. "People bring the entire family; and they will call ahead to make sure we're there!"
CDR also offers community service opportunities for local youth, and Make Your Own Scarecrow is no exception. Student can earn community service hours for volunteering, and help is always welcome, says Jayne.
Students can sign up by contacting Pat Kral at pkral@communitydiningroom.org. CDR also offers vocational training for the disabled. For more information on CDR, located at 30 Harrison Avenue, Branford, visit www.communitydiningroom.org.