Middlebury Residents Help Feed the Hungry and Build Affordable Housing as Part of National Volunteer Effort

On October 5, 2013, Middlebury resident Ric Filippelli and his sons joined with employees from Prudential’s Hartford office to make sandwiches and brown bag lunches to help Loaves & Fishes Ministries, a tax-exempt, charity that provides human services to the poor in Hartford. 

This volunteer effort was part of Prudential’s 19th Annual Global Volunteer Day. This nationwide day of community service was introduced by Prudential in October 1995 to celebrate and encourage employee volunteerism. 

Loaves & Fishes serves low-income and poverty level individuals and families, providing support services for individuals trying to break the cycle of dependency through education, food, counseling, and economic development programs.

In Hartford, the Loaves & Fishes brown bag lunch-making event was just one Global Volunteer Day effort that Prudential employees took part in. 

Prudential volunteers also helped the Connecticut River Watershed Council clean up the banks of the Connecticut River, cleaned debris from Wexford Park, painted rooms at a domestic violence shelter and community center, volunteered at a soup kitchen, and helped with the construction of a Habitat for Humanity house.

Last year, more than 20,000 people participated in 750 Global Volunteer Day projects in the United States and 11 other countries where Prudential has a business presence.

In addition, Global Volunteer Day projects that meet certain criteria are eligible to receive $1,000 Challenge Grants for the nonprofit organizations they support. Since its inception in 1996, the Global Volunteer Day Challenge Grant Program has provided more than $2.7 million to community organizations.