For the Common Good
When the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain expanded its service area to encompass Plainville and Southington several years ago, it engaged community leaders who could not only help raise awareness of the Foundation in these towns, but who could also help spread the message that regionalism was a concept whose time had arrived.
Gail and Bill Millerick of Plainville embody that kind of leadership.
Gail, a current Foundation board member, Director of Development for MidState
Medical Center in Meriden and a former United Way executive in both Plainville and Hartford, is not only intimately familiar with Plainville’s community needs but those of the region as well. Bill, the longtime president of the New Britain Chamber of Commerce and a Foundation Grants Committee member whose family history of community service goes back generations, is a tireless proponent of bringing the communities of Greater New Britain together to work for the common good.
“Plainville, New Britain, Berlin, Southington – it’s all really one community,” says Bill, the former executive editor of The Herald of New Britain. “The Foundation has a unique role in helping all of us work together for our common interest. The more the regional community understands that, the more we can accomplish.”
Bill and Gail both feel that the work of the Plainville Community Food Pantry is a perfect example of how resources can be put to work to benefit those in need, regardless of address.
“Here you have what started out as a very small social service agency providing food to the needy, and thanks in part to help from the Community Foundation, they have branched out beyond Plainville and now offer a broader range of services, including energy assistance, crisis intervention and even English as a Second Language,” says Gail.
“Susie Woerz (food pantry executive director) and her staff have done a terrific job there, and the Foundation has had a significant role,” adds Bill. “Given the opportunity, the Foundation can take a leadership position not only funding programs in need, but in articulating the community’s agenda.
“This is how we can make a real difference.”
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