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02/07/2018 07:30 AMMore than 60 years ago, volunteers like Francine “Fran” Wainer would have been out knocking on neighbors’ doors to raise money for the Guilford Community Fund (GCF). Although that approach may have changed, the all-volunteer members of GCF are still “friends helping neighbors,” says Fran.
When the very first GCF appeal took place in 1950, “they had 125 volunteers going door to door, and they raised over $19,000,” says Fran.
The roll-up-your-sleeves ethic is alive and well in Fran, who joined the GCF board in 2017 and serves as GCF secretary. For the second year in a row, she’s also putting her heart into helping GCF by co-chairing GCF’s Valentine Dance, coming Saturday, Feb. 10 to the Knights of Columbus Hall, South Union Street. Tickets, $20 per person, can be reserved by calling 203-887-2723 or purchased at the door. DJ John “Cadillac” Saville is once again donating his services for a fun night of music, dancing, raffles, and silent auction items.
Proceeds from the dance, and a September golf tourney, help cover costs for materials and mailing GCF’s annual appeal out into the community each November, followed by a mailed reminder sent out at this time of year. GCF also accepts tax-deductible donations online at www.guilfordcommunityfund.org.
From supporting 16 local charities with that first $19,850 raised back in 1950, GCF now works to raise and distribute well more than $100,000 annually to 22 shoreline agencies. Progress toward this year’s goal of $140,000 is being marked on GCF’s familiar blue Saltbox fundraising thermometer on the Guilford Green.
“We have donations that come in from thousands of dollars to $50,” says Fran. “Right now, we’re around $105,000 raised, which is maybe a little behind where we were at this time in past years, but we never give up.”
With no paid staff and no office, GCF keeps overhead expenses to a minimum and makes every dollar donated to the annual appeal count.
“Even five dollars goes a long way, because whatever we take in from the annual appeal, we disburse right back to the agencies that are depending on us,” says Fran. “Last year, we received a letter in the mail from a six year old with $165 from his birthday money for the appeal.”
GCF took a moment to recognize the young contributor during its annual meeting in 2017. The meeting is always held the first Wednesday in June at Guilford Free Library; and the public is always welcome.
Each year, the GCF board reviews applications submitted by every agency it supports before determining the distribution of annual funds.
“The GCF Board of Directors [members] do not know who the recipients are who utilize our member agencies, but we do know that our 22 member agencies need our monetary support in order to continue to offer their services to our shoreline residents,” says Fran.
Fran and her husband of 31 years, Frank, moved to Guilford 21 years ago, arriving from New Haven and drawn by the community they saw in Guilford, says Fran. The Wainers raised their son, Jason, now 21, and daughter, Alexis, now 19, in Guilford.
As a busy mom of two, Fran’s first involvement as a community volunteer started years ago with St. George Catholic Church, and continues to this day. She serves as a eucharistic minister and a lector and helps provide altar service education and training for parish youngsters. Fran also served as past Parish Council president for three years. During her time on the council, Fran established St. George’s connection to Abraham’s Tent (through Columbus House, New Haven) and still oversees the annual program’s visit to the parish hall, working with a small army of parishioners to provide home-cooked meals and set up a shelter for up to a dozen homeless men for a week each winter. Also during her tenure, the church’s Refugee Committee formed up and sponsored a Syrian family, which came here in 2016.
With her children completing their school years here (Jason is now in the Air Force and Alexis is in the honors nursing program at University of St. Joseph, West Hartford), Fran began thinking about additional ways she could get involved in Guilford.
“Everything thing I did in the community within Guilford was involved in the church, and I thought it was time to get out there, meet new people, shake hands, and get involved in more of a broader base,” says Fran.
She credits Alexis with connecting her to GCF.
“I’ve known about the fund, but I got involved because of my daughter,” says Fran. “She was on the board two years ago as a high school representative, and she became secretary her last year on the board. When she was going to go off to college and a couple of the board members were leaving, I was asked if I’d like to join and I said, ‘Sure.’”
These days, most of Fran’s time is split between volunteering and her full time role as education division manager for North Sails, including scheduling “North U” training sessions across the country for the company’s group of championship sail race educators. Fran’s been working out of North Sail’s world headquarters in Madison for 18 years, and before that, she was an office manager for an accounting firm.
Fran’s happy to bring her organizational skills to GCF and says she’s energized by the enthusiasm of GCF’s 20 board members, including her Valentine Dance co-chair of two years, Pat Corradino. Fran and Pat also thank the members of their small Valentine Dance committee for pitching in to help out.
“We’re always willing to try new things,” says Fran. “Last year, we added the silent auction at the last minute, and it was big hit, so we’re doing that again with even more auction items at this year’s dance. And this year, at the January board meeting, someone suggested getting sponsors for the dance, so we now have eight sponsors—which is eight more than we had last year!”
Silent auction items up for bid at the Valentine Dance include a tempting range of donated items, from UConn men’s basketball tickets to local gift certificates, gym memberships, and even a gorgeous pearl necklace, valued at $1,100.
Dance sponsorships—gold, silver, and bronze—are still available, too. Fran’s can-do attitude and organizational skills are a credit to how quickly a letter was written and delivered to help this year’s Valentine Dance gather eight sponsors in under one month.
“I’ve only been on the board two years, so I’m still learning, and a lot of this is all new to me,” says Fran. “When one of the board members said, ‘Why don’t you think about doing a sponsorship?’ I thought, ‘Okay, I know nothing about sponsorships, but I can put together a letter!’”
Fran is planning on getting a early start next year to help drive in more sponsors for the 2019 dance. True to her organizational roots, she already can give the date for next year’s GCF Valentine Dance: Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019.
Fran says her desire to get involved with helping others goes back to growing up in New Haven, where she learned from her mom’s example. Fran’s father died when she was about five years old, and to make ends meet, her mother, who never remarried, was a housecleaner at the Mary Wade Home in New Haven.
“She cleaned the residents’ rooms, and each one of those residents, for my mother, became like family,” says Fran. “My mother did all she could do to create a home for me, and I remember every Tuesday, starting at seven years old, leaving school and going there to call Bingo numbers for the residents. I still remember that, and I still love Bingo, to this day! My mother was my inspiration, seeing that she had nothing, and she was so giving with what little she did have. And I just find myself wanting to do the same thing, wanting to be there for people, whether I know them or not.”
The Guilford Community Fund Valentine Dance is Saturday, Feb. 10, from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, South Union Street. Coffee and desserts are included; BYOB, wine and food. Tickets, $20 per person, are available at the door or by calling 203-215-5986 or 203-887-2723. Donations to the GCF annual appeal can be made at www.guilfordcommunityfund.org or by sending a check to Guilford Community Fund, P.O. Box 271, Guilford, CT 06437.