A Country Fair’s Mission
You could say 10 percent of every peach Diane Powers peels in the wee hours of Saturday, Aug. 18 will make an impact across the world, in Tanzania.
That’s because Diane and the small army of volunteers manning the 55th annual North Guilford Country Fair and Auction at North Guilford Congregational Church (NGCC) will help NGCC send 10 percent of the day’s profits—including sales of the fair’s famed peach shortcake—to help better the lives of orphaned children and teens in Tanzania, via a donation to local non-profit The Small Things (TST).
That’s more than enough reason for folks to come out and enjoy this old-fashioned country fair and auction at the historic church high atop Ledge Hill Road. As always, admission is free. NGCC’s North Guilford Country Fair and Auction takes place rain or shine on Aug. 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the church and grounds, 159 Ledge Hill Road.
The fair features live music and offers selections of food, handcrafts, tools, toys, books, and jewelry as well as a silent auction, quilt show, farm animals, kiddie games and crafts, tractor-powered train rides on Little Toot, and a live auction underway all day.
“The Country Fair is the largest fundraiser for our church,” says Diane. “It allows us to provide funds for operating expenses and donations to the many charities NGCC supports.”
As a long-time Missions Committee member and current co-chair with Marsha Graves, Diane is doubly dedicated to helping the fair and auction succeed so that NGCC can best assist TST. The church votes each year to select the event’s charitable beneficiary.
“Last year, our donation was given to Columbus House for the Middlesex Family Shelter,” says Diane. “For the last 35 years, at the New Haven [Columbus House] facility, monthly our church provides a dinner meal, which feeds between 75 to 100 homeless people.”
For all the assistance NGCC has given Columbus House through the years, Diane was honored to accept, on behalf of NGCC, the John S. Martinez Community Service Award at the Columbus House annual meeting in December 2017. The plaque, together with certificates of recognition for service from U.S. Senator Chris Murphy and the State of Connecticut, are on display in the church library.
This year, NGCC hopes to make a charitable impact by assisting TST. The non-profit supports more than 130 children orphaned by mothers who died at birth, with the priority being family preservation (assisting families and extended families to keep children at home). Children waiting for a home receive full-time, residential care at both Nkoarango Orphanage (newborn through age three) or the Happy Family Children’s Village (ages four to 18).
“TST is a charity in Tanzania founded by Bekka Ross Russell, a Branford resident. We were inspired when she came to the church to talk her about her work,” says Diane.
A Deep Commitment
The daughter of a minister, Diane has always felt a deep commitment to help the less fortunate by giving back to her community locally and globally.
“I believe we can learn so much from visiting and immersing ourselves in many different ways of life,” says Diane.
She notes her most “profound enlightenment” was when she and her husband, Mark, traveled to Kenya on safari.
“We toured a Maasai village with cow dung walls and no plumbing or electricity, which would be quite a hardship for any American. However, the members of the tribe were very proud people and seemed genuinely happy with their lot in life,” she says. “They treated us like royalty as they shared their tribal dances and taught us about their culture.”
Diane was just out of college when she began sponsoring children in need in South America through World Vision, beginning with a child in Ecuador. She has continued providing monthly sponsorships to children for the last 40 years.
“When a child outgrew the program, I would select another child who was around my children’s age so that my children could relate to the sponsored child,” says Diane.
Diane and Mark moved more than 30 years ago to Guilford, where they raised their daughters, Jacki and Erika. As a brand-new resident, Diane joined Guilford Newcomers, and that’s how she found NGCC.
“When I first moved to Guilford, I joined the Newcomers Club and discovered that my ‘out to lunch’ group included a pastor’s wife from NGCC. We had an immediate connection,” due to being a minister’s daughter, says Diane. “She invited me to attend church, and the rest is history.”
Following in her mother’s footsteps, Diane taught Sunday School at NGCC when her children were school aged. She transitioned from there to volunteering on the church’s Christian Education Committee.
“Our youth programs are a huge focus for our church,” says Diane. “When my children were living at home, they were extremely active in Sunday School, Youth Group, [and] mission trips and served as deacons.”
Diane also followed her children into Guilford Public Schools (GPS) as a volunteer. Additionally, she served as a member of the PTO at A.W. Cox and Baldwin Middle School. Diane was in corporate sales with Honeywell before becoming a stay-at-home mom and credits her kids, and volunteering with GPS, for sparking her interest in becoming a teacher.
Diane was volunteering at Cox when she answered a call to help teach a weekly computer class at the school. Diane enjoyed the experience of working with children in the classroom so much, she continued with the program for 10 years. She went back to school, earned her master’s degree in education, and taught for many years with Madison Public Schools (she’s now retired).
Diane turned her energy toward building NGCC’s Missions Committee and its programs. She served as committee chair last year and now co-chairs with Marsha Graves. Luckily for NGCC, Diane likes to stay busy.
“I have been very active with mission projects,” she says. “I especially enjoy coordinating our Angel Tree project during Christmas time.”
Through the Angel Tree, church members donate Christmas gifts to children served by the Fair Haven Parent Ministry and Department of Children & Families in New Haven, the Albert J. Solnit Children’s Center in Middletown, and kids in need as identified by local agencies and church members.
“It’s always a joy to see the generosity of the congregation,” says Diane.
That’s what she sees in the congregation this time of year, too. In the run-up to the North Guilford Country Fair, church committee members and volunteers have been working hard to gather hundreds of items that will be on display and up for sale as part of the day’s fun.
Furniture donated to the Live Auction needs to be inventoried and readied. Others are working on setting aside interesting items of quality for the silent auction. Even more are collecting hundreds of gently used books, donated kitchen and serving items, small appliances, and more. The items will fill the fair’s book nook, toy booth, jewelry booth, white elephant, and tag sale. Groups are also working to stock up the Christmas booth, basket treasures, pantry booth (with homemade goodies including those popular pies), country crafts (a sewing group), and even a gluten-free booth. Others are preparing kids’ games and crafts, while still more are finalizing the quilt display.
“The fair requires much preparation and all hands on-deck during the day of the fair,” says Diane.
For her part, Diane will join her co-volunteers once again in the early morning on fair day, to prepare the fair’s traditional, freshly made peach shortcake using local peaches from Bishop’s Orchards. She’s also looking forward to enjoying the event together with her family, friends from church, and the community.
“The fair is a wonderful way for the community to come together,” says Diane. “I especially enjoy seeing old friends, as well as my children’s friends—often with their own children in tow.”
For more information on the North Guilford Country Fair and Auction, visit www.northguilforducc.org.