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Mary Johnston is a five-year volunteer at the Community Dining Room (CDR) and serves as the kitchen coordinator and manager. Since COVID-19 regulations were put in place, she continues to organize meals but now with fewer volunteers and more guidelines to follow. The volunteer staff had to be reduced, and Mary found creative ways of handling COVID challenges. She arranged for meals to be prepared and labeled for curbside pick up as in-house dining was shut down. In addition to her work at the CDR, Mary continues is a 5k runner, raising money for various organizations close to her heart.

Monica Hatton recently moved to North Haven and has already made an immediate impact. She set up a group that advocates for the rights of special needs children, the North Haven Special Needs Advisory Group. Described as relentlessly optimistic, Monica is also a member of the CT State Advisory Council for Special Education and on the North Haven District Special Needs Steering Committee, Clintonville PTA, North Haven PTA Council, PATH, CT State Advisory Council for Special Education, North Haven Special Needs Steering Committee, and many others.

Gabi Garcia-Perez is the founder of the Community Integration Mentoring Program (CIMP), connecting young students from communities through Connecticut to empower then to become active members of society. The result is long-lasting mutually beneficial relationships. During COVID, she focused her resources and connections to address food and financial insecurity. She has personally helped people affected by COVID, and stresses that it has been really important to work within the framework built by local advocates and organizations to understand what is going on in people’s lives while seeking to make a difference. She’s also been active working with Unified Sports in Guilford and beyond, allowing those with disabilities to shine in the sports world.

Through his work at Middlesex Habitat for Humanity of CT, David Evangelisti has given meaning to the word selfless. He’s always generous with his time and talents, bringing light and life to every project he works on, including several Habitat builds and setting up the ReStore. He helps fundraising efforts and works tirelessly to bring affordable housing to the shoreline. Because of his dedication, there is now a Habitat home being built in Westbrook. This was David’s dream for the shoreline. He is also one of the founders of Sister Cities Essex Haiti whose mission is to sustain partnerships with the people of Deschapelles.

Known as the bike guy, Paul Egan has been providing free bicycles and bicycle repairs to the community. The idea grew out of frustration when he saw multiple bikes thrown away at the Clinton Town Dump. He began by fixing them up and putting them out on his front lawn with a FREE sign, and the bike guy has since turned into a shoreline phenomenon. In the next month, Paul will be giving away his 1,000th bike since he started. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he has provided even more bikes to families in need as biking is a safe and fun outdoor activity for people of all ages.

Peter Criscuolo has improved the lives of North Haven residents and firefighters alike through service in and beyond the Board of Fire Commissioners. When budgets grew tight, Peter developed creative ways to raise money for the fire department so they could purchase life-saving equipment, raising more than $100,000 for things like an all-terrain vehicle to rescue hikers, a drone to find folks who may be lost in the woods, and some bullet proof helmets to protect front line workers after a dangerous scene that occurred in town. He also helped the North Haven Fire Department join a collaborative to hire more diverse professional fire personnel.

As a volunteer, Dennis Culliton took on the full time job of Guilford Cares, shopping for seniors and coordinating drivers to help seniors in need during the pandemic. A retired teacher, He continues to work on the Witness Stones Project, listening humbly and adapting to new dialogue about race, and serving as an educational resource as educators grapple with these issues. Through this project, Dennis brought to light the history of slavery in our shoreline towns, helping our communities understand how many early settlers and residents were making wealth directly or indirectly from the buying and selling of slaves.

Kimberly Coppola’s motto is “Be a reflection of what you’d like to see in others.” As a volunteer for the East Haven Food Pantry, Kim has lived those words, worked tirelessly as a liaison between Stop and Shop and the pantry, transporting hundreds of pounds of food for those in need. When the store calls her, she picks up hundreds of pounds of salvage to donate to local pantries. She has also been a 911 dispatcher for over 20 years, serving East Haven, C-Med, and currently Madison. She is also involved in animal rescue and has helped at all hours of the day when she is needed.

#theellaeffect is named for the then-13-year-old Ella Copeland, who along with her dad, Grant co-chaired the 2018-2019 United Way of Greater Waterbury campaign. When the campaign ended, more than $4 million had been raised, nearly toppling the campaign’s record 75th anniversary mark of $4.1 million. And that’s just the start of her story. For someone who’s been involved with Guilford Public Schools Unified Sports and Connecticut Special Olympics programs since the 5th grade, and as a volunteer with therapeutic equestrian riding programs for just as long, getting involved in helping others comes naturally to Ella.

Debra Carcio-Mals has taught countless children how to “boogie-oogie-oogie” through her volunteer work with Old Saybrook Youth & Family Services and Old Saybrook Parks & Recreation. Debra loves sharing her passion and joy for dance with kids who may not be able to go to a formal dance school. She is known as a glittery beacon of light who has also served as the main choreographer for summer stock theater and the annual community variety show and has given countless hours of time to The Kate’s Annual Academy Awards Gala. Whether you recognize her from her dance group Glitter Girls or her work with the children of Old Saybrook, it’s safe to say she leaves the world a little more sparkly.

When it comes to animals, Ken Engelman is an advocate! He volunteers with the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter, the Branford Compassion Club, the Branford Exchange Club, and Pets for Vets. He has created numerous fundraising events to help our furry friends as well as foster public awareness for the need to help creatures. Ken was the driving force behind Woofstock, which was developed in 2013 and held on the Branford Green. He is also the person behind the Animal Carnivale event held at Pine Orchard Yacht and Country Club, and Bark-a-Luau at Owenego Beach Club. He is extremely fortunate to help match shelter pets with vets as companion animals through his work with Pets for Vets. Ken is a vibrant force in the community.

Amanda Gabriele has helped people of all ages. Between serving on the North Haven Board of Education, the PTA and the PTA Council, she has worked on many different subcommittees including policy, athletic fields, and personnel searches. She volunteers for People Investing in People, a foundation that brings education and technology to kids in Connecticut and abroad, and she helps adults and children alike through her work as the vice chair of the North Haven Democratic Town Committee. Amanda works as director of data science at The Hartford, where she serves as an ambassador for United Way Giving, a campaign that raises millions of dollars for well-qualified organizations. Outside of work, she also supports parents of children with craniosynostosis as they face invasive skull surgery. Having a daughter who also has the condition, she hopes to bring peace to parents and children facing a scary situation.

Sonja Gibbs is always available to lend a helping hand—or two. For years, she has volunteered for Clinton Shoreline Soup Kitchen and Pantry where food is distributed to those in need every Wednesday night. Sonja has coordinated volunteers for the Connecticut Food Bank’s Mobile Food Truck, which visits Old Saybrook and Clinton once a month and helps with the Meals on Wheels program in Clinton. Although she can no longer drive, she still gladly packs up the meals for delivery to residents who are homebound. A retired school librarian by profession, Sonja organized the books in her church library, so they were more clearly identified. She is also a volunteer officer of the Shoreline Branch of American Association of University Women and organizes a monthly ladies luncheon club.

“A historical society is important in these small towns because it saves what might be lost.” Cary Hull moved to Chester in 1976 upon purchasing an old Victorian with a lot of history. Her next-door neighbors were members of the Chester Historical Society and soon after so was Cary. She now serves as president and oversees the saving of so many of Chester’s stories. Like the fact that Chester residents knew how to survive during the great Depression. Their town was able to stay afloat through hard work and perseverance, unlike so many other small towns around them. Cary has done several interviews for the Chester Historical Society’s ongoing Oral History program, is always available to help at the farmer’s market, and has written many successful grants for both the Chester Historical Society and Friends of Chester Public Library.

Wendy Mawhinney is passionate about history. She has been a part of numerous historical groups over the years and has now landed as a volunteer with Essex Historical Society, Essex Garden Club, Governor Trumbull House Mansion (through her work with Daughters of the American Revolution), and the Pratt House. She has a love for history and a passion for Colonial life that led her to update the docent document at the Pratt House. She filled the new 13-page document with well-researched facts about the Essex area, the Pratt House itself, and 18th- and 19thcentury history. She thoroughly enjoys teaching children and adults about the past and can often be found dressed in Colonial attire. Wendy lives in what is known in town as “Long Yellow House,” a 1776 antique gem located right next to the Essex Historical Society.

The Cove Center for Grieving Children is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Founded by Bruce McIntyre’s wife, Renée and Jim and Mary Ann Emswiler, The Cove began with just six families and eight children in an effort to help children navigate the grieving process. Bruce became active in the organization in 2000, when the executive director, Mary Ann Emswiler, asked him to help co-chair, organize, and manage Run for the Cove, a fundraising road race. There is currently no federal, state, or local funding for The Cove and Bruce extends time, effort, and training to help it run successfully. In addition to his work with The Cove and Camp Erin (an extension of The Cove), and raising five children of his own, Bruce and Renée opened their home to Leo Arias, a child in the ABC-A Better Chance program. Leo came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic at age 12 and attributes much of his personal growth to the support he received through ABC and the McIntyre family.

“Family always comes first. But a lot of what I do is for the family.” Kim Olson started volunteering when her children were small as their respective Girl Scout and Boy Scout leader. Now that her children are older, they still come first,but her volunteerism has shifted into areas she finds interesting. She drives the ambulance as an EMT for Deep River Ambulance and volunteers for the Pandemonium Rain Forest Project, a rescue organization for exotic birds and reptiles. Her love of giving back has trickled down to her children as her daughter serves as treasurer of the Friends of Deep River Library and her son volunteers with her at Pandemonium Rain Forest Project. Encouraged by her daughter, Kim and family have also set up the first two free Little Libraries in Deep River, one in Plattwood Park and the other at the Deep River Historical Society. Kim is known around town as the person to call if you find a lost cat, dog—or chicken—as she will always take them in!

Renee Pantani is continuing the legacy that her late motherin- law, 2013 Beacon Award winner Johanne Pantani, began. Many years ago, Johanne went on a mission trip down south and saw a bus delivering food to local children. She said, “I’m going home and I’m doing that.” Minus the bus, Feed Branford Kids (FBK) was created. Today, the organization provides weekend meals for elementary school children who would otherwise not have access to food. Volunteers from FBK pack backpacks full of lunches, juice boxes, milk, and breakfasts and then pass them on to the school social workers who hand them out to those in need. They provide extra food during school vacation weeks and are on a mission to expand the program to help Branford middle- and high school students as well. Renee is also proud to be a part of Christmas Caddy, a Secret Santa Program that her in-laws started. Christmas Caddy collects Toys for the Branford Counseling Center to give out at Christmas time.