Chaldea Stewart, Assistant Store Manager, GWNC Avon; Scott Dolch, Executive Director, CRA; and Jeff Wieser, President and CEO, GWNC outside of GWNC’s Avon retail outlet on May 13.

Goodwill of Western & Northern Connecticut (GWNC) raised $20,000 for the Connecticut Restaurant Relief Fund through its “The Goodwill Giveback” program during the month of April. Through the program, orchestrated in partnership with the Connecticut Restaurant Association (CRA), for every 5,000 donation instances to GWNC’s 28 locations throughout the month of April, Goodwill donated $1,000 to CRA’s CT Restaurant Relief Fund, which provides financial assistance to restaurants dealing with economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible venues received one-time $5,000 grants, which recipients could use to pay for operating costs including rent, payroll, purchasing PPE, expanding outdoor-dining capacity and other expenses. Twenty restaurants throughout the state benefited from this first round of funding through “The Goodwill Giveback” initiative. Representatives from GWNC formally presented the funds to CRA Executive Director Scott Dolch during a check presentation ceremony at GWNC’s Avon location on May 13.