Kristine Cicchetti (far left), and State Senator Mae Flexer (far right) are featured with the Community Children’s Champions

By Barbara Vita —

I was honored to attend the Northeast Early Childhood Council’s (NECC) Community Children’s Champion Recognition Dinner, which took place at Putnam High School on October 24, 2019. The NECC serves Brooklyn, Killingly, Plainfield, Putnam, Sterling, and Thompson.

It was an inspiring evening! Kristine Cicchetti, Regional Director, did an outstanding job of organizing the evening, but more importantly she does an outstanding job of coordinating all of the volunteers and staff throughout so many towns who all do such amazing work in their communities. I was so pleased to sit at a table with a group of volunteers from Interfaith Human Services of Putnam (IHSP). Last year these ladies gave away over 100,000 diapers to the region! They work with other community organizations to help ease the burden for struggling families to care for their babies.

Also recognized was a women who serves as the Community and Homelessness Liaison for the Goodyear Early Childhood Center. She created the Killingly Community Store, located in the district’s central office building. It is filled with clothing and other household items that folks need to get back on their feet or as a helping hand. Special guest State Senator Mae Flexer awarded each of the nine recipients an official citation from the State of Connecticut’s General Assembly.

It truly was a memorable evening. I left with my spirits high knowing that so many good people were doing so many incredibly kind, generous, and needed good-works in the Northeast Region of Connecticut.