Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness launches be homeful for the holidays 2018

Businesses can hold Paddington bear-raiser drives to help local families remain housed.

Hartford, CT, October, 2018- The Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness has announced that it will once again be joining forces with CT REALTORS®, Citizens Bank, and United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut to engage people throughout Connecticut in holding Paddington “Bear-Raiser” drives to help local families. Paddington™ is CCEH’s official “Spokesbear” for the be homeful project, which engages kids, families, and communities in learning about how homelessness affects local children and taking action to help.

From now through December, for every $25 donated, a toy bear, book, or baby gift will be gifted to a child in a Connecticut shelter. Funds raised will provide much-needed emergency “shelter diversion” funds that frontline workers can access to help local families remain housed.

“This will be our third year partnering with CCEH on this adorable and heart-warming campaign,” said Mary Ann Hebert, 2018 CT REALTORS® Foundation Chair. “As REALTORS®, we are deeply committed to making sure every child has a place to call home, and we are thrilled to have made a difference for so many children.”

Citizens Bank, which joined CT REALTORS® Foundation in underwriting last year’s holiday campaign, is also pleased to be back for more. “We share the REALTORS® commitment to making sure no child has to experience the hardship of homelessness,” said Lisa Maass, Citizens Bank CT CEO. “It is remarkable to think that our involvement has made it possible for so many children to remain housed, and we look forward to another great year of helping businesses make a difference in their communities.

As part of this year’s campaign, businesses, congregations, and communities will be able to hold “Paddington bear-raiser” drives to help a local family. For every $25 raised, a local child will receive their very own Paddington bear soft toy; for every $1,000 raised, a local family will be able to avoid the trauma of homelessness altogether. Kids will also be able to join in the holiday spirit, holding Paddington “marmalade coin drives” in honor of Paddington’s favorite food.

CCEH is providing holiday Paddington bear-raiser kits to companies, congregations, and communities holding drives. To order your own bear-raiser kit, contact Ryan Beach at 860-721-7876 x107 or rbeach@cceh.org.

About the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness
CCEH represents more than 100 members – emergency shelter providers, transitional housing providers, community and business leaders, and strategic partners – who share the goal of ending homelessness. In partnership with communities throughout the state, CCEH advances this goal through leadership, community organizing, advocacy, research, and education. In 2015, CCEH launched the be homeful project to help stamp out family homelessness for good by ending homelessness one family at a time. In partnership with businesses through the state, through the be homeful project, money is raised to increase shelter diversion, allowing struggling families stay in the comfort of their home. According to research, the best way to help people is to keep them out of the shelter in the first place. Remarkably, through this project, it only costs on average $1000 to help a family at risk of homelessness remain housed.

About the be homeful project
CCEH started the be homeful project to respond to the lack of funds available to help families at the front door of shelter. The primary goal of this project is to raise emergency funds that case workers assisting clients referred by 2-1-1 can access to assist with one-time expenses that will be the difference between whether a family enters the shelter system or is able to remain housed. CCEH is fortunate to be partnered with the children’s book character Paddington, who is helping raise awareness about the impact homelessness has on young children and engage kids, families, and communities in lending a hand to families facing homelessness.

About the CT REALTORS® Foundation
The CT REALTORS® Foundation is a 501c3 charitable corporation whose mission is “To be good neighbors to our members, our communities, and the world. REALTORS® Care.” Its activities include but are not limited to providing scholarships, disaster relief funds, and hunger/homelessness prevention efforts. For more info, visit http://www.ctrealtors-care.org/. They are the sponsor for the plush Paddington™ bears.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $151.4 billion in assets as of June 30, 2017. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,200 ATMs and approximately 1,200 branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers corporate, institutional and not-for-profit clients a full range of wholesale banking products and services, including lending and deposits, capital markets, treasury services, foreign exchange and interest rate products and asset finance. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

About United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut
United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut brings together people and resources committed to the well-being of children and families in our community, where opportunities are available for every child to succeed in school and for every family to achieve financial security. For more information, visit www.unitedwayinc.org.

About Paddington Bear
For 60 years, British-born writer Michael Bond has delighted children and families all over the world with his stories about Paddington, the bear from Darkest Peru famous for his love of marmalade. Paddington is popular with both children and adults who feel affectionate and warm towards him and the charm and humour of the Paddington stories is the key to their enduring popularity.

Paddington’s adventures have been adapted several times for television and at the end of 2014 Paddington made his debut onto the big screen. The movie was produced by StudioCanal, part of the international content and media group Vivendi. A second Paddington movie, Paddington 2, launched in the US January 2018.

In 2015, in recognition of Paddington’s extraordinary popularity and success, Michael Bond was made a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to children’s literature. Michael Bond died in June 2017, leaving a legacy of one of the best loved children’s characters in the world. This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the first book, A Bear Called Paddington, which was published by William Collins on 13th October 1958.

Follow Paddington on Twitter at @paddingtonbear

Like Paddington’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PaddingtonBear/

Licensed on behalf of STUDIOCANAL S.A.S by Copyrights Group

PRESS CONTACT:
Madeline Ravich
Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness
(773) 339-3600
mravich@cceh.org