HAI Group Donates $5K to Connecticut Foodshare to Help Feed Struggling Families

Andrew Ragali | Manager, Marketing and Communications | HAI Group

For the second straight year, HAI Group donated $5,000 to Connecticut Foodshare as part of Bank of America’s 23^rd annual Turkey Tuesday event.

HAI Group President and CEO Ed Malaspina presented the donation at Connecticut Foodshare’s Wallingford, Connecticut headquarters during a live radio interview with Renee DiNino of iHeartRadio and The River 105.9.

“We are so pleased to be able to be here, and to see the money put to good use,” Malaspina said. “It’s just a wonderful thing.”

HAI Group—located in Cheshire, Connecticut—first participated in the Turkey Tuesday event in 2021 with a $5,000 donation. Turkey Tuesday is part of Connecticut Foodshare’s “Turkey and Thirty” campaign, which encourages people to donate a frozen turkey, as well as $30 to help food-distribution efforts year-round.

Over 50,000 turkeys are needed for struggling families this Thanksgiving, according to Connecticut Foodshare. Each $30 donation provides 60 meals and supports Connecticut Foodshare’s efforts to fight hunger in the state year-round.

Bank of America Greater Hartford President and CEO Joseph Gianni told DiNino on air that HAI Group’s community involvement “is not just a one-day thing.”

“[HAI Group] does things throughout the year,” he said. “That’s true engagement in the community.”

Malaspina said HAI Group’s leadership team is heavily involved in volunteerism, “which trickles down through the entire company.”

Connecticut Foodshare CEO Jason Jakubowski said HAI Group’s involvement in Turkey Tuesday over the last two years is encouraging because new organizations are necessary to keep the momentum going after over 20 years.

“It’s wonderful because that’s what we need to do,” Jakubowski said. “If we didn’t get reinvented every year and we didn’t bring new people in, we’d just end up stagnant. We are an evolving state, and it’s about the people out there that we have to serve, the 50,000 people out there that we’ll work to provide a Thanksgiving Day meal.”

Click here to donate to Connecticut Foodshare.