He won’t quite let on how many years he’s been doing this, but Ed Wildman has been helping out the Southbury Needy Fund for a long time. Throughout each year he collects bottles and cans -- any returnable -- and cashes them in for money that he and his wife save up in a special account. Come Christmas time, they donate these funds to help Southbury Needy Fund purchase winter clothes and toys for children in town who might otherwise go without.
A quiet and modest man, Ed is well known in town. He’s an early morning regular at Dunkin Donuts, and also a faithful helper at the yearly flu clinics run by our Pomperaug Health District. A veteran, he remembers his brothers and sisters in the service by giving out red poppies at Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
Ed’s generous spirit has inspired fellow townsfolk and local merchants alike to join his “Secret Santa” mission, collecting up their returnables and bringing them to Ed to turn into gifts of warmth and cheer. With the help of about 20 “regulars,” along with some new folks every year, plus ten or more local businesses joining in, Ed and his wife will be donating $1000 this year -- a tribute to what we all can do together with something as simple and humble as saving up our bottles and cans.
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Like most things, Ed’s collecting mission started simply. "I knew about the Southbury Needy Fund pretty much from the beginning," he says. "I'd bring the donations of clothing and toys to Sandy Saren's office." (Southbury Social Services Office, at the Senior Center, 561 Main Street South.) He also pitched in every year to the Southbury Police Department's annual Toy Drive, filling as many as four shopping carts with toys bought from his own pocket.
But he wanted to do more. What better way than to augment his own toy purchases with funds saved up from bottle deposits? And so a tradition was born. And with it, the special account, that Ed and his wife have set up with a reserve to continue giving even after they can’t. Their yearly donation not only helps with Christmas purchases for struggling families, but also strengthens the Needy Fund's resources to help folks with emergency expenses year round.
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When asked what prompted him to make this effort, Ed modestly says, "I'm retired now. I just help wherever I can." Like most of us, Ed can remember when times were tight. But no matter what, his parents always made sure that there were presents under the tree. Such are the small things that matter most, especially to a child. That's why, in these days, Ed wants to help make sure that "when a little boy or little girl comes down on Christmas morning, they will see that Santa came to their house, too."
If you would like to help the children of today with warm clothes and toys, and the children of tomorrow by recycling for a clean and beautiful earth, Ed welcomes you to bring him your bottles and cans, washed clean, and neatly bagged. You can give him a call at (203) 264-3084, or even leave them on his front porch.
Wishing health and happiness to all - in the Holidays and throughout the year.
The Southbury Needy Fund, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, operates on a year-round basis helping Southbury residents when there are no other resources available.
This year’s Holiday Giving and Toy Drive is under way, through December 9. For more information, and ways to participate, please visit our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/sbyneedy/ or contact Sharon Lieber at sbyneedy@gmail.com (203) 264-8743.
Join us this Friday 10 am - 2 pm, and Saturday December 7, as we collect toys, gifts, and festive wraps outside T. J. Maxx at Southbury Plaza.
Want to sponsor a child's Christmas? Contact Sharon at sbyneedy@gmail.com (203) 264-8743.