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Alex Eising, Beth Williams and Kaitlyn Troy, all Darien moms, have joined forces to help their community by serving as co-presidents of OPUS, the major fundraising arm for Person-to-Person.
"We're all moms," Eising said. "We love being moms, but we also want to do something to give back, to be involved."
Person-to-Person, based out of St. Luke's Church in Darien, provides assistance to people in need. "Most of the clients are from Stamford or Norwalk," Williams said. "They have a food pantry that will last them a week, but we focus on baby basics. We provides layettes and car seats to new moms with bottles, diapers, pacifiers all the things a baby needs."
OPUS holds three major fundraising events a year: Its next on Oct. 3 is dubbed the Big Rig Gig. Last year, according to the co-presidents, they raised nearly $30,000. But the biggest event for OPUS is its ball in April, which usually raises more than $100,000. In its 14-year existence, 98 percent of the money raised, they say, has gone to Person-to-Person. OPUS has raised more than $2 million.
"Even though we're based in Darien, we have members from Wilton, Norwalk Stamford and New Canaan," Troy said. "We're all volunteers that spend their time doing this. We're always looking for new volunteers. It's great because if you only have a little amount of time, or a lot, you give what you can."
Troy said, "It's a great way to meet other women when you move to town. It's a great social network."
For Eising, it's about giving back.
"We are fortunate enough to live in a community like Darien," she said. "We want our children to understand that there is a world outside this town."
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