Avon's Carmon Funeral Home & Family Center Hosts Holiday Toy/Gift Card Drive

Carmon Funeral Home & Family Center at 301 Country Club Rd. in Avon is one of many members of the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association (CFDA) across the state who is hosting a holiday toy and gift card collection for military families and for children receiving medical care. Now through Wednesday, December 2, funeral homes across Connecticut are welcoming toys and gift cards from the public for the Connecticut National Guard's Operation E.L.F. (Embracing Lonely Families) Service Member & Family Support Center for military families, and toys for young patients at Yale New Haven’s Children's Hospital’s Toy Closet Program AND Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

Also, on Thursday, December 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the public can drop items off to CFDA's 138^th Convention at the Bristol Event Center on 112 Century Dr. (off of Enterprise Dr., near ESPN and Doubletree Hotel) in Bristol, Conn. On that day, funeral directors from around the state will carry in all of the items that were donated, as well as toys and credit cards that they themselves will contribute.

"Funeral directors and suppliers of the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association have held this charitable holiday collection efforts for 20 years, and this is the 10^th year we also invite the public to bring donations of gift cards and unwrapped toys to local funeral homes," explains Jonathan L. Green, CFSP, CPC, CCSP, President of the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association. "By doing this, we add close to 40 convenient community sites that supplement Operation E.L.F.’s, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital’s Toy Closet Program, and Connecticut Children’s own collection efforts. We encourage state residents to take a few minutes and come donate an item that can mean so much to another family."

Below is the full list of participating Connecticut Funeral Home sites:

Avon: Carmon Funeral Home & Family Center at 301 Country Club Rd.;
Branford: W.S. Clancy Memorial Funeral Home at 244 North Main St.;
Cheshire: Alderson-Ford Funeral Home of Cheshire at 615 S. Main St.;
Cromwell: Cromwell Funeral Home at 506 Main St.;
Derby: Edward F. Adzima Funeral Home at 253 Elizabeth St.;
East Hampton: Spencer Funeral Home at 112 Main St.;
East Hartford: D’Esopo East Hartford Memorial Chapel at 30 Carter St.;
East Hartford: Goodwin Universitys Funeral Services Program-Main Campus Lobby at 1 Riverside Dr.;
East Windsor: East Windsor Community Funeral Home at 37 Gardner St.;
Enfield: Leete-Stevens Enfield Chapels at 61 South Rd.;
Fairfield: Abraham L. Green and Son Funeral Home at 88 Beach Rd.;
Manchester: Holmes-Watkins Funeral Home at 400 Main St.;
Meriden: John J. Ferry & Sons Funeral Home at 88 East Main St.;
Middletown: Doolittle Funeral Home at 14 Old Church St.;
Naugatuck: Buckmiller Ford Mengacci Funeral Home at 82 Fairview Ave.;
New Britain: Duksa Family Funeral Homes at Burritt Hill at 332 Burritt St.;
Newington: Duksa Family Funeral Homes at Newington Memorial at 20 Bonair Ave.;
Newington: Neptune Cremation Service at 3153 Berlin Tpke.;
Prospect: Prospect Memorial Funeral Home/The Palmerie Family Funeral Home at 122 Waterbury Rd.;
Rocky Hill: Rose Hill Funeral Home at 580 Elm St.;
Seymour: Ralph E. Hull Funeral Home at 161 West Church St.;
Shelton: Riverview Funeral Home, Inc. at 390 River Rd.;
South Windsor: Samsel & Carmon Funeral Home at 419 Buckland Rd.;
Southbury: Munson-Lovetere Funeral Home at 235 Main Street North;
Southbury: Stone Family Cremation Services at 125 Bullet Hill Rd. North;
Stafford Springs: Introvigne Funeral Home at 51 East Main St.;
Stratford: Adzima Funeral Home at 50 Paradise Green Place;
Torrington: Cook Funeral Home at 82 Litchfield St.;
Unionville: Ahern Funeral Home at 111 Main St.;
Vernon: Ladd-Turkington & Carmon Funeral Home at 551 Talcottville Rd.;
Wallingford: Wallingford Funeral Home at 809 North Main Street Ext.;
West Hartford: Molloy Funeral Home at 906 Farmington Ave.;
West Hartford: Sheehan-Hilborn-Breen Funeral Home at 1084 New Britain Ave.;
Wethersfield: Connecticut Funeral Directors Assn. offices at 364 Silas Deane Hwy.;
Wethersfield: D’Esopo Funeral Chapel at 277 Folly Brook Blvd.;
Wethersfield: Farley-Sullivan Funeral Home at 34 Beaver Rd.;
Willimantic: Potter Funeral Home at 456 Jackson St.;
Windsor: Carmon Community Funeral Home at 807 Bloomfield Ave.; and
Woodbury: Munson-Lovetere Funeral Home at 2 School St.

The 137-year-old Connecticut Funeral Directors Associationis comprised of funeral directors at more than 220 funeral homes. Based in Wethersfield, Conn., the professional organization is committed to the promotion and advocacy of high ethical standards in funeral service. For more about the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association or its holiday collection drive, call 860-721-0234 or 800-919-2332 or visit www.ctfda.org