source: http://www.courant.com/community/plainville/hc-plainville-farm-0719-20140721,0,4802489.story

 

Plainville Event Raises $30K For Local Charities

 

By BILL LEUKHARDT, wleukhardt@courant.com

The Hartford Courant

5:50 p.m. EDT, July 21, 2014

 

PLAINVILLE — Two local nonprofit groups each received $15,000 donations from the proceeds of the Wings and Wheels fly-in and car show held in June.

 

"We were able to donate more this year than we could last year to the Petit Family Foundation and the Plainville Community Food Pantry," event committee member Andrea Saunders said.

 

Last year, the committee was able to donate $12,500 to each charity, the designated beneficiaries of the event since a group of volunteers started it three years ago.

 

Wings and Wheels is held at the town-owned Robertson Airfield and has two goals: raise money for the two charities and provide residents and others a family-friendly way to see old cars, learn about airplanes and have fun, according to the group's mission statement.

 

Since the first event in 2012, Plainville Wings and Wheels has raised more than $75,000 for the two charities, Saunders said.

 

The Petit Family Fooundation was started after the murders in 2007 of Jennifer Lynn Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, inside their Cheshire home by two men who broke into the house. The two were convicted of the crimes and sentenced to death.

 

Rolande Petit, office manager of the foundation, said the donation will be added to the foundation's fund, which has received more than $1 million in donations. Each year, the foundation awards grants to nonprofit groups that fight violence and help people in distress.

 

The Plainville Community Food Pantry provides food, clothing, crisis intervention, counseling and other support to people in need. It began in the late 1960s and has assisted thousands of residents. The pantry is at 54 South Canal St.

 

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