Helping Hands volunteers at the April giveaway night. The organization will be hosting their next giveaway tonight, May 16, at 6 p.m. at the Norwich Family YMCA, located at 68-70 North Broad Street in Norwich. (Photo from the Helping Hands Facebook page)

NORWICH — Local nonprofit Helping Hands will be hosting their monthly giveaway beginning at 6 p.m. tonight, May 16, at the Norwich Family YMCA, located at 68-70 North Broad Street in Norwich.

Every third Thursday of the month, Helping Hands gives out food, hygiene items, cleaning supplies, pet food, and more for free to anyone who stops by, no questions asked.

Volunteers assemble bags of items and set up stations in front of the YMCA, where individuals can walk or drive through to pick up what they need.

"You just drive through or you walk through to each station. There’s the hygiene station, the cleaning station, the food station, Chobani, milk, bread. We go right around the circle of the Y and we pack your car for you as you go around. Everything is in bags, separately, in those little stations," explained Helping Hands Founder Lorri Race. "If you walk, we try to help in any way we can, whether it be extra bags or we try to box things for you, to try to make it easier on our walkers."

Helping Hands is able to support the community each month thanks to the dedication of volunteers, who donate their time to assist with shopping, assembling bags of items, and manning the stations at the monthly giveaways.

The giveaways are also made possible by donations from local organizations, businesses, and churches, as well as teams of volunteers from local businesses and organizations. In the past, Helping Hands has received assistance from NYCM Insurance, cvFree Church, Chobani, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, the Broad Street United Methodist Church, Valley Ridge Center for Intensive Treatment, Kerry Bio Science, Perkins School of the Arts, Achieve, and many more.

"If it wasn’t for our supporters and volunteers, it wouldn’t be possible to do what we do," said Race. "I would like to give a very big thanks to everyone that supports us in one way or another!"

Those who would like to support Helping Hands can purchase items to donate by clicking the Amazon Wish List link on the Helping Hands Norwich Facebook page. Items purchased through the Wish List will be delivered directly to Helping Hands.

Additionally, new and used sneakers and cleats can also be dropped off in the Go Sneakers donation box set up in the main lobby of the YMCA. Those that are in good condition are cleaned and given to individuals in need, and those that can't be reused are recycled. Helping Hands receives a small amount of money for each pair of recycled shoes, which helps them buy items for the giveaway nights.

Empty bottles and cans can be donated as well at SOPO Redemption Center, located at 6653 NY-12 in Norwich, by letting an employee know the money is to go to Helping Hands.

For more information on Helping Hands, visit the Helping Hands Norwich Facebook page.

Helping Hands giveaway nights are always held on the third Thursday of the month at 6 p.m. in front of the Norwich Family YMCA, rain or shine. Giveaway night dates for 2024 are as follows:

Thursday, June 20

Thursday, July 18

Thursday, August 15

Thursday, September 19

Thursday, October 17

Thursday, November 21

Thursday, December 19