Last month, Helping Hands received a donation of $1,779 from Grand Union and the Northeast American Dairy Association to support their monthly giveaway nights. The next giveaway will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 21 in front of the Norwich Family YMCA, located at 68-70 North Broad Street in Norwich. (Photo from the Helping Hands Norwich Facebook page)

NORWICH — Helping Hands, a Norwich-based nonprofit, will be hosting their monthly giveaway at 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 21 in front of the Norwich Family YMCA, located at 68-70 North Broad Street in Norwich.

Individuals can walk or drive through the stations set up in front of the YMCA and pick up food, hygiene items, cleaning supplies, and pet food, free of charge and no questions asked.

Helping Hands' mission is made possible largely through the support of community members, businesses, organizations, and volunteers. In the past, Helping Hands has received assistance from NYCM Insurance, the Northeast American Dairy Association, 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.

"Thanks to the community that provides donations we are able to give food items, such as macaroni, pasta, we always do breads, we do milk, we do eggs," said Helping Hands Founder Lorri Race. "Chobani is fantastic, they’re always there for us and they give us the yogurt."

Volunteers also make the monthly giveaways possible through their efforts to shop for supplies, pre-bag them, and hand everything out at the monthly giveaways. Race said they also work hard to make the atmosphere fun and inviting for everyone who stops by.