
Donations coordinated by Cramer & Anderson have provided $4,250 to assist the Kent Community Fund, Inc. and the town’s social services department in providing food and assistance to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two of the charitable foundations guided by Partner Art Weinshank, the Persbacker Family Foundation and The Lawrence J. Portell and Natalie D. Portell Foundation, Inc., each gave $2,000 to the Kent Community Fund (KCF).
Partner Dolores “Lorry” Schiesel led separate but related Cramer & Anderson donations of $150 to the landmark Fife ’n Drum Restaurant and $100 to Davis IGA to provide food to the Kent Food Bank.
The restaurant provided frozen hamburgers at the request of Social Services Director Leah Pullaro, and Attorney Schiesel delivered juice, tuna, and tomato sauce from Davis IGA.
“The Kent Community Fund is a major supporter of the Kent Food Bank, and as expected, the use of the bank went up substantially when COVID-19 struck,” said Ruth Epstein, President of the KCF Board of Directors. “Attorney Weinshank’s most generous donations from two organizations he oversees, the Lawrence and Natalie Portell Foundation and the Persbacker Foundation, went a long way in helping feed our struggling neighbors and we are so very grateful that he chose us as a recipient. Through this most difficult time there have been shining lights, and Attorney Weinshank is certainly one of them. We also commend our member Lorry Schiesel for her contributions to local businesses who support the food bank.”
“Kent is a special town filled with exceptional people. It’s a community where residents truly reflect the unifying philosophy that ‘we’re all in this together,’” said Attorney Schiesel, Resident Partner of Cramer & Anderson’s Kent office and a former five-term first selectman of Kent. Giving back in another way, Attorney Schiesel also has been sewing coronavirus protection masks on her 1940’s Singer Featherweight sewing machine, donating them for distribution by the Community Emergency Response Team in Kent.

“We always appreciate the good works of the Kent Community Fund, which are especially vital in this moment,” Attorney Weinshank said. “It’s an honor to be able to assist the KCF in its important mission of providing Kent residents with much-needed assistance during these difficult times.”
The Kent Community Fund has funds available to help Kent residents experiencing financial needs as a result of Covid-19 related layoffs or reduction in income, the organization’s website notes. Assistance is also available to families facing issues such as expanded child care needs resulting from school shut-downs. Leah Pullaro coordinates the assistance in her role as social services director.
The recent Kent donations are part of a larger Cramer & Anderson initiative to give back to area communities by providing assistance during the coronavirus pandemic. The firm’s previous donations include:
- Donating gift cards for meals from local restaurants to Litchfield Volunteer Ambulance (LVA) and the Town of Litchfield’s Social Services Department. In an effort led by Partner Neal White, the volunteer ambulance corps and Social Services Department each received $250 worth of gift cards for meals from two popular restaurants, The Village Restaurant in Litchfield and AJ’s Steak and Pizza in Goshen.
- Donating $1,000 to provide dinners for patrons of FISH NWCT, which operates the largest emergency homeless shelter in northwestern Connecticut, as part of a Litchfield County Bar Association effort.
- Donating funds to purchase dinners for the EMTs and Paramedics in the Emergency Medical Services department at Danbury Hospital.
- And donating a series of lunches to New Milford Community Ambulance.
Working With Cramer & Anderson
As Connecticut reopens, our attorneys and staff are dividing their time between working remotely and spending time in our offices, while observing proper social distancing measures amid the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Attorneys are available as usual by phone or email, and connecting with clients using technology such as Zoom. For more information, see the firm’s website or call the flagship office in New Milford at (860) 355-2631. Other regional offices are located in Danbury, Ridgefield, Kent, Washington Depot, and Litchfield.