By Anne W. Semmes
The nonprofit Neighbor to Neighbor, having served those in need for nearly 50 years in the Greenwich community and located on the East Putnam campus of Christ Church Greenwich, is thriving in its new building, the Cohen Center. There is ample space now for a food pantry offering with not only canned foods but fresh foods, and many other essentials for a family’s daily life. And overseeing all this benevolence is its new executive director, K. Brent Hill, on board since mid-July.
“It’s just been a wonderful place to be thus far,” says Hill. “I’m really impressed with it.
Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) has a great legacy of volunteers that have been there for decades, and it’s been an absolute pleasure meeting them one by one as they come in.” He marvels over “a grassroots organization started by concerned citizens now grown to such an amazing new building and a strategic plan that’s expanding and services that are expanding.”
With N2N now serving nearly 600 families a week, Hill is looking forward he says to “helping the organization navigate our growth. We would like to increase our client base. According to the stats from the Department of Human Services, there are still a number of people that are eligible for services but for some reason are not coming through the door. So, we’d like to find out why that is.”
As to Hill’s qualifications for helping the growth of N2N he appears to have it in his genes. “My father started a nonprofit organization [in Philadelphia] for youth sports education back in the 1960s,” he tells, “and my mother was very active in Big Brothers Big Sisters when I was growing up, so this has just been a part of my DNA.” Hill would become the director of a summer basketball camp in his adulthood, then act as “the operations person” for his dad’s organization.
With his having worked with teenagers in his nonprofit years he’s happy to see the teenaged volunteers at N2N. “They come in with such enthusiasm. They’re really dedicated, and I can see that they’re going to continue their work as they get older.” Thus, he’s looking towards high school student volunteers as participants in his navigating the growth of N2N for its clients. “We would also like to get middle school students more involved,” he adds, as, “I know they’ve been involved in the past, but we would like to be able to grow those experiences for them.”
So, how do those clients qualify for the services of N2N? “We have a wonderful relationship with the Department of Human Services,” he tells, “So the majority of our clients are referred to us by the Department and they have their guidelines based on income. We also provide emergency services. Other referrals come from the YWCA, or some other agencies may recommend people to come to us.” And client ages? “From cradle to seniors.”
Hill was keen to share more about those clients. “The majority of our clients are people who are working. They just need some assistance with food because of the prices and inflation and so much going on. And then we have senior citizens that are on fixed incomes that just need a little bit more support from us. So, it’s been wonderful to meet the clients and hear their stories and to meet the children and the older people. These people are contributing to society. These are people who are doing their best, just trying to navigate this world, and they just need a little assistance at this time.”
Stepping into the door of N2N one can see just what that assistance is. Hill leads the way.
In the Food Pantry there’s refrigerated food, and fresh produce. “We’re looking to be able to provide even more fresh produce to our clients. We’re partnering with a number of local farms, and we’d like to expand that aspect of our pantry.”
“We have household essentials, which are cleaning products as you can imagine, and some personal items like lotions and things of that nature. But we also have been providing bras and jackets. In the “client choice” section there’s a rack of pajamas and behind it boxes of brassieres. “We’ll be having a sock campaign. So, everyone will get socks, everyone will get leggings.” He adds, “We’d like to figure out a way to still accept clothing donations for our clients, but we’re still trying to work out the kinks.” He sees the need for clothing.
Brent will be helped in his endeavors with a staff that has now grown to nine. “We have a communications person, which we never had before. We have a new fund development manager, who’s been doing a great job. And then we have our legacy staff that have been here for a number of years. Add to that help a standout number of volunteers. “We have over a hundred volunteers.” Add to that, Brent has an enthusiastic board of directors supporting him. “Brent has worked with the staff to learn about our operations, helped clients in the food pantry and met partners and donors,” reports N2N co-presidents Kristen Shapiro and John Shulman. “He already demonstrates the leadership and vision needed to guide Neighbor as it continues to develop services needed in our community.”
And just why did Hill get drawn to this job at N2N? He had been serving as executive director of the Five Towns Community Center on Long Island, NY – leading a team of 100 staff members and volunteers for four years. “Well, I recently moved to Fairfield County [Ridgefield],” he shares, “and I was looking for an opportunity to continue the advocacy work that I’ve been doing for many years. And this popped into my inbox, and I had a few interviews and now I’m happy to be here.”
Word is Hill has also been an actor. Yes, a member of a theater in Philadelphia in high school, became an independent actor, and did some stage work. A graduate of Temple University with a BA in Communications, he also “did a number of documentaries…Got a few accolades,” all while continuing his nonprofit work. Count too his leadership roles with the YMCA in Philadelphia and the Media Center in Media, PA. “So,” he notes, “This has always been a dual life for me, artists and nonprofit.”
But for K. Brent Hill, “You’re never too old to learn some new skills.” So, he’s busy online getting his MBA in Public Administration, “Policies and procedures change,” he tells, “So I’m really happy to be able to dedicate some time to getting this degree. I’ve been working in this field for so long and I think I know a great deal, but you can always learn more. I’m really excited to be able to parlay my new skills into my responsibilities with Neighbor to Neighbor.”
