It Takes a Valley
Every December, businesses across the Upper Valley donate a share of their sales, host drives, and invite their customers to support the Haven. This year, every gift is matched up to $200,000 by the Jack & Dorothy Byrne Foundation!
Haven Giving Days
Your Dollars Going Back to Your Community
Winter is the Haven’s busiest season. The need for shelter goes up as temperatures drop, and the Community Food Market has been seeing more customers as heating bills rise. The community’s generosity during Haven Giving Days carries us through these months.
You can give directly to the Haven online anytime this December, and your gift will be fully matched. When you’re out shopping, look for the Giving Days sign at the counter or in the window. Every participating business picks its own way to give, so ask how they are helping when you check out!
Any organization in the Upper Valley can take part as well, and you can view our Business Toolkit below to get started.
Do you have appreciated stock? We’re also accepting direct stock donations, with many donors giving appreciated stock for the tax benefit. If you’d like to make a Haven Giving Days stock gift, click below to email the Development Team!
Interested in donating, but you’d prefer not to do so online? Dan & Whit’s is happy to accept checks at their store made out to “Upper Valley Haven” with “Haven Giving Days” in the memo. You can also mail a gift to 713 Hartford Ave, White River Junction, VT 05001.
Empty Shelves Started a Community Movement
One night in 2013, a customer at Dan & Whit’s filled a basket with groceries and mentioned at checkout that the Haven’s food shelf was nearly empty. Dan Fraser matched her donation, then decided the store would give 1% of its sales for the first 19 days of December.
D&W started challenging businesses to participate, joining us in this initiative because 1% isn’t much on its own, but it adds up quickly! Whether that was a share of sales, a collection bin, or a set dollar amount, they responded. Norwich businesses gave over $10,000 to the Haven from more than $1 million in local sales during that first December.
Year after year, businesses and organizations across the Upper Valley have come up with innovative ideas to keep our community shopping local and giving local… and many shoppers continue this mindset beyond the holiday season. The campaign was called 19 Days of the Valley until 2025, when it became Haven Giving Days.
The continued success of this program has truly impacted the Haven and those it serves in many ways. The Haven is best known for the Community Food Market, but gifts also support:
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Resources and service coordination for people who need assistance with food, housing, healthcare, or other critical needs
- Programs for local children that will help them learn and thrive at no cost to their families
- Temporary shelter for people in the Upper Valley who are facing homelessness.
Every program, at no cost, to those who need it.
