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Two brothers with passion to give back create Vernon nonprofit

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Two brothers with passion to give back create Vernon nonprofit


VERNON, Conn. (WFSB) – When items get sold at Rae’s of Sunshine and Love in Vernon, the money made doesn’t go into the owner’s pockets, it goes right back to the community.

Rae and Ricky Jordan are the twin brothers behind Rae’s of Sunshine and Love on the corner of Windsor Avenue and Berger Road.

“I’m always a giver. Whether it’s a birthday, Christmas, I’m always a giver,” said Rae Jordan, founder of Rae’s of Sunshine and Love.

It all started with Rae’s passion for giving back.

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Years ago, he started to make blankets and donated them to domestic violence shelters and cancer centers.

“People kept saying, ‘I want to buy them,’ and at that time I’d say, ‘No, they’re just for donations,’” Rae said. “But people kept saying, ‘We want to buy them! We want to buy them!’ So I said, ‘Okay.’”

The brothers took the step of growing the passion project into a non-profit.

“Our main service is if people need assistance with groceries, hygiene products, baby supplies, they just reach out to us on our website,” said Ricky Jordan, President/Director of Rae’s of Sunshine and Love.

Right now they’re helping 10 to 15 families. That’s about 20 to 30 people per month.

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The hope is to increase funding with their new storefront to help more people.

“Our goal is that you can come in and shop, get products you’ll love and enjoy, but it’s allowing to pay it forward as well,” Ricky explained.

It’s a full circle moment for the brothers who fell on hard times while being raised by a single parent.

“My mom had to work 2-3 jobs, but it didn’t always cut it. We needed to go to the food pantry, we needed gifts at Christmas time. So for us, it’s almost like a dream,” said Ricky.

The Jordan’s just expanded and created a food bank to help feed the families they work with.

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You can drop off nonperishable items at the storefront, or donate money to their non-profit in person.

For more information: CLICK HERE.



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A 300-Year-Old House, the Oldest in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Is Selling as Part of an Amenity-Filled Family Compound

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A 300-Year-Old House, the Oldest in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Is Selling as Part of an Amenity-Filled Family Compound


This two-house, two-barn compound includes the oldest home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and stands right on the town’s historic and famously charming Main Street.

“It’s actually two distinct houses, two really iconic landmark properties on Main Street” that have been carefully restored and renovated, said listing agent Laura Ancona, of William Pitt/Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty. 

“Over $10 million has been spent in top-of-the-line improvements and designer appointments inside and out,” according to the listing.

The older home, known as the Hawley House, was built in 1713 for the Rev. Thomas Hawley, a minister who was also the schoolmaster and town clerk, Ancona said. “It’s quite a stylish home for the time, with high ceilings, wide-board floors and multiple fireplaces,” she said.

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Other features include a gambrel roof, original paneling on the fireplace wall of one living room, original fireplace mantels, many of the original hand-blown glass windows, an original Dutch door and hand-hewn beams, according to information provided by the agent. An original double-seated, white clapboard outhouse rests about 100 feet behind the home.

The 300-year-old house is on the National Register of Historic Places as well as being one of the 32 “Stations of History” on Ridgefield’s “Museum in the Streets” tour, Ancona said.

MORE: Tour More One-of-a-Kind Homes In Out Listing of the Day Series

The 1777 Battle of Ridgefield in the Revolutionary War was fought on Main Street and it was also where Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold’s horse was shot out from under him, she said. “We’re very historic, very Colonial.”

“It’s one of the top Main Streets in the country,” Ancona said. “It’s a Norman Rockwell-esque, tree-lined Main Street. Ridgefield is very protective of its Main Street.”

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The second house on the compound, a Gothic Revival Victorian, was built by Hawley’s descendants in 1826, she said. “It’s very grand, very colorful,” now with four finished levels. 

“It was not as well upkept as it should have been” when the sellers bought it in 2002 and began a multiyear renovation soon after, Ancona said. They were able to recreate much of the original architectural details from old photos.

The gray barn/carriage house associated with the Victorian has been renovated to now include a kitchen and great room that opens to the pool area, a gym and sauna, a poker room, a game room with a bar, an arcade and a movie theater for 30-plus people, she said. “It’s a completely tricked-out party barn.”

There’s also a circa-1900 red barn that now holds an indoor basketball court, an arts-and-crafts studio and a second-floor office with a conference room, according to the listing. It was updated and redone in 2012.

Both lots, which together are 3.16 acres, are quite deep with long driveways, which offers a great deal of privacy, even while being on Main Street, Ancona said. 

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“You can walk to town and still have all of this privacy,” she said. 

Stats 

The 8,934-square-foot compound has eight bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and two partial bathrooms. It sits on a 3.16-acre lot.

Amenities 



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Amenities include a heated pool and spa, a pool/carriage house, two two-car garages (one with two Tesla chargers), seven fireplaces, a gym and sauna, an indoor basketball court, a brick courtyard, a pergola, an outdoor kitchen, a home office with a conference room, an arts-and-crafts studio, a bar and game room, a poker room, an arcade and a movie theater.

Neighborhood Notes 



The home is within walking distance of everything Main Street has to offer, including museums, the library, Ballard Park, an old-fashioned hardware store and lots of independent shops and restaurants, Ancona said. “There is no fast food in all of Ridgefield.”

Ridgefield is adjacent to Westchester County in New York, and it’s about a 30-minute drive to the Westchester County Airport, she said. Ridgefield is about 90 miles from Manhattan. 

Agent: Laura Ancona, William Pitt/Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty

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Child hospitalized after drowning incident at Connecticut campground

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Child hospitalized after drowning incident at Connecticut campground


GRANBY, Conn. (WWLP) – A juvenile was brought to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon after a reported drowning at a campground pool in Granby, Connecticut.

According to the Granby, Conn., Police Department, the incident was reported around 2:30 p.m. at High Meadow Day Camp, located at 311 North Granby Road. A Simsbury officer working a private detail at the campground was called to the pool area and began providing medical care. The patient was identified as a juvenile, whose name has not been released.

The juvenile was treated at the scene before being brought to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Officials have not released information on the child’s condition.

Azell Cavaan, the Chief Communications Officer for Springfield Public Schools, confirmed with 22News that a SPS student was taken by ambulance from High Meadow on Wednesday. It is unclear if the two incidents are connected.

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Police said numerous children who witnessed the incident later became emotionally distressed. Ambulance crews from Granby, Windsor Locks, Simsbury, and Suffield all assisted in response. In the aftermath of the incident, police encouraged anyone affected to seek support services.

“Witnessing traumatic incidents can be very unsettling. If you need to access support, the best way is by calling 211, which can connect individuals with crisis support services and other community resources,” the department said in its release.

Counseling and support services are also available through local municipalities, including the Granby Youth Service Bureau for residents.

This incident remains under investigation. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

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