How Mandy Manaco Has Been Able to Give Back to Newtown

Connecticut Real Estate Expert Andy Sachs

Today Mandy Manaco, our newspaper's latest “Hero Around Town,” stops by for a quick interview.
Selling your home? Get a home value report here

Looking to buy a home? Search all local homes for sale here

Today I’m proud to be interviewing Mandy Manaco, our newspaper’s latest “Hero Around Town.”

Mandy is a jack of all trades when it comes to her involvement in greater Newtown, and she is a part of several wonderful organizations that help families in need in our area.


The first we’ll spotlight is WIN (Women Involved in Newtown). This organization has been doing a lot of good since its inception 50 years ago, and they started their first major initiative 30 years ago by weaving and donating Thanksgiving baskets filled with food during the holidays—an initiative that continues to this day. With the assistance of social services, these baskets are donated to roughly 80 to 90 families in need all around Newtown each year. My wife and I have donated to this cause ourselves.

There are still families in need in our area, and Mandy is a part of several organizations that fill that need.

All the food is supplied by local schools, and the students from those schools and other volunteers help with packing and distributing. These students knowing that the food they’re supplying is going to families in need during the holidays is the most rewarding part of the process for Mandy.

Next up is Better Day Cafe, a cafe that opened this summer at the Newtown Community Center that’s staffed by special needs students who’ve graduated from high school in Newtown. Every day, they make baked goods and other food items, interact with customers, and learn valuable life and business skills. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this operation—not only how great their service is, but how fulfilling it is for those involved.

Our community is about inclusion and supporting each other, and these two organizations uphold these values.

Mandy’s biggest passion, though, is a project called Easter Baskets, which she runs out of her house with several volunteers. The mission of Easter Baskets is to donate baskets filled with candy and leftover stuffed animals to St. Rose of Lima Church, Healing Hearts of Newtown, Social Services of Newtown, and other places.

I want to thank Mandy for all the wonderful work she does and for joining us today. If you’d like to get involved with WIN, Better Day Cafe, or Easter Baskets, you can give her a call at [phone].


As always, if you have any real estate questions for me or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to speak with you.