Feeney Talks With Marty Keena

Show Notes

Marty is a retired teacher. He taught for 44 years. Currently, Marty is the President of The Exchange Club. Marty traveled the world in "38 days" and he has some beautiful artwork to prove it. He also collects pop-up books!   

The Exchange Club graciously made a donation of $500 to Friends of Feeney Inc.  after I presented about our mission and goals: 

 Marty has volunteered at many Friends of Feeney events: 

 The Battle of the Badges Basketball game hosted by The United Way at The University of Hartford 

The Trick or Trick Event at The Miracle Field

The Global Cardboard Challenge with The Elmwood Makers at The Elmwood Community Center  

A bus trip for children and families of the Hillcrest Neighborhood to Hartford Wolfpack hockey game 

 Please donate your cans/bottles and nonperishable food items at our next event at GastroPark on Saturday, February 20th 1-4:  

Please donate to our current fundraiser for The Hamel Family: 

Read the West Hartford News article about our community raising money for a family who had a housefire. We received over 400 donations. 

 Help support Friends of Feeney by making a purchase from:   

Life on the Mountain Blend coffee from WeHa Roasting Company: 

The Friends of Feeney collection at Sockstarz:  

The Friends of Feeney apparel catalog at Fresh Ink:   

Shout out:  

System X  

www.systemx.com

(860)-358-0119

Creators and Guests

Host

Eric Feeney

After teaching for nearly a decade at his alma mater in Waterbury, in 2014, Eric Feeney began teaching at Wolcott Elementary in West Hartford. Shortly following, Sam Sohn, the father of one of his students, passed away suddenly from a heart attack. He left behind four beautiful children and a loving wife, Nancy Wallace-Sohn. Eric saw first-hand the toll this took on the family as they navigated their way through this unthinkable tragedy. The following year, Rashad Collier Sr., another father of a student in Eric’s class, passed away in Hartford as a result of gun violence. Rashad left behind two fantastic children and a loving wife, Denise Villegas. The impact of these tragedies weighed on Eric and motivated him to build an organization that could provide assistance for similar situations. With that, Friends of Feeney was born. In 2019, Friends of Feeney Inc. became an official 501©(3) nonprofit organization, allowing more funds to be raised and expanding the range of services provided to children and families in need. Today, over a decade since Eric’s idea to build a community organization dedicated to supporting our friends in need, Friends of Feeney has burgeoned into a reputable and recognized organization capable of providing financial and resource support to numerous families and individuals across greater Hartford and beyond. Through this work, an incredible community of children and families has been recognized, who care for and appreciate each other’s kindness.

Producer

David Chmielewski

David started his video career in the early 1990s working on video crews as an independent contractor for such companies as Martha Stewart Living, IBM and Xerox. After graduating Southern Connecticut State University with the degree in Corporate Communications, David continued his video production career and accepted a position at WFSB in Hartford, CT. Within a few years the news and production studios became his charge and David designed, installed and maintained the televisions sets for the various programs at the station. At the end of 2013 David founded DirectLine Media, a video production company that specializes in creating memorable and compelling video content for businesses.

What is Feeney Talks With Friends?

Eric Feeney talks with #friends! Eric is the founder of the nonprofit organization Friends of Feeney. Their mission is to help children and families who need assistance after heartbreak and tragedy. www.friendsoffeeney.com