HDI Brings Food Security to International Community

Empowerment is the modus operandi with which Connie Milstein practices her philanthropy, and the food security program of HDI is just another example of how this is accomplished. Satisfying their interest in feeding the hungry and helping those who are disenfranchised has always been an important goal of the directors of Humpty Dumpty Institute, including Connie Milstein. HDI’s projects in Africa and Asia combine the clearance of mines with the development of agriculture which increases the local food supply.

As just one example, HDI cleared landmines from important roads and thoroughfares so that over 20,000 individual farmers could bring their farm produce to the marketplace for the first time in more than ten years.

In another case landmine removal was removed from the areas around schools in Laos in exchange for getting a daily, healthy snack for each one of 10,000 students. In Sri Lanka the HDI clearance program is combined with teaching more than 1,200 farmers modern and new techniques for agriculture and bringing a renaissance to the now dormant, but once thriving, dairy industry.

Empowerment, self-sufficiency, human dignity are the goals the HDI, with Connie Milstein at the helm, strive towards.

Arts, Education, Politics Just Some of Connie Milstein’s Many Interests

Connie Milstein is involved in charitable organizations such as Medical Missions for Children and her very special bakery, Connie’s Bakery and General Store, where every purchase goes to charity and the business employees and trains people that otherwise might not have had a real chance at earning a living wage in a dignified manner.

Ms. Milstein is also participates in the democratic process and supports political causes such as The National Democratic Institute and the Democratic Governors Association.

Added to all this, Connie Milstein is a busy patron of the arts and educational institutions, with involvement in such organizations such as the New York City Opera, the New York City Parks Foundation and New York University.

Mine Action Programs of HDI Supported by Connie Milstein

Connie Milstein is a co-founder and board member of the Humpty Dumpty Institute, which is on the forefront of the battle against the international landmine epidemic. In order to remove the mines HDI has created innovative partnerships to raise money and awareness.

One of its more pioneering projects was begun in 2004, which monetized surplus food commodities in the U.S. and using the proceeding monies for reinforcing the symbiotic goals of demining and development of agriculture on the newly cleared lands. In this way the HDI was able to directly contribute almost $10 million towards the landmine clearance programs of Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Laos, Armenia and several others.

HDI, with the support of Connie Milstein has also created a program called “Adopt-A-Minefield.” Begun in 1998, Adopt-A-Minefield has raised more than $20 million for its many projects. The goal of these projects is the same everywhere: to support and help the direct and indirect victims of landmines so that they can either return home, find jobs, support families, be productive members of their societies and in general lead normal, fulfilling lives.

Connie Milstein Promoting UN-US Relations at HDI

As Chairman, Co-Founder and Board Member of the Humpty Dumpty Institute, Connie Milstein promotes improved dialogue between the U.S. government, the U.S. Congress and the United Nations. This improved relationship is accomplished through several means and on a variety of levels.

At the moment HDI is the only U.S. organization that brings congressmen and women and other senior government staff to United Nations Headquarters for private and off-the-record talks on issues of critical importance to the U.S. and U.N.

Based on the belief that sharing information improves policy decisions, the Humpty Dumpty Institute offers several programs for policy makers to get informed.

1. Congressional Delegations are brought to the headquarters of the United Nations in NY: This is the flagship program of HDI, which brings congressmen, senators, and their senior staff members to New York to meet in private and off-the-record with senior Secretariat officials and U.N. diplomats at the U.N. headquarters. More than 300 offices of congressional leaders have participated so far in the HDI sponsored delegations since this programs founding.

2. U.N. Across America: This latest HDI program takes members of the U.N. diplomatic corps to meet the people of America, from all backgrounds and with all their concerns and issues. This program has so far concentrated on reaching out to U.S. citizens outside the Northeastern corridor of the U.S. and has taken 50 U.N. diplomats to 10 different American cities. The U.N. diplomats have also met with city and state level policy makers in Detroit, Boston, and Phoenix, Portland (Maine and Oregon), Houston and more.

3. U.N. to D.C.: HDI also brings the U.N. diplomats down to Washington to meet law-makers in their own headquarters for more closed door, off-the-record policy discussions.

Connie Milstein Shows Support with Gift of Delicious Brownies

Assistant pastry chef Jamie Jeffrey, along with Liane Paap of Connie’s Bakery, delivered 20,000 brownies to the inaugural celebration in Washington D.C. last January. According to Deena Plotka, who works at Connie’s too,

“Connie Milstein wanted to support the efforts of our president-elect, of all the people in Washington, D.C., our nation and all the volunteers.”

Connie’s is an amazing enterprise which is well-known for its one year apprenticeship program, which hires people having difficulties finding work and trains them to be employable in the food service industry. Jamie Jeffrey, the employee that delivered the brownies to Washington, was living in a shelter with no prospects for gainful employment when she became an apprentice at Connie’s Bakery, in 2006. After finishing her apprenticeship she was hired at a full-time assistant pastry chef at the Bakery, and got to deliver the brownie’s to the inauguration.

Team Effort at Connie’s Bakery Get Brownie’s to the Inauguration on Time

Connie’s Bakery, located in Mt. Kisco, New York, closed down from January 5th until January 17th so that the staff would be available to bake, wrap and store 20,0000 brownies to be distributed at various events and venues of the presidential inauguration of Barak Obama. Working 20 hour days, the staff at Connie Milstein’s bakery worried if they would be able to complete the task at hand by the deadline, when they only managed to pack 810 brownies by the end of the first day.

Enlisting the help of the community by placing a sign on the door of Connie’s asking for help from the public, volunteers came to the rescue and brought the 20,000 brownies goal to fruition.
Expressing a theme of Connie’s Bakery in general, Deena Plotka, one of the employees at Connie’s, said,

“That’s the only way for us to be successful, is through the support of the community.”

Plotka continued:

“This goes to show us how many people are becoming aware of who we are, what we do and our mission, and they support our efforts.”

Twenty Thousand Brownies for Inauguration of Barak Obama from Connie’s Bakery

Connie’s Bakery, one of Connie Milstein’s philanthropic projects, donated 20,000 brownies to the historic inaugural celebration of President Barak Obama in January, 2009. In order to facilitate this mighty undertaking, Connie’s was closed from January 5th until January 17th, although the facility was itself was hard at work producing the scrumptious brownies by the thousands.

The yummy treats were distributed to the large cadre of volunteers working hard to make the inauguration an outstanding success, and were Connie’s way of saying thank you and giving back to the community. The largest number of brownies, 10,000, was distributed at the “Day of Service” even which took place at RFK Stadium. The rest of the brownies were made available at seven other events in honor of and in celebration of the inauguration.