After the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, the Rector of Saint Luke’s Parish in Darien, CT, the Rev. Dr. Robert Nelson Back, who had attended seminary with Dr. King, met with parish member Jean Sherman to discuss how caring people could express their concern about, and respond to, both the assassination and the civil rights movement. On April 18, 1968, Dr. Back announced the formation of Person-to-Person and named Sherman as its first director.
The organizing principle was to use the resources of the greater community to support Person-to-Person and help those in need, while educating volunteers and supporters about poverty and social injustice. Help began with food and clothing and soon grew to include emergency financial assistance, Camperships so that children would be safe during the summer while their parents worked, and Scholarships to help students attain their dream of college while breaking the cycle of poverty and changing the trajectory of the family.
Since 1968, P2P has grown, expanding its geographic reach from Darien and Stamford to include offices in Norwalk and P2P On Wheels in Stamford, and serving New Canaan, Weston, Westport, and Wilton.
To this day, P2P continues with the vision of communities of financially stable, hunger-free homes with educational opportunities for all.
