Our Story
As a new Empty Nester in the fall of 2022 I found myself looking to fill some of the extra time I had, and at the same time wanting to find a way to do something that gave me some joy! As part of this decision it was important to me to find an organization to contribute to that focuses on suicide prevention and awareness. Because of my 30 plus years of work in the field of psychiatry and especially after the tragic loss of my daughter’s close friend’s younger brother during Covid, I chose Jordan Porco Foundation(JPF). JPF is an amazing local organization that works directly with educators and students from the junior high school age level right through college. Their work expands all over the United States to hundreds of colleges and universities. A percentage of proceeds from Chester Co. will go to the Jordan Porco Foundation to support life saving programs and research in the prevention of suicide and mental health awareness.
Over the holidays I started making granola for my family and they loved it! They added the granola to their acai bowls, smoothies, yogurt, and all sorts of things. I was making it ALL the time. One day my daughter mentioned, “you should sell this stuff”. And that is how the start up of Chester Co. came about. It was kind of on a whim but since I was having fun I decided, why not give it a go!
The Chester Co. logo has a story as well. The Squirrel , known as the Chester Connecticut town animal and stars have become iconic symbols in this quaint New England town. There is also a whimsical Wishing Booth located downtown during the holidays that anyone can use. It’s designed so that you can put your wishes out to the universe through an old fashion pay phone. If you drive through Chester anytime between December through the beginning of March the town is lit up at night with locally hand made stars. It’s pure magic! To learn more about the stars and see some photos of beautiful downtown Chester, visit The Cottage. Definitely listen to the “Wish Booth Poem” while you are visiting the website.
What I love most about the stars is that they are a symbol of hope; hope that our dreams can come true, hope for peace, hope for health, hope for our loved ones, and sometimes the hope of just getting through the day. I believe that something we all share in common is that there are times when we grieve; we grieve the loss of people we love, lost time, and not only do we all experience grieving, we also long for meaningful loving connection. It’s important to feel hope during times that feel hard to navigate.
Each granola product contains a homemade maple candy star. “When you find the magic star make a wish and you’ll go far.” My day job as a psychotherapist is and continues to be very important work to me. What I know for sure, after all the experience I’ve had working with people, is that everyone will have hard things to deal with at different points in their lives. No one escapes! So, through this little business my dream for this product is that it will help people like you tap into your inner child, young and old alike, and get excited about finding the magic star, making a wish, feeling some joy in that moment, and most importantly to be reminded that even in our most difficult times there is always hope. Enjoy!
