DANBURY, CONN. — Starting the day right means having a healthy breakfast — whole-grain cereals, fruit, juices and some hot pancakes and eggs on a cold winter morning. But for some people, a good breakfast is a luxury. That’s why Friar Michael Lasky of the Newman Center at Western Connecticut State University helped start “Morning Glory Breakfast.”

For the past two years, WestConn students and community volunteers have dished up breakfast to 100 people every morning at the Dorothy Day Hospitality House in Danbury. When the program — sponsored by Catholic Charities — started in October 2007, it was just two mornings a week. Since then, the program has grown with more volunteers and a daily meal for those in need.

Every Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30 to 9 a.m., several WestConn students assist the home’s staff by prepping, serving and cleaning-up after meals that include everything from pancakes and eggs to cereal and fruit. Volunteers from the community pitch in to help on the other days. Lasky said the program does have difficulty in the summer months filling the volunteer positions while students are not in school.

WestConn junior Brittany Leandra is the volunteer coordinator and has been involved with the program for about a year. She said that the experience is great for students as well as the people who come for breakfast. “It’s rewarding and it’s building community,” Leandra said. “The people are friendly and appreciative.”

“And the students are thankful, too,” Lasky said. “They say things like, ‘It got me out of bed and I’m doing something purposeful.’”

For more information, contact the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.