“If Dr Buck hadn’t done this for us, I wonder if we would have survived the pandemic, if we would have financially survived the pandemic,” said Kriss, the pastor of the church, which was founded in 1696 by the Premier of Danbury. eight families of pilgrims.

She recalled the story days after the recent passing of Buck, a Danbury resident and philanthropist who has contributed to various local and national causes. Buck, 90, with a doctorate in physics, grew up on a farm in South Portland, Maine, and opened his first sandwich shop in Bridgeport in 1965.

Buck’s donation to the church was previously kept a secret, although the church called him their “Christmas angel,” Kriss said.

It is one of the many donations Buck and his foundation have made to Danbury over the years. These include $ 30 million in 2014 for a new tower at Danbury Hospital.

The Peter and Carmen Foundation Lucia Buck her family and relatives donated more than $ 4.2 million to the Danbury area alone between 2017 and 2021, according to the foundation’s website. In 2021, the foundation provided $ 27.4 million in grants and scholarships to education, land conservation, medicine and other causes in the city, state and country.

Danbury Mayor Joe Cavo described Buck as “very humble” and “extremely generous”.

“We are grateful to have his foundation here,” he said. “We are grateful for the man he was and the company he developed and the fact that he chose to share his income and wealth with the citizens here in Danbury and everywhere.”

Former Mayor Mark Boughton said Buck has performed “countless acts of kindness” in the community that have gone unnoticed. He called Buck an “unsung angel” for the city.

“If something good was going on in town, generally speaking, Dr Buck was around somewhere,” Boughton said.

For example, Buck has already bought a property in the city for $ 3 million, intending to build a building there. But he abandoned his plans when he learned that children in the area would lose their football field because of his project. Instead, he allowed the city to lease the land for $ 1 per year.

“How much more generous can you be? Said Boughton.

Outside of Danbury, Buck donated to Bowdoin College and the Smithsonian Institution, where he served as a trustee of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. He bought woodlands in Maine, in an attempt to preserve it as “working forest land,” according to the Bangor Daily News.

But he wanted to support the community he lived in, Boughton said.

“He liked the kind of multicultural aspect of Danbury,” said the former mayor.

Boughton visited Buck a few times a year and the two became friends. Boughton recalled “one of the most fascinating afternoons” he spent in Buck’s kitchen learning the story of how the philanthropist started Subway. Boughton told Buck that he wanted to write a book with him one day.

“Unfortunately, we never got there,” he said.

Helping non-profit organizations to “survive”

Thanks to Buck’s foundation, the Connecticut Institute for Communities repaired the swimming pool at the old YMCA building on Main Street, where the organization operates its community center.

“It just happens to be, I think, a pretty good symbolic project of the kinds of things the Buck Foundation was into, their interest in Danbury, their interest in the development of children and youth, their interest in health,” said James Maloney, Founder of CIFC.

Buck has helped homeless support services and his foundation has contributed to the Danbury Senior Center. It helped pay the center staff, Cavo said.

About five years ago, the foundation donated $ 50,000 to Danbury Grassroots Academy, allowing the nonprofit to expand its staff, space and programs for at-risk students, a said Carl Bailey, founder and chairman of the board. The donation was based on the growth of the nonprofit, and the foundation has supported the academy every year since, he said.

The academy expanded into an additional 1,800 square feet of space, hired a part-time staff member, welcomed 15 additional students, and added coding, robotics, art and yoga programs, Bailey said. These activities exposed the students to science and helped relieve much-needed stress, he said.

The two full-time staff members have been released to focus on one-on-one interactions with students rather than fundraising, he said.

“We couldn’t be the same program without what the Buck Foundation has provided,” Bailey said.

Buck’s Foundation supported the United Way of Western Connecticut’s Health Savings Program, which provides free products to households in need, as well as an “ambassador” program where seniors teach their peers a variety of health-related resources. food.

“We are so sad that he passed away,” said CEO Kim Morgan. “He was just a very kind and compassionate person, truly Danbury’s greatest philanthropist.”

Buck has personally donated to The Giving Fund, an annual vacation partnership between United Way and The News-Times, she said. Donations go directly to families in need.

“He’s been supportive of the program every year, hasn’t made much of it,” Morgan said.

She remembers Buck telling her that when he started Subway he taught his employees basic financial skills, “that’s why I think he cared about the Giving Fund program.”

He acknowledged that helping someone fix their car, for example, would help them keep a job, Morgan said.

“He just cared a lot about the ability of people to meet their needs,” she said.

Buck’s foundation has helped West Connecticut Regional YMCA youth activities, such as Escape to the Arts, and wellness programs, such as chronic disease prevention, diabetes prevention and l blood pressure self-monitoring, said spokesperson Patty Kane.

He has been on the YMCA’s top donor list for as far as the organization has records, she said.

“Quite honestly, with the amount he contributed… it keeps the Y going,” Kane said. “He’s been instrumental in his ability to keep those doors open and deliver the level of programming we so desire in the community. “

His foundation also donated to Connecticut Community Care programs for the elderly.

“Indeed, its commitment to an age-friendly Danbury – a great place to grow and age – has been demonstrated by the family foundation’s continued support for initiatives that support healthy aging and the economic security of the elderly. , including a number of wellness programs. , managing the care of the CCC in Danbury Seniors Housing and continuing to support a city-wide collaboration called the Danbury Age Well Community Council – a unique and wonderful public, private and philanthropic partnership that works for a vision where people can age (and care for others as they age) in a relevant, healthy and meaningful way, ”said Sherry Ostrout, director of government initiatives, in a statement.

Meanwhile, the First Congregational Church recently celebrated its 325th anniversary and dedicated its final Sunday service to Buck. His donation paid for the technology to deliver services during COVID-19, as well as various programs, Kriss said.

Buck told Kriss that he grew up attending congregation churches. He wanted to preserve the church because of the important role it played in Danbury’s history, she said.

“More than anything Peter loved this city so much and loved these things that carried on its legacy, its history,” Kriss said.

She said she would like something church related to be named Buck. Danbury and the church are working on plans for the city to purchase the building, although church services and programs will continue.

Boughton agreed that naming something in Buck’s honor would be appropriate, although the man would rather not be recognized.

“The reality is that Dr Buck has made Danbury a better community,” said Boughton. “To be his friend was an honor.”