People in Orange give a helping hand

ORANGE, Conn. (WTNH) -- Neighbors are helping neighbors in this time of need and the people of Orange are showing how they give a helping hand.

With wires down all over and more people without power than with, folks in orange are grateful for the little things, like a hot meal. That's why Chip's was packed this morning.

"So they're coming here to just get a little warm, get a hot cup of coffee and a hot meal and then try to go back to their regular lives," Dina Bajkol, of Chip's Restaurant, said.

For many of the breakfast crowd, there's no such thing as a regular life right now, and if coffee warms the inside, what about the outside? The Planet Fitness chain has an answer for that.

"It's just an opportunity to help people out in a time of need and we're human so you kind of want to help everybody out as best you can," Glenn Stuart, Planet Fitness General Manager, said.

And that means opening the locker room to anyone who needs a shower. Mike heard about it from his sister.

"She told me that I can come here and don't have to sign up or anything like that to take a shower. It's really a huge benefit for people out there who are impacted by the storm," Mike O'Shea, who is visiting from North Carolina, said.

No membership is needed and it's free at any Planet Fitness that has power.

"It's going to make the day a lot more comfortable and a little less smelly for us," Stephanie Blanchette of Orange said.

And for Stephanie's kids, it means a little break from life in the cold and dark.

"We have like a ton of board games so we play those and we have some puzzles to work on," Cooper Blanchette said.

News 8's Kent Pierce asked Cooper, "has it been cold?"

"Yeah," Cooper said.

"Did it feel good to take a shower," asked Pierce.

"Yup, it did," Cooper said.

Of course, everyone had the same question -- when are the lights going to come back on? UI plans to have 95% of its customers online by midnight Monday.