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Dare to Thrive: Rene’s Story

Rene Hubbard’s life changed when she first donned her chef’s coat in the kitchen of the Merriman Culinary Academy in Waterbury. After some difficult years of personal struggle, Rene is now living her purpose — nurturing, feeding, and caring for others in our community. Support nonprofits that help our community to thrive.

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A community foundation building rewarding lives and thriving communities in Greater Waterbury and the Litchfield Hills since 1923.

What’s New

Special Thanks to Ion Bank Foundation for their $30k Match to the Impact NOW Fund

Beth Messina2025-11-20T15:39:06-05:00November 19, 2025|

Scholarship Winner Thriving at Harvard

Beth Messina2025-11-13T09:51:18-05:00November 13, 2025|

Forum in Litchfield Explores Responsive Change and Action

Beth Messina2025-11-07T14:44:48-05:00November 7, 2025|

Our Donors

“I thought that creating the scholarship fund was a great way of keeping his memory alive and lessening the financial burden for students like him whose goals are to become physicians.” — JOYCE DECESARE OF WATERBURY, ON HER STEPFATHER

Our Grantees

“Our idea for the school program was that if you could assess and intervene early, you can prevent more significant mental health problems from presenting later on.” —JOHN SIMONCELLI, GREENWOODS COUNSELING AND REFERRALS