Through its Southbury Community Trust Fund, Connecticut Community Foundation has awarded $42,000 in grants to six organizations—all to improve the quality of life for Southbury residents. Goals of the grants include reducing bullying in local schools, providing critical supports to domestic violence and sexual assault victims, expanding opportunities for older adults and young people to participate in the arts, and engaging high school students in learning about the political process and creating positive community change.
A local anonymous donor established the Southbury Community Trust Fund in 1994 to support nonprofit organizations that serve Southbury residents. Since it was formally transferred to Connecticut Community Foundation in 2010, the fund has awarded 58 grants totaling more than $338,000 have been awarded to local organizations. A committee of Southbury volunteers reviews each grant application and makes recommendations to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees for approval.
The new grant awards include:
• The After School Arts Program (ASAP!) received $4,300 to support a weeklong dance immersion for Southbury older adults, youth with learning disabilities and fourth and fifth graders, led by the modern dance company, Pilobolus.
• Arts Escape received $16,636 to support “Living Artfully” workshops and presentations for older adults living in Southbury. The workshops inspire creativity, support memory, and cultivate imagination through hands-on workshops, lectures, and performances.
• Pomperaug High School in Southbury received $7,500 for anti-bias, anti-bullying efforts to help schools create positive climates through student-centered assemblies.
• Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury received $5,000 toward domestic violence and sexual assault services at their Southbury Office, including crisis intervention, in-person counseling, a support group and advocacy services.
• S.M.A.R.T (Southbury and Middlebury Acting Responsibly Together) received $4,300 to print 2,000 “Community of Concern Booklets” for local distribution in 2017. The booklets provide information on the effects of substance abuse on brain function.
• Greater Waterbury YMCA received $5,000 to support Pomperaug High School’s youth and government program, which teaches students skills such as writing bills and debating issues— necessary to create community change through the political process.
Said Paula Van Ness, president and CEO of Connecticut Community Foundation, “We are delighted to contribute to a vibrant Southbury through these grant awards. Each grantee reflects the energy, dedication and creativity that are the lifeblood of thriving communities. Southbury is better because of these organizations.”
