2017 Grants by Priority Area
Arts and Culture
for project at Children’s Community School, which serves inner-city Waterbury families living at or below federal poverty level. Students gain a deeper understanding of the natural world and each other by working with professional artists and scientists, collaborating on field trips and creating artwork inspired by nature.
for basic and advanced sewing instruction and fashion design led by international fashion designer, Suzanne Rae. The program includes involvement of other local designers and a trip to New York City, designer studios, consignment stores (for materials) and a runway performance. Focus is on personal branding, photography and the fashion retail world.
to help participants harness the power of creative writing by creating visual contents while portraying their own individual story and writing about it. With the guidance of a professional writer, the pieces are put together and published as a single volume. The program will be facilitated by Peggy Robles-Alvarado, a passionate elementary school educator, writer and two-time International Latino Book Award winner.
to provide developmentally appropriate theatre arts activities for students in first through eighth grades, produce affordable children’s theatre productions, offer intensive technical education for teens and build a social teen theatre club.
to partner with Waterbury YMCA to provide free on-site and off-site fine art learning opportunities to its preschool administrators, teachers, students and families. The goal is to incorporate arts education into classrooms to better serve these individuals.
for a weekly art class at Independence Center in Waterbury, based upon the principle that people diagnosed with mental health conditions need a positive, trusted environment to become engaged. To create opportunities that support individual artists within the community, activities will be scheduled at senior centers, libraries, and residential spaces. By using art as a connection, both the casual interactions and more formal arts projects will allow participants to form meaningful new relationships with each other and the broader community.
to help the Prospect Historical Society to share quilts from the Hotchkiss House Museum. The grant will fund educational speaker Susan Reichter at a Vintage Quilt Show to be held on October 1.
Shakesperience Productions (Waterbury): Waterbury Interactive: Our City, Our Neighborhoods - $10,000
to help young people develop interactive performances that focus on the development and history of specific Waterbury neighborhoods. Once the plays are created, the young people perform them in neighborhood parks or centralized locations for their families and neighbors.
to support a summer component of an intensive in-school and after-school music education program for underserved students and their families. Music is used as a tool for personal development, community engagement and social change.
Cradle to Career
to deliver a six-week workshop on entrepreneurship for young adults and unemployed recent high school graduates with autism spectrum disorders.
to start a digital media and storytelling class for 6-8th grade club members in partnership with Skills21. The program will broaden the club’s academic and STEM afterschool programming.
to implement the second year of the Boost! Program at four Waterbury public schools and to incorporate a new equity focus into the project with the goal of eliminating disparities in the achievement gap for youth.
to purchase materials for pre-kindergarten classrooms in order to meet NAEYC accreditation standards. The grant would support two pre-k classrooms, which have 34 students.
to hire an early care and education consultant who will provide training and coaching to staff in the infant-toddler classrooms on the social and emotional strands of the Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards.
to provide legal counsel to Girl Scouts of Connecticut.
to launch a three-year pilot initiative in partnership with the New York Academy of Sciences, which will serve up to 130 girls in grades 4-12.
to purchase age-appropriate materials and games that encourage children six months and older to engage in pretend and social play and gross motor skill activities.
to support an interactive event for 500 Waterbury High School students to expose participants to the financial obligations of adulthood.
to coordinate and oversee a series of public forums where New Milford High School students can learn about post-secondary education paths in STEM.
to help Region 14 students develop agricultural skills and knowledge, through a partnership between adult Glebe House volunteers and the Region 14 Agriscience program.
to support the cost student teachers, faculty and meals for 85 Waterbury students to attend a Summer Academic Enrichment Academy at Taft School in Watertown.
to support an early childhood and mental health symposium for Waterbury early care and education providers, family and home care providers, Waterbury Public School staff and community stakeholders.
to launch a “One School, One Book Campaign” at Thomaston Middle School, which has 203 students. The goal is to engage the broader community in reading in order to improve student literacy levels.
to significantly expand the evidence-based afterschool robotics program to ten new schools including: six elementary schools, three middle schools and one alternative school.
to support an after school program that provides a positive, culturally competent youth development program for students between the ages of 13-19.
To help repair a portion of the playground fence which currently poses a safety risk to students.
To inform the early childhood community in the region about timely advocacy and policy issues that will affect children and families and to increase awareness of the importance of the first thousand days of a child’s life.
To help provide a storyteller-in-residence for first and second grade classrooms at Bucks Hill Elementary School (Waterbury, CT).
To increase readiness of students entering kindergarten by continuing to strengthen the collaboration between New Milford public schools and the New Milford preschool community.
To prepare Waterbury children to enter schools with the foundational skills needed to learn to read, and prepare parents to support their children’s social and emotional learning.
To support the transition of all preschoolers to kindergarten in Naugatuck.
To enhance quality in early childhood programs by providing staff development, coaching sessions, community and school leader professional development around the importance of social and emotional development in children.
To improve school readiness and foster a family/school partnership to help every child be ready for school.
To provide mentoring to 13-17 year-old Waterbury young women in the form of monthly life skills workshops that focus on physical, mental and emotional well-being.
To help teen and young adult writers work toward self-publishing an anthology of short stories.
To give youth opportunities to learn real-life applications in the science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math.
To provide youth with Flanders Nature Center classes, mathematics instructional software, and a new computer.
In partnership with True Colors (Hartford, CT), fund a part-time employee at StayWell to coordinate efforts in the Greater Waterbury area and ensure that the needs of sexual and gender minority youth are being recognized and met.
Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment
To provide domestic violence crisis intervention and long-term services for victims and survivors in the Foundation’s region.
To support the staff coverage necessary so that single women who are victims of physical, emotional or psychological abuse, sexual assault or domestic violence are allowed to stay in the shelter during the day.
To provide crisis and support services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault with the goal of increasing clients’ empowerment, self-sufficiency, and independence.
To expand the Child Abuse Interdisciplinary Team (CAIT) and improve the assessment and treatment of sexual and physical abuse in child victims.
Economic Vitality
To develop a master plan of the entire food hub campus including all buildings, green space, paved areas, river and walking paths, public infrastructure such as sidewalks and road improvements, and a clear delineation of a trailhead link to the Naugatuck River Greenway. The plan is critical to obtaining necessary funding for the next phases of the project.
To support the STRIVE program, which will provide job readiness training in Waterbury to unemployed adults with substantial barriers to employment, such as lack of formal education or a history of incarceration. STRIVE’s internationally-recognized model teaches professional workplace norms, leadership skills, and public presentation skills. Participants develop professional goals write resumes and practice interviewing before receiving placement assistance.
To support culinary training, including all aspect of working in a professional kitchen, for three 12-week sessions.
To build the capacity of the region’s Coordinated Access Network (CAN) to serve homeless and housing unstable youth in the region, and support services for other populations including chronically homeless people and families. The goals are to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.
To provide operational support for soup kitchen and emergency food pantry, which will help provide 25,000 meals over a one-month period.
To fund a data entry clerk for reporting statistics regarding student progress, necessary to receive funding from state, federal and local grants.
For social services, community support, job training and education, which positions Latinos for success in the workforce. Meeting basic employment needs through strong social networks is a necessary component to sustainable economic security for Latinos.
To provide emergency energy assistance for households in Waterbury. People receiving support will have incomes below 60% of the Connecticut median income level.
For an all-day, professional development workshop for Litchfield County farmers.
To operate temporary emergency shelter for low/no income homeless families and train staff in crisis intervention, which is critical to providing shelter services.
Environment
To help build the capacity of land trusts and municipalities to protect farmland and promote agricultural production. Through a circuit rider with experience in soils, agricultural easements, state and federal programs, and environmentally-sound farming practices, free guidance to area land trusts and municipalities will be provided on how to best configure land parcels for permanent protection while maximizing agricultural production.
To build a new public trail for the Bridgewater Land Trust.
To strengthen the Connecticut’s land trusts in order to save the region’s natural resources, agricultural lands, and high quality of life.
To support the conservation and preservation of the Mill River (an important natural resource) by developing the Cheshire portion of the Mill River watershed-based plan.
To support Chispa (“Spark”), a Latino after-school outreach program in Waterbury that focuses on teaching young teens about the environment.
To hire an educational consultant to help enhance the curriculum and related programs geared toward students in grades 3-5.
To analyze bridges and culverts in Washington and Roxbury in order to prepare for right-sized replacements. The study will position each town to access additional funding sources when replacing “at-risk” culverts in the future, reducing damaged roads while increasing health of wildlife in streams.
With the Roxbury Conservation Commission, help Roxbury residents understand the unique geological and environmental circumstances that promote smart growth and help residents and property owners make informed decisions.
To provide employment and environmental learning opportunities for students, in order to nurture the next generation of environmental professionals and advocates.
To convene and educational conference to address the quality and quantity of water supply in Western Connecticut, specifically: 1) Where the water comes from; 2) how it is/isn’t protected in terms of supply and quantity; 3) what residents’ rights are; 4) what are responsibilities and challenges for water suppliers; 5) how to protect this resource.
To develop a half-day environmental education field study for Waterbury high school students which will expose participants to environmental careers, broaden awareness of the environment through science experiments, teach about the interconnectedness between city/rural areas, and highlight importance of land conservation.
To improve the 50-acre Mt. Tom Preserve and wildlife area: trailblazing, removal of trash and invasive species, and signage.
Grassroots Leaders
To fund an online course on “how to organize communities to mobilize their resources to create the power they need to make change,” taught through the Harvard Kennedy School.
To provide wrap-around support to up to 30 youth with the goal of improving academic achievement.
To support community and resident-led efforts to clean up the blighted north and south end neighborhoods of Waterbury.
To support the purchase of lilac trees which will be planted in historic Fulton Park. Community members will plant and maintain the trees in partnership with the Waterbury Parks Department.
To support community and resident-led efforts to clean up the blighted north and southend neighborhoods in Waterbury.
To support a co-ed youth basketball and academic mentoring program for Greater Waterbury youth 9-16 years-old.
To support summer camp for Waterbury youth with high needs, held at Walsh Elementary School. Community organizations and youth leaders will provide mentoring and academic support to campers.
To support the Unity concert, now in its fourth year, in bringing a diverse group of area residents to Library Park in Waterbury for a day of music, arts and education. The event typically draws 2,000 people.
To support a one-day event at Mattatuck Museum to educate Waterbury students on the inspirational story of Latin jazz legend Tito Puente, culminating in an offsite event with live music by Tito Puente, Jr.
To support a citywide collective known as Q.U.E.S.T. in their work to increase lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LBGTQ) visibility at events in the Greater Waterbury area and to create an online presence citing sources that show that LGBTQ visibility increases mental health of LGBTQ youth.
To support a city-wide soccer tournament in Waterbury with competitors from several area high schools and to provide family engagement activities.
To support a two-day event at Naugatuck Valley Community College for educators, parents and students regarding equity in the Waterbury education system.
For continued support of student-led organizing efforts of Waterbury students to address local needs and contact local legislators.
To support students experiencing food insecurity at Hopeville Elementary School. Identified students will receive a backpack of food, assembled by South Congregational Church, to take home over the weekend.
Healthy Communities
to train five Waterbury Child and Family Services clinicians in Theraplay, which is the next intervention based in the Marshak Interaction Method (MIM).
to connect Waterbury kids with healthy foods in school by providing gardening and cooking lessons, taste testing, improving school meals and promoting a school-wide culture of health.
to hire an occupational therapist that will work with nine riders from June-July, 2017.
to host four community events in different locations, providing the Hispanic community with health information.
to support access to CPR training for 15 people.
To support the hiring of a community health worker who will implement the HIV Prevention programs, Pre-exposure Prophylaxis and Post-exposure Prophylaxis in Waterbury.
To build a 360-degree playground that accommodates all the skill and ability ranges of students at the Children’s Center. The playground will be ADA, state, and National Association for the Education of Young Children compliant.
To start a Waterbury chapter of Connecticut C.O.R.E. which will focus on environmental justice and health equity in the city. Work will include the development of a food justice guide and collaborating with underserved communities to create new ways of accessing affordable and nutritious food. (Fiscal sponsor: A Better Way Foundation)
In partnership with True Colors (Hartford, CT), fund a part-time employee at StayWell to coordinate efforts in the Greater Waterbury area and ensure that the needs of sexual and gender minority youth are recognized and met.
To support the cost of a health educator to oversee the work of the Greater Waterbury Health Partnership coalition, which aims to provide access to quality, culturally-sensitive and evidence-based health information to Greater Waterbury residents and organizations.
To expand Live Well with Diabetes Self-Management programs in Waterbury through collaboration with local partners. Funding will cover staff, building of a referral network, training and incentives for volunteer leaders, community sites, and program participants. If successful, more evidence-based programs will be added in the future.
Naugatuck Health and Wellness
To support Naugatuck residents to participate in therapeutic horseback riding activities throughout the year.
To provide afternoon medical transportation to Naugatuck residents, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that Naugatuck’s older adults can maintain independence and dignity at home for as long as possible.
To continue funding to pay for a Wellmore clinician to provide counseling services to City Middle School and Naugatuck High School for a total of 16 weeks during the 2017-2018 school year.
To build an adaptive playground behind the YMCA which will be accessible to Naugatuck children and youth.
To start the Step Up to Naugy Coalition, which will build effective and sustainable strategies to prevent the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs by Naugatuck’s youth.
Older Adults
to offer nutrition education, meal planning and healthy cooking classes for older adults at Waterbury BRASS and housing sites as well as senior centers in surrounding towns. The nutritionists also coach seniors in adapting to dietary restrictions.
to support staff time for weekly social gatherings and food and supplies for monthly luncheons with educational programs. Staff and volunteers monitor the well-being of participants and follow up to address needs.
to support a portion of the coordinator salary and uncovered costs for chore workers who help older adults age in their own homes with up to three hours per week of assistance. Chore workers are local residents so wages are often spent in the community.
to fund a portion of the senior center director and van driver salaries so that Mount Olive can focus their fundraising efforts on the agency’s contribution to the purchase of a replacement van. Volunteer involvement helps to keep operational costs low.
to fund the portion of the request that continues community organizing efforts to support passage of legislation enhancing protections and improving jobs for domestic/home care workers; $500 is designated for leading change training support.
to support instructor costs for a wide range of fitness programs for older adults offered at the Y and offsite. Evidence-based programs are being added through participation in the national YMCA Wellness Cohort; these programs are labor-intensive and staffing has been enhanced.
to equip a food trailer with kitchen equipment and related energy sources. The trailer will be used to provide meals for older adults (including those who are underserved and low income) and at community events. Community event meals at ‘market prices’ will generate funds to support expansion of the Meals on Wheels program.
to purchase materials and supplies for the OLLI gardens in Fulton Park; OLLI members provide volunteer labor to grow food for distribution to soup kitchens and food pantries. 17, 775 pounds of food were produced in 2016; 5,000 volunteer hours were logged by OLLI members.
to fund building supplies, materials and licensed technicians to implement 25 health and safety priorities in site homes, working to achieve safer living environments.
to support instructor costs for 48 weeks (three times per week) of Enhance Fitness, an evidence-based group exercise program designed for people with arthritis. Participants who attend regularly generally show improvement in strength, balance, fitness and pain level.
to provide books, leader stipends and participant incentives for two sessions of Spanish Live Well with Diabetes (Diabetes: Es Su Vida: Vivala Bien) to be held in Waterbury. Live Well Diabetes is an evidence-based program for education and self-management. Currently, no diabetes education is available in Spanish in Waterbury.
to continue weekly classes in mindfulness-based hatha yoga at Willow Plaza Community Center through the end of 2017. Impact will be determined by post-program assessments using research-validated tools. During year one, participants showed gains in balance and the ability to recognize and respond to stress and negative thinking.
To assist with overhead costs (including a part-time activities assistant) of participation of the Waterbury Senior Center as a location for BRASS (Bringing Resources to Action to Serve Seniors) programs.
To assist with overhead costs (transportation) of participation as a location for Waterbury BRASS (Bringing Resources to Action to Serve Seniors) programs.
To assist with overhead costs (including staff, presenters, art supplies and refreshments) of participation of Mattatuck Museum as a site and provider of BRASS (Bringing Resources to Action to Serve Seniors) programs.
To assist with overhead costs (including trips, health costs and other classes) of participation as a location for BRASS (Bringing Resources to Action to Serve Seniors) programs.
To fund the BRASS (Bringing Resources to Action to Serve Seniors) Program Coordinator to plan and organize programs for BRASS sites and associates, publicize programs, evaluate programs and interests of older adults, and coordinate with site staff. (Note: The City of Waterbury contributes an additional $25,000 for direct program costs.)
To assist with overhead costs (including a bilingual computer instructor for the Hispanic Coalition, computer equipment for Mount Olive classes, and staff travel) in bringing programs to BRASS (Bringing Resources to Action to Serve Seniors) sites and to serve BRASS participants on site.
To assist with program costs for staff, facility and programs.
To assist with overhead costs (including instructor fees for tai chi and chair yoga) in bringing programs to BRASS (Bringing Resources to Action to Serve Seniors) sites and to serve BRASS participants on site.
To fund a full-time information and benefits specialist to assist older adults in Waterbury with health insurance, financial benefits and programs that foster aging in the community. Funding will also support group presentations, coordination of the Senior Services Provider Network, a presence at the Waterbury Senior Center three times per week, and meetings with clients in their homes and in various locations around Waterbury.
For launch event and demonstration to recruit participants for a yearlong project of self-expression through writing and art.
To fund three workshops for older adults on eating for energy and vitality.
For support of the Connecticut Healthy Living Collective, which is comprised of state, regional and local agencies and organizations dedicated to healthy aging in Connecticut and expansion of evidence-based and evidence-informed programs for older adults.
To purchase a scale, blood pressure cuff and supplies for arts and crafts, sewing and woodworking.
For printing and postage costs for annual fund drive. The fund drive supplements grants, client donations, municipal contributions and Give Local — all to serve older adults requesting assistance.
To purchase equipment for virtual and recorded museum tours and “Museum on the Go” interactive offsite presentations. The equipment will aid in reaching underserved older adults at a variety of community and residential locations.
To continue providing healthy, restaurant-quality lunches at Southbury and Woodbury Senior Centers twice weekly.
To purchase a point-of-sale system for receiving payment and tracking users of the food truck, which will provide meals for older adults (focusing on people who are underserved) and at community events. Community event meals at “market prices” will generate funds to support Meals on Wheels.
To purchase materials, including lumber for renovating raised beds, for the OLLI gardens in Fulton Park in Waterbury.
For movement and dance program for older adults that enhances balance, strength, connection with others and creative self-expression. This year, more classes will be offered, teacher training will be initiated and manuals for teachers and participants will be published.
To educate older adults and community members about opiates and alternative strategies for pain reduction. Matter of Balance coaches will also be trained.
To enhance intergenerational performances and develop new artistic pieces that allow older adults to tell their stories. Workshop sites include Middlebury, Woodbury and Naugatuck.
To expand Live Well with Diabetes Self-Management programs in Waterbury through collaboration with local partners. Funding will cover staff, building of a referral network, training and incentives for volunteer leaders, community sites, and program participants. If successful, more evidence-based programs will be added in the future.
To provide four weekly exercise classes of different focus and challenge.
To continue weekly classes in mindfulness-based hatha yoga at Willow Plaza Community Center in Waterbury and at two other Waterbury sites. The curriculum for older adults focuses on reducing fatigue, pain and depression while increasing mobility and balance.
Southbury Community Trust Fund
to support organizations that are based or working in Southbury with bonus and prize money during Give Local Greater Waterbury and Litchfield Hills.
to support the Southbury Mobile Food Pantry which will distribute fresh fruit and vegetables directly to Southbury residents monthly.
to host an overnight extravaganza for approximately 300 graduating high school seniors.
to support up to 109 Southbury youth and 21 chaperones to travel to Erie, PA and repair homes for 60 low-income, disabled, and older adult residents.
to work with Internet Safety Concepts to offer a series of presentations for 5-8th grade students on how to be safe while using the internet.
To collaborate with the Southbury Film Commission in order to expose Southbury adults (30-60 year-olds) to the arts through movie screenings and a lecture series.
To continue funding a certified domestic violence and sexual violence counselor at the Safe Haven Southbury community office.
To reformat the Author/Illustrator program to grade-level content with attention to levels of advancement.
To resurface a rock climbing tower at Camp Oakasha in Southbury.
Technology for Organizational Development
to fund phone system upgrade in order to promote more efficient and effective communications.
to purchase a desktop computer, monitor and multifunction printer to maintain up-to-date administrative and stewardship filing practices.
to purchase a new computer and retail sales system, including inventory software.
to purchase donor management software in order to track donors, prospects, volunteers and contacts.
to update and enhance existing phone system; expanding to eight lines with voicemail to ensure no calls are dropped.
To purchase a cloud-based donor management system for the organization’s capital campaign.
To purchase firewall protection for the Club, which will protect computer systems from attacks and intrusions while also limiting access to various websites.
To purchase a new computer and software to increase efficiency and help maintain proper financial oversight.
To redesign and rebrand website.
To purchase an iPad for volunteer recruitment.
To purchase donor management software for tracking and cultivation of new donors and fundraising efforts.
To replace outdated computers.
To update website and add functionality, security updates and mobile compatibility.
To replace outdated servers, allowing for better information access for staff and clients.
Women and Girls (Women’s Fund)
To support a Generating Girls Opportunities (G2O) program for Waterbury middle and high school students through a one-day STEM expo at Naugatuck Valley Community College.
To implement an interactive five module prevention curriculum designed to teach youth how to protect themselves from human trafficking and exploitation.
To increase the leadership skills for girls between the ages of 11 and 17.
To support a Girls Circle program which will include the Adolescent Girl Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Group Model (G-TREM).
To offer a one-day Young Women’s World Conference for 13-19 year old youth. Some girls will also participate in eight follow-up workshops focused on careers.
to support an empowerment event for over 400 young women in grades 9-12 at Wilby High School. The event will include networking, conversations and careers, and an opportunity to hear from successful women about their career paths.
For mentoring of 13-17 year-old young women in Waterbury, in the form of life skills workshops focusing on physical, mental and emotional well-being and 1:1 mentoring.
To conduct research on the impact and scope of human trafficking in the Foundation’s 21-town area.
To promote female empowerment and leadership and encourage Latinas to set life goals in a context that is free from violence, abuse, discrimination and fear.
Youth International Travel (Whittemore Fund)
to support a trip to Italy for up to eight students and two chaperones in July.
to support a trip to New Mexico for up to 18 students and three chaperones in April.