Grants Awarded in 2021

• After School Arts Program (Washington): ASAP! & Children’s Community School Partnership Programming: $9,500 to support academic-year programming at Waterbury’s Children’s Community School, which includes professional development for teachers, the Metamorphosis Project serving grades 3-8, Writing Workshops for grade 4, and Creative Movement and Yoga for the younger grades PreK – 2nd.
• Arts for Learning CT (Hamden): BEE True To You: Social and Emotional Learning in Waterbury – $5,000 to support a Social and Emotional Learning arts integration program at Kingsbury School in Waterbury in Fall 2021.
• Arts & Culture Collaborative of the Waterbury Region (Waterbury) Fiscal Sponsor: Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce Foundation: Backbone Support to Serve the Arts Community – $7,500 to help the arts sector to readjust and recover from the impact of the COVID pandemic. Efforts this year will focus on making ACC membership whole, while integrating a more focused approach to diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Connecticut Arts Alliance (Waterbury): CAA Strategic Plan Implementation (Yr 2) – $5,000 to support the second year of the agency’s strategic plan implementation.
• DOE LIVE (Waterbury) (fiscal sponsor: Neighborhood Housing Services): Curators Camp – $7,500 to support aBlack-led organizational project dedicated to connecting and enriching BIPOC communities through the transformative power of the arts.
• Hoops4Life, Inc. (Waterbury): STEAM (Science Technology Entertainment Art Math) – $2,500 to expand equity-focused arts and culture to engage the community, building on the interest in art to continue to engage youth with new elements of culture.
• Mattatuck Museum (Waterbury): Bringing Art to Children’s Community School – $13,000 to offer three of the Mattatuck Museum’s current high-quality art education programs to the Children’s Community School’s kindergarten through seventh graders, while creating a fourth program with eight-grade students. These programs encompass various art techniques and methods.
• Northwest CT Arts Council (Torrington): Operational Support to Provide Arts Pandemic Assistance and Equitable Community Support – $7,500 for operational funding to continue offering pandemic resources and free equitable arts and culture programs to the community of NWCT.
• Save Girls on FYER (Waterbury): Liberation Arts Program – $10,000 to offer powerful enrichment and development programs that shape the lives of girls of color, including 120 hours of training in filmmaking, media and production, marketing, public speaking and leadership.
• Shakesperience Productions, Inc. (Waterbury) – Waterbury Interactive: Our City, Our Neighborhoods (Year 8)– $11,000 for an inter-generational humanities program integrating local history, theatre, music, and art that has evolved since 2013.
• Spirit of Waterbury (Waterbury): Make Music Waterbury: 2021 – $1,500 to support Make Music Day in Waterbury. MMD is a free, international music celebration in over 1,000 cities and towns throughout the world on June 21^st each year.
• Village Center for the Arts (New Milford): Village Center for the Arts 3D Printing Program – $5,000 to expand programming to include the use of 3-D printing.
• Waterbury Symphony Orchestra (Waterbury): Bravo Summer Program 2021 – $12,000 for an intensive music education program for underserved students, which uses music as a tool for personal development, community engagement, and social change.
• Waterbury Symphony Orchestra (Waterbury): 2021 Community Jazz Program– $5,548 to support the first event in a new community series focused on jazz that is scheduled for June. This event aims to engage new audiences, and especially audiences of color in our community, with a new genre of music (jazz) and educational programming.

• Career Resources, Inc. (Bridgeport): STRIVE Waterbury Program – $10,000 to provide the STRIVE CT workforce readiness program to returning citizens in the Greater Waterbury area in collaboration with the recently opened Waterbury Reentry Welcome Center.
• Center for Children’s Advocacy (Hartford): Waterbury Children & Youth Advocacy Project – $4,000 to promote equitable opportunity for low-income children and youth and BIPOC children/youth by reducing barriers to school attendance, school completion and employability through legal services, as well as work with local and state-level systems to develop systemic reforms to improve opportunities for youth.
• Children’s Law Center of CT, The (Hartford): Legal Representation Program in Waterbury& Litchfield – $7,500 to provide high-quality legal counsel to indigent children whose parents are embroiled in high-conflict family court disputes
• Community Culinary School of NW CT (New Milford): Resume Job Training Classes – $10,000 to resume culinary job training classes which were put on hold at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• ConnCAN (AKA 50CAN) (Hartford): Elevating Latino Voices in Education Decision-Making – $15,776 to expand Latinx community engagement work and the support base of parent advocates in Greater Waterbury to actively reshape their local schools.
• CT Institute for Refugees & Immigrants (Bridgeport): Waterbury Immigration Legal Services – $20,000 to provide legal support for family reunification, naturalization, adjustment of status, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals applications and renewals, visas for victims of domestic violence, asylum application/appeals, and removal defense for Waterbury area immigrants.
• CT Partnership for Children (Naugatuck): Building Equitable Opportunities for Preschoolers – $12,596 to build equitable opportunities for children who are having severe behavioral issues in the preschool setting, by working with the Naugatuck Early Childhood Council and the Naugatuck Board of Education special education team to implement strategies for success.
• Hispanic Coalition of Greater Waterbury (fiscal sponsor for WCC Grant): Working Cities Year 4 (ESL & Voc Ed) / RIBA Aspira Career Academy – $15,000 to support an English as a Second Language program operating at the RIBA (River-Baldwin) ASPIRA Center in Waterbury’s South End, in conjunction with a range of services offered at the Center including case management, child care, transportation, and job placement.
• Junior Achievement of CT (Hartford): JA Project Tomorrows for Waterbury – $10,000 to support an initiative with Waterbury Schools to train teachers and volunteers to deliver virtual versions of JA’s dynamic financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship programs to over 1,000 K-12 students in Waterbury.
• Literacy Volunteers on the Green (New Milford): Literacy Programs for English Language Learners – $5,531 to support adult immigrants seeking English language literacy. Acquiring effective communication skills in English is key to preparing for employment opportunities that build personal and family economic security.
• Literacy Volunteers of Greater Waterbury (Waterbury): Adult Literacy – $5,300 to use trained volunteers and community partners to cultivate educational opportunities for adults. With literacy skills, adult learners are more likely to gain or improve employment, obtain U.S Citizenship, obtain a driver’s license and achieve countless other goals to improve their quality of life.
• LiveGirl (New Canaan): Expanding Programs in Waterbury – $5,000 to prepare Waterbury’s next generation of diverse, brave female leaders with the skills, community, and connections needed to thrive and make a positive impact.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) (Hartford): Building Family Income and Wealth through Financial Opportunity Centers – $15,000 to support a Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) in Waterbury. FOCs are career and financial coaching service centers that help individuals with low-to-moderate incomes focus on the financial bottom line. Funding will support the Waterbury FOC located at Naugatuck Valley Community College.
• Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters (Hartford): Community Based Mentoring – $5,000 to provide one-to-one mentoring in the Waterbury area between at-risk children/youth, aged 6-18, and volunteer mentors.
• Naugatuck Youth Services (Naugatuck): Youth Advocacy & Organizing for Equity in Naugatuck – $18,000 to provide resources and support to young people in the Naugatuck community at a time when they are driving momentum towards equitable social change.
• Naugatuck YMCA (Naugatuck): Housing Capacity Increase – $7,500 to rehabilitate the YMCA’s current single room occupancy housing to increase and improve its ability to address the growing crisis of homelessness. 13 rooms will be refurbished and the electrical system will be upgraded to support the needs of the new capacity. The YMCA will house 13 men for transitional housing or lifelong housing. The project will increase capacity by 46% and improve the quality of living for the current residence.
• Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury: Youth Financial Education Academy – $20,000 to provide financial education and discipline to rising black freshmen, thereby addressing the wealth gap for future generations.
• Reach Out and Read, Inc. (Boston): Greater Waterbury Rx for Success – $10,000 to support an evidence-based early literacy intervention for Greater Waterbury’s most disadvantaged children, helping families discover the bonding experience of reading together, and preparing young children to begin school with strong literacy skills.
• Regional Plan Association (NYC NY) / Desegregate CT: Getting the Community “On Board” for Housing Near Transit in Greater Waterbury – $11,288 to conduct a public education campaign on the role that land use policy plays in the intersection of housing affordability and access to public transportation in the Greater Waterbury region, addressing the potential to live and work near existing public transit infrastructure.
• Salvation Army, The (Waterbury): Family Emergency Shelter -$14,000 to support The Salvation Army’s Waterbury Corps 9-room, 30-bed Family Emergency Shelter which provides safe, temporary housing to families who are homeless. Families work with the Housing Specialist to secure safe, affordable, stable housing and receive support and services.
• Staywell Health Center (Waterbury) (Fiscal Sponsor for Initiative): Queer Unity Empowerment Support Team (QUEST) – $30,000 to continue QUEST’s work to address the safety and security of one of our most vulnerable communities, LGBTQ youth. This includes implementing an action plan based on the LGBTQ Youth Needs Assessment, conducting training for organizations and entities in the community, and providing community events/outreach. QUEST will also establish partnerships with local providers for services such as housing, insurance enrollment, and the development of an emergency response plan to better assist LGBTQ youth in need of shelter, food, clothing, and transportation.
• United Way of Western CT (Danbury): Cora’s Kids – United Way Family Child Care Network – $10,000 to expand the Cora’s Kids program to increase the number of licensed, home-based Family Child Care providers in the Greater New Milford area.
• Waterbury Youth Services (Waterbury): Linking Academics to Life (LAL) – $9,025 to provide a free, high-impact, evidence-based, college, career, and life readiness afterschool program for Waterbury’s high school youth.

• Crownbrook Community Garden (fiscal sponsor Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Waterbury) (Waterbury): Crownbrook Garden– $3,500 to support gardening and community building activity, the grant will support materials and supplies for the garden and fund the resident-led group to travel to Hartford to meet and learn from the leaders a successful community garden project.
• The Connecticut Hope Foundation, Inc. (fiscal sponsor Helping Hands with Open Hearts, Inc.) (Waterbury): Hope for the Homeless – $1,000 to support a youth-led homeless outreach effort where the organization and volunteers will distribute food, clothing and hygiene supplies to individuals experiencing homelessness but who are not connected to local social services.

• Health and Environmental Justice ($267,894)

  • American Red Cross (Farmington): Disaster Cycle Services– $10,000 to support direct and indirect costs related to providing Disaster Relief and Disaster Recovery Services in the Foundation’s region.
  • Ann’s Place (Danbury): Health Equity Initiative (HEI) – $2,800 to support HEI work in the Greater Waterbury/Litchfield Hills region, which can significantly reduce the discrepancies for access to mental health and cancer support services for BIPOC individuals, people who are financially unstable, or who are LGBTQ.
  • Children’s Community School (Waterbury): Community Garden – $5,623 to collaborate with Neighborhood Housing Services, the Crownbrook Neighborhood Association, and New Morning Market to have students learn about growing plants and food. The program will incorporate the “Edible Schoolyard Project Curriculum” for grades 3, 4 and 5.
  • CNV Help, Inc. (Waterbury): IDEA – $5,000 to serve 150 staff (in 3 locations) with a series of agency-wide cultural competence foundational trainings in gender equity, inclusion and related impacts on social determinants of health to propagate change around the cultural stigma associated with mental health care, find ways to promote awareness, and work towards increasing accessibility and availably to such services for marginalized populations.
  • Connecticut Land Conservation Council (Middletown): CLCC Regional Land Trust Advancement Initiative- Integrating Equity & Inclusion – $10,000 to support dialogue sessions for area land trusts exploring diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in land conservation.
  • Darcey School (Cheshire): Circle of Security – $15,000 to continue the evidence- and relationship-based intervention program that enhances attachment security between parents, teachers, caregivers, and children.
  • Family and Children’s Aid (Danbury): Ensuring Access to Quality Behavioral Health Care for Children & Adolescents – $10,000 to continue community outreach, marketing, and education initiative on behalf of the Waterbury Child Guidance Center, which provides improved access to quality behavioral health care to children, adolescents, and their families in Waterbury and surrounding towns, most of whom are from low-income backgrounds.
  • Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust (Woodbury): Waterbury Students joining Flanders Summer Science Academy – $7,000 to allow Waterbury students to join one of Flanders’ Summer Science Academies.
  • Foodcorps (Portland, OR): Foodcorps Connecticut – $12,500 to implement year-round tailored, multi-component intervention designed to engage children in eating healthy food and transform school food environments, with the support of evidence-based programming and practices, and in partnership with Naugatuck Public Schools.
  • Food Rescue US (Norwalk): Food Rescue Northwest CT– $10,000 to support a community of food donors and provide fresh produce boxes to those in need. Funding would support the distribution of about 1,000 produce boxes.
  • Greater Waterbury Health Partnership, fiscally sponsored by StayWell Health Care (Waterbury): Improving Maternal Health Care for Black Women through Coordination, Advocacy and Collaboration – $40,000 to improve the Maternal and Infant Health of Black mothers and babies through: care coordination, education and outreach, systems coordination, and, advocacy for and emphasis on culturally appropriate service providers. The Health Partnership will collaborate with Bridge to Success Community Partnership, Women’s Choice Charitable Association, StayWell Health Center, and local hospitals.
  • Key Human Services (Wethersfield): Telehealth – $10,000 to implement telehealth services for individuals with intellectual disabilities and associated health conditions.
  • Madre Latina, Inc. (Waterbury): Health on Wheels Program– $10,000 to continue expanding health education services and to coordinate a series of training with community support and information to Latinx families in Waterbury. The 2021-2022 program will include the dissemination of COVID-19 safety and vaccine information, mental health and grief support, and continue education on Women’s Health issues like Breast Cancer.
  • March of Dimes (Arlington, VA): Connecticut Reproductive Justice Workshop – $15,015 to conduct community focus groups in the Greater Waterbury region, composed of women, partners, and doulas, as well as in-depth interviews with staff working in medical settings to measure experiences of disrespect, discrimination and abuse in the prenatal and postpartum period, and make informed recommendations for change at the statewide level.
  • Naugatuck YMCA (Naugatuck): Fit Club 8th Grade initiative – $15,000 to serve low-income and BIPOC 8th grade students by promoting academically healthy habits through collaboration with local school districts, providing a free membership to the YMCA as an incentive to continue with healthy academic practices for eligible participants.
  • Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury (Waterbury): Urban Forestry Program -$12,000 to cover the expenses associated with staff, student internships, and student support for research on local tree cover, as well as funding for trees, supplies, and materials.
  • Regional YMCA of Western CT (Brookfield): Regional YMCA of Western CT Chronic Disease Prevention Programs – $8,500 to help fund a team consisting of a program manager and two Spanish-speaking coaches who will provide outreach, education, and support around chronic disease prevention programs for area residents.
  • St. Vincent de Paul (Waterbury): Homeless Medical Respite Program – $25,000 to support a contracted consultant for a 3-month period to conduct an assessment in the homeless response and health system and document the drivers of health disparities within the homeless population in the Greater Waterbury area.
  • Vision to Learn (Los Angeles, CA): Free Eye Exams and Glasses for Students in Waterbury BOOST! Community Schools – $32,956 to provide approximately 2,000 students with a vision screening, around 600 with an eye exam, and about 480 with new prescription glasses.
  • Women’s Choice Charitable Association (Waterbury): Community Doula Program – $25,000 to provide free and low-cost pregnancy support services, to Black mothers in Waterbury. The founder’s goal is to support other women of color have safe and healthy pregnancies.

  Herbst Fund for Eye Research ($36,752)

  • Gaylord Hospital, Inc. (Wallingford): Visual Field Rehabilitation Research – $14,708 to support research to determine if incorporation of BITS touch screen technology to inpatient rehabilitation for visual impairments, is more effective than conventional (table top, pen and paper) vision interventions.
  • Special Olympics CT (Hamden): Special Olympics “Opening Eyes” Program – $5,000 to improve the quality of life for athletes by optimizing their vision, eye health, and visual skills through quality eye care.
  • Vision to Learn (Los Angeles, CA): Free Eye Exams and Glasses for Students in Waterbury BOOST! Community Schools – $17,044 to provide approximately 2,000 students with a vision screening, around 600 with an eye exam, and about 480 with new prescription glasses.

  Lois Livingston McMillen Fund ($75,172) 

  • Love 146 (New Haven): US Survivor Care Program – $10,162 to provide Long-Term Services and Rapid Responses, one-time interventions that provide children with information, safety planning, and referral services related to human trafficking.
  • Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury (Waterbury): Safer Communities Greater Waterbury – $10,000 to support the provision of domestic violence, crisis intervention, and long-term services for victims and survivors in 10 towns in the Foundation’s region.
  • St. Vincent DePaul Mission of Waterbury (Waterbury): Women Day Program – $10,000 to support extended shelter stays for single women between October 2021-mid-April 2022, rather than having women seek shelter with partners who are physically or sexually abusive.
  • Susan B. Anthony Project, Inc. (Torrington): Rebuilding Lives Program – $10,000 to support crisis and support services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, transitioning them from crisis and dependency to safety, empowerment, self-sufficiency, and independence.
  • Waterbury Youth Services (Waterbury): The Bridging Program of the Child Advocacy Center – $10,000 to support the Child Advocacy Center, an evidence-based trauma treatment mental health intervention for child victims ages 7-17.
  • Women’s Center of Greater Danbury (Danbury): Support for Victims of Domestic Violence – $7,500 to support services for victims of domestic violence, including emergency shelter, counseling, crisis intervention, victim advocacy services, safety planning and criminal justice/civil legal services in New Milford, Bridgewater, Washington and Roxbury.

   

  Saunders Fund for the Sick and Infirm of Naugatuck ($125,000) 

  • Connecticut Food Bank (Wallingford): Naugatuck Mobile Pantry– $7,500 to increase the amount of nutritious food – such as fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy items, and whole grains – made available to underserved households in Naugatuck.
  • Easterseals (Waterbury): Accessible Hearing Care– $5,000 to support the Center for Better Hearing, which provides high-quality audiology care for low-income children and adults.
  • Hidden Acres Therapeutic Riding Center (Naugatuck): Participant Financial Aid – $20,000 to use equine assisted therapies to encourage children, adolescents and adults to succeed, and to support individuals struggling with physical, developmental and emotional challenges who need help becoming more self-sufficient and empowered. Note: Funds should only be used to support financial aid for Naugatuck residents.
  • Human Resource Development Agency (Naugatuck): Medical Transportation/ Socialization– $30,000 to continue 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.
  • Naugatuck YMCA (Naugatuck): Livestrong– $10,000 to provide Livestrong, an evidence-based program, for adult cancer survivors reclaim their health and well-being following a cancer diagnosis and treatment.
  • Naugatuck Youth Services, Inc. (Naugatuck): Teen Mental Health First Aid – $30,000 to build a team of instructors that will engage teens in recognizing the warning signs of various mental health crises, including how to provide support to other teens and how to identify and seek help from a supportive adult.
  • Wellmore Behavioral Health (Waterbury): Building Assets and Reducing At-Risk Behavior in Middle and High School – $22,500 to continue support of direct services, in-school psych-educational and therapeutic groups, individual supportive counseling and consultation for Naugatuck High School and City Hill Middle School students during 2021-2022 school year.

• • Brass City Harvest (Waterbury): Brass City Cooks! Senior Nutrition & Healthy Cooking Program- $11,510 to transition the popular Senior Nutrition and Healthy Cooking Class to an online platform to service seniors in Woodbury, Southbury, and Waterbury who have access to internet.
  • Charles Rietdyke Senior Center (Wolcott): Staying Active through Exercise – $14,000 to continue offering members a well-balanced and challenging fitness program that can enable them to continue performing daily living activities independently for as long as possible, and maintain overall health status.
  • Connecticut Community Care (Bristol): Aging Mastery Program for Western CT – $13,742 to administer the Aging Mastery Program to 75 older adults in 5 communities through 5 local implementation providers (New Milford Senior Center, Woodbury Senior Center, Cheshire Senior Center, Waterbury Senior Center and Western CT Area Agency on Aging).
  • Goshen Community Care and Hospice (Goshen): Senior Community Functions – $7,000 to pay for a monthly lunch for seniors, an exercise class held for older adults on a weekly basis, and purchase supplies for weekly senior socials.
  • Hispanic Coalition of Greater Waterbury (Waterbury): Home Visits-Senior Support Program- $800 to fund Mileage Reimbursement line item for La Casa Bienvenida Staff to travel into the community and visit participants in their homes and/or take them on an errand or appointment.
  • Landmark Community Theater, Inc. (Thomaston): Performance Art-Ukuleles and Seniors – $3,000 to support the purchase of 10-12 ukuleles and tuners, and provide two ten-week sessions of lessons and fun for older adults.
  • Litchfield Hills Chore Service (Litchfield): Elder Services Support and Outreach- $10,000 to continue providing housekeeping support, transportation to medical appointments and shopping, and some outside tasks and gardening to seniors 60+ living at or below the federal poverty level who live in Litchfield, Goshen, Morris, Roxbury, Warren and Washington.
  • Literacy Volunteers of Greater Waterbury, Inc. (Waterbury): Adult Literacy (60+) – $2,650 to improve lives through literacy by cultivating educational opportunities for approximately 50 older adults through the use of trained volunteers and community partners.
  • Mattatuck Museum (Waterbury): Matt on the Go: Year 4 – $4,000 to bring the museum experience to older adults living in senior housing and care facilities, and to individuals who visit their local libraries and senior centers.
  • Mt. Olive AME Zion Senior Citizens Center, Inc. (Waterbury): Funding for a Part-time Senior Center Director – $18,900 to fund a part-time Senior Center Director who is tech-savvy and can manage administrative needs, grant contracting and monitoring, and community engagement.
  • Naugatuck Senior Center (Naugatuck): The Wellness Expo and Health Clinic – $2,150 to fund the Wellness Expo and Health Clinic that will take place at the Naugatuck Senior Center on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
  • Naugatuck YMCA (Naugatuck): Seniors Beacon Falls Outreach – $3,000 to provide Naugatuck YMCA programming to Beacon Falls Senior Center, and assist with revamping the space to create an improved functioning environment, and contribute to the purchase of group exercise supplies.
  • New Opportunities, Inc. (Waterbury): BRASS Program Coordinator – $39,139 to continue funding the BRASS Program Coordinator position and continue to engage and collaborate with BRASS site coordinators, program instructors, and participants.
  • New Opportunities, Inc. (Waterbury): Senior Community Café – $3,000 to offer quality, live social/meal events at the Cheshire, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Watertown, and Wolcott Senior Centers.
  • New Opportunities, Inc. (Waterbury): System Integration Upgrade- $11,000 to integrate and expand senior nutrition programs including NOI’s Senior Dine Program with NOI’s CMS system through the use of a customized data bridge.
  • Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (Waterbury): The Greening of Waterbury-From Planting to Harvest – $8,000 to support the increasing need to feed food-insecure residents of the Greater Waterbury area, while educating and engaging older adults in all aspects of planting and harvest.
  • Pilobolus, Inc. (Washington Depot): Connecting with Balance (CWB) Bonus Video Series – $13,100 to enrich the Connecting with Balance video experience and expand the series by adding 9 new workouts.
  • Rebuilding Together Litchfield County (Bantam): Rebuild Day 2022 – $5,000 to assist 7 very low-income older adult homeowners with necessary repairs to their homes, including roof repairs, handicap and emergency accessibility features.
  • Silas Bronson Library (Waterbury): BRASS Reapplication/Technology Enhancement – $4,500 for continued support of program services, including making technology accessible and available to older adults.
  • Town of New Milford- Senior Center (New Milford): Cultural Connections-Celebrating Diversity around the World – $2,950 to expand cultural awareness within the older adult population by providing four presentations, showcasing different cultures, and bringing attention to the diversity in the community as part of the “Never Stop Learning” initiative.
  • UR Community Cares, Inc. (Manchester): UR Community Cares-Older/Disabled Adults- $2,500 to build a network of volunteers in the Greater Waterbury area who can provide older adults (age 70+) and physically disabled residents (age 18+ with permanent or temporary disability) with home-based help such as household tasks, yard work, local transportation, and/or companionship visits, at no charge.
  • Village Center for the Arts (New Milford): Clay Workshops for Seniors at VCA – $5,000 to relaunch highly-sought clay workshops for area older adults, which promotes physical and mental exercise and wellbeing, as well as social interaction.
  • Western CT Area Agency on Aging (Waterbury): Expanding Evidence-Based Health Programs in Waterbury, Year 5 – $30,859 to continue delivering 3 six-week workshops (Live Well with Chronic Disease (CDSMP), Live Well with Diabetes (DSMP), and Live Well with Chronic Pain in both English and Spanish, and at no cost to the participants.
  • YMCA (Naugatuck): Senior Exercise and Wellbeing- $25,000 to continue providing evidence-based exercise classes, active older adult classes, and social interaction spaces for seniors in the community to prevent social isolation.
  • Yoga 4 Change (Hamden): Greater Waterbury Senior/Mindfulness Yoga- $9,570 to continue supporting weekly classes on Yoga4Change’s evidence-based chair yoga program, provided in partnership with agencies currently serving seniors in Waterbury and Wolcott.

• Connecticut Community Foundation: Give Local Waterbury & Litchfield Hills 2022 (Southbury): $16,500 to support Give Local 2022 ($9,000 for bonus funds to Southbury organizations / $5,000 for prizes to Southbury organizations / $1,000 for special 10th anniversary prizes for Southbury organizations / $1,500 for marketing in the Southbury area).
• Greater Waterbury YMCA (Waterbury): Camp Oakasha Scholarships – $5,000 for scholarship assistance at YMCA Camp Oakasha located on the Southbury Training School campus in Southbury.
• PHS GradNite (Southbury): PHS Gradnite – $5,000 to provide an all-night celebration for graduating seniors that is a safe alcohol and drug-free environment.
• Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition Inc. (Middlebury): Vegetative Buffer Installation and Education at Lake Stibbs (Southbury) – $5,914 to implement non-point pollution management measures identified in the Pomperaug Watershed Based Plan to address bacteria impairments in Lake Stibbs in Southbury and downstream.
• Quilts that Care Inc. (Southbury): Quilting Materials – $1,500 to provide batting and quilting supplies to make quilts for Southbury cancer patients and their families.
• Safe Families for Children Alliance (Southbury): Safe Families for Children Connecticut – $5,000 to hire a part-time staff member to focus efforts on building partnerships with human services agencies and faith communities in the Southbury area.
• Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury (Waterbury): Safer Communities Southbury – $7,500 to provide free comprehensive services for an estimated 200 individuals who have experienced or are experiencing domestic violence and/or sexual violence who live in Southbury and the surrounding towns.
• S.M.A.R.T, Inc. (Southbury): Outreach and Education – $13,000 to support activities in S.M.A.R.T., Inc’s key areas of focus which are: Local Prevention Council, Parent University and Community/School based initiatives and resource.
• Soulful Sydney, Inc. (Southbury): The Healing Chickadee – $3,000 to distribute a grief program, “The Healing Chickadee”, to Southbury children who have experienced loss in coordination with the town, school officials, Tribury Chamber, and child care providers.
• Southbury Junior Women’s Club (Southbury): Operation Backpack – $2,000 for a collaboration between Southbury Junior Women’s Club and Southbury Social Services to help meet the needs of Region 15 students for school supplies.
• Southbury Land Trust (Southbury): Program: Parking Lot Expansion/Improvements – $7,750 to create/expand two existing parking areas in order to provide more access to the Phillips and Lovdal Farm Preserves, which are seeing increased use by the community.
• Whiskers Pet Rescue (Southbury): Senior to Senior Forever Foster Program – $6,000 to support the costs associated with fostering and adopting older cats to seniors (all expenses are covered including medical insurance for the cat).

Women’s Fund ($30,348)

• Girl Scouts of Connecticut, Inc. (Hartford): Waterbury Outreach – $4,348 to support 800 girls to participate in an afterschool Girl Scout experiences from September 2020- June 2021 at three Waterbury elementary schools.
• Madre Latina (Waterbury): Mariposa Project – $9,000 to continue support of a Latino youth leadership and empowerment program, that provides positive health messages, promotes the development of self-esteem, advocacy and leadership skills in Latinas ages 9 to 14.
• Save Girls on FYER (Waterbury): SGOF Leadership Academy & Literacy on FYER Programs – $9,000 to provide a safe environment for powerful enrichment and development programs that shape the lives of girls of color and to continue to provide training in youth advocacy and cover topics that provide character-building skills.
• Women’s Choice Charitable Association (Waterbury): Community Doula Program – $8,000 to provide free and low-cost pregnancy support services, especially for Black mothers who live in Waterbury.

Women’s Giving Circle ($25,000)

The Women’s Giving Circle’s 2021 grant recipients include $5,000 awards to the following organizations:

• Girls with Impact of Greenwich to support its 2021 Entrepreneurial Academy which will equip twenty girls in the Greater Waterbury and the Litchfield Hills region with business, leadership, college and career success.
• Madre Latina in Waterbury for its Young Representatives of Waterbury program, which is geared to Latina high school students in the city. Participants will learn leadership and civic engagement skills to make change in their community.
• Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury to support its Women of Color Empowerment Collective. The program will enroll fifteen women of color to focus on leadership and college graduation.
• Save Girls on F.Y.E.R in Waterbury to support its Leadership Academy Summer Exchange Program. The grant will support additional summer activities for girls participating in the Save Girls on F.Y.E.R. Leadership Academy.
• Women’s Choice Charitable Association in Waterbury for support of its Community Doula Project. The grant will enable the organization to provide free doulas to women of color who are birthing in Waterbury and who face financial challenges. This program will work alongside prenatal care provided by local hospitals and obstetrician offices.

Two additional finalists, Girl Scouts of Connecticut and Sustainable CT, received $1,000 for general operating support.

• ARC of Litchfield County (Torrington): Hardware for Programming – $11,132 to fund the purchase of iPads for vocational training program. Hardware will be used by job coaches when they are on-site and to complete reporting.
• Children’s Community School (Waterbury): Financial Forecasting – $10,000 to support working with a consultant on the financial forecasting of three possible future locations for the school.
• CT Partnership for Children (Naugatuck): Website Upgrade – $5,000 to fund an upgrade of the organization’s current website, allowing for greater functionality and accessibility.
• CT Renaissance (Shelton): Staff Training – $10,000 to fund training in the evidenced-based practices of Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which will help clinicians better serve clients. Training will be focused on clinicians in Waterbury.
• Easterseals, Inc. (Waterbury): Leadership Development and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training – $11,731 to fund a full curriculum of professional development opportunities for staff, including bias and DEI training. Topics were generated by a thorough process that included staff surveys and discussion sessions.
• Girl Scouts of Connecticut (Hartford): Strengthening Latinx Resources – $2,100 to fund Latinx outreach materials and resources to increase membership diversity. Support will be used for targeted social media outreach in Waterbury.
• Girls, Inc. (Waterbury): Strategic Planning – $5,000 to support strategic planning work for the organization.
• Helping Hands with Open Hearts (Waterbury): Training – $3,000 to work with a consultant on board development and strategic planning.
• Hidden Acres (Naugatuck): Strategic Planning – $11,500 to support phase 1 and 2 of the organization’s strategic planning process.
• Hoops4Life (Waterbury): Laptop Computers – $4,000 to purchase laptop computers to be used by both staff and program participants.
• Naugatuck YMCA (Naugatuck): Strategic Planning – $7,600 to support the creation of a new strategic plan for the organization.
• Rivers Alliance of CT (Litchfield): Software – $5,400 to fund the purchase of new donor management software.
• Robotics & Beyond (New Milford): Fundraising – $968 to fund the purchase of donor management software and membership to an online fundraising training course.
• St. Vincent DePaul Mission of Waterbury (Waterbury): Laptops for Homeless Resource Center – $4,569 to purchase new laptops for the shelter. Computers will be used by clients as well as case managers, allowing for more privacy during in-take.