| Summaries |
Partnership Provides Good Eats, Farm-to-table Job Training and Job Placement The Billings Forge Community Works and Hartford Public Library have joined forces to create a one-stop-shop for job training and permanent job placement for those who work in Hartford. Kitchen at Hartford Public Library is a farm-to-table job training café and bakery offering breakfast, lunch and catering. Additionally, the library's second floor is home to a state-of-the-art teaching kitchen where café and library customers will soon have the opportunity to take cooking classes. "Bringing Billings Forge Community Works job training program under the same roof as the library's CT Works @HPL initiative, was a natural way to offer Hartford residents increased access to job training, placement opportunities, skill development programming and other library resources," said Matt Poland, CEO, Hartford Public Library. Supporters of the partnership between Billings Forge Community Works and the Hartford Public Library, include: the City of Hartford, CT Department of Economic and Community Development, Capital Community College, CT Works, Bank of America and The Melville Charitable Trust, which founded and is the leading supporter of Billings Forge Community Works. Bank of America's support has been instrumental to the growth of Billings Forge Community Works, in particular through its 2012 Neighborhood Builder Program, and is a supporter of CT Works at Hartford Public Library. The Kitchen at Hartford Public Library is open Monday-Friday from 8 am-4 pm. For more information: Anju Meenattoor,(860) 695-6300, ameenattoor@hplct.org. |
Volunteers return to clean Connecticut's shoreline The 2,450 bird watchers, fishermen, sailors, scuba divers, students, citizen groups, and businesses who removed 16,310 pounds of trash from Long Island Sound's shoreline and Connecticut waterways last year are coming back this fall to tackle the state's beaches, islands, and rivers, reported CTbythenumbers in its September 19 edition. Save the Sound, the Connecticut coordinator for the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), organized public clean-ups at 25 locations last weekend, and more will continue through October. Save the Sound offers a calendar on its website for would-be volunteers. Bank of America is lead sponsor of the Connecticut cleanups. |
Funder votes confidence in New Britain school attendance effort With kindergarten and 1st grade attendance up 40 and 44% respectively, the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain has added $21,000 in grants to the New Britain schools to keep the momentum going. The funding continues the work of Attendance Works, a San Francisco-based consultancy, and an attendance outreach worker. The foundation made its first grant of $30,000 for the project in 2011. National research shows that chronic school absences (10% or more of school days), especially in kindergarten and 1st grade, put children at a huge learning disadvantage for the rest of their lives. For more information: Jim Williamson, (860) 229-6018 x306, jim@cfgnb.org. |
Report endorses "No Wrong Door" health enrollment approach The state's imminent health insurance enrollment program - "No Wrong Door" - will increase enrollment by 13 percent over the Affordable Care Act standard and would prevent 36,000 people from losing insurance, according to the Connecticut Health Foundation's (CT Health) recently-released policy brief, No Wrong Door: Improving Health and the Health Coverage Consumer Experience in Connecticut (NWD). NWD allows consumers to apply for health insurance in person, online, by phone, or by mail and routes them to the health insurance affordability program for which they qualify, the report found. "The NWD approach offers a critical opportunity to insure people of color who make up 65 percent of the state's uninsured residents, both through subsidized private insurance sold through Access Health CT and public insurance through Medicaid," said Patricia Baker, president & CEO of CT Health. The report also projects NWD would guarantee coverage to 50% of the children currently uninsured, versus 30% if it weren't in place. For more information: Maryland Grier, (860) 724-1580, x21, Maryland@cthealth.org. |
Foundations, governments invest with Gates, JP Morgan to fight killer diseases, infant mortality in low-income countries JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have formed an investment fund to fight killer diseases in low-income countries, reports Bloomberg.net. Other foundations such as the Children's Investment Fund Foundation and the Pfizer Inc. foundation quickly invested in the Global Health Investment Fund, as did the Canadian and German governments and several drug companies. According to Bloomberg, the Fund will tackle malaria, tuberculosis and HIV, as well as maternal and infant mortality. The story also noted that the U.S. and other governments cut their aid to programs in developing nations by 4.4 percent last year. |
"FRED" is fighting Bristol's cyber-criminals |
Announcements |
HUD, Council on Foundations honor Fairfield foundation The Fairfield County Community Foundation (FCCF) is one of ten philanthropic groups nationwide to win a 2013 HUD Secretary's Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships. The award, jointly presented by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Council on Foundations, was for the community foundation's Stable Families Program. The Stable Families Program provides intensive case management and support services to high-risk families in Bridgeport public housing. The program has built a strong relationship among FCCF, Bridgeport Housing Authority, Connecticut Legal Services, New Haven Home Recovery, and, most importantly, public housing residents. Since November 2009, 96% of the 154 families enrolled in the program have avoided eviction, gotten back on their feet financially, and moved their lives forward, organizers report. For more information: Karen Brown, (203) 750-3203, kbrown@fccfoundation.org. |
New nonprofit fundraising series starts October 3 Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation's Center for Nonprofit Excellence is offering a two-part fundraising program for smaller nonprofits in October. One pair of sessions focuses on grantwriting; the other explains major gift development. All seminars will be held at Berkshire South Regional Community Center in Great Barrington, MA. There is a fee for the workshops, and nonprofits must pre-register at the foundation's website. For more information: Kimberly Rock, (413) 229-0370, x123, krock@berkshiretaconic.org. |
Panel to discuss high costs of health care, October 28 Steven Brill, author of the Time cover story, "The Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us," will join a panel about the high cost of health care Monday, October 28, at the Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences on the Quinnipiac University's North Haven campus from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Brill will be joined by Connecticut State Comptroller Kevin Lembo and Griffin Hospital President and CEO Patrick Charmel. The conversation will be moderated by Connecticut Public Radio talk show host Faith Middleton. The program is the first forum in a new series presented by Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut and its parent organization, Connecticut Health Advancement and Research Trust. For more information: Meshie Knight, (203) 639-0550, x319, mknight@universalhealthct.org. |
For 19th year, Prudential looking for nation's top student volunteers Prudential Financial, Inc. in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is looking for outstanding student volunteers, grades 5-12. The Spirit of Community Awards have already been given to more than 100,000 middle and high school students for helping the less fortunate, promoting health and safety, protecting the environment, and serving their communities over the last 18 years of the program. Young volunteers can apply online at http://spirit.prudential.com or at www.nassp.org/spirit. Applications must be completed by November 5, 2013, and then submitted to a middle or high school principal, Girl Scout council, county 4-H agent, American Red Cross chapter, YMCA or HandsOn Network affiliate. Paper versions of the application form are available by calling (877) 525-8491 toll-free. For more information: Harold Banks, (973) 802-8974. |
Transitions |
GARTH GRAHAM, M.D., M.P.H., is the new president of the Aetna Foundation. A national expert on health disparities, Dr. Graham served in both the Bush and Obama administrations as assistant deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he led the Office of Minority Health. His achievements include implementing key health equity provisions of the Affordable Care Act, guiding the development of the first federal action plan to eliminate health disparities, and closing the gap in flu vaccination rates among children of color. |
The Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut has chosen MARYAM ELAHI of Old Saybrook as its new president and CEO. Elahi brings 25 years of leadership in the international human rights community as an advocate, teacher and grantmaker. She was previously the director of the International Women's Program at the Open Society Foundations, where she supported organizations strengthening women's empowerment. Prior to OSF, Elahi was the founding director of the Human Rights Program at Trinity College in Hartford, where she established the first undergraduate college human rights major in the United States. |
The Foundation for Community Health, serving residents of the greater Harlem Valley in New York and the northern Litchfield Hills of Connecticut, has welcomed SALLY W. BERG to its board of directors. Berg founded the Friends of New York Cornell Hospital in Westchester County. She received a Courage Award from President Reagan for an Outward Bound course she organized for women with breast cancer while she was the Associate Director of Service and Rehabilitation for the Westchester Division of The American Cancer Society.
Subsequently, she became the co-chair of SHARE, an organization offering emotional and educational support for women with breast cancer. Ms. Berg co-founded The Catalog For Giving, raising over $5 million for community based organizations working with at-risk youth of New York City. She served on the Legal Disciplinary Committee for the First Judicial District in New York City and was on the board of The Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Currently, she is on the board of the Fund for Columbia County. |
FIND more news; Send us your news For more news about philanthropy in Connecticut go to the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy's press room and the Connecticut Philanthropy Digest archives. News about Connecticut funders may be submitted to the Council for consideration. The Connecticut Philanthropy Digest is brought to you by the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy. |
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