TORRINGTON, CT -- The Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation has awarded grants to 27 area nonprofit organizations, totaling $123,350 during its third grant cycle of 2018. The Community Foundation awards discretionary grants to Northwest Connecticut charities three times a year: early spring, late June and late fall.
Noteworthy among the recent include:
- $5,000 to Family & Children’s Aid to support the Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT) program in the Torrington area for families with adolescents experiencing substance abuse and/or behavioral and emotional challenges
“We aim to work with others in the community through the MDFT program to accomplish the following: reduce substance abuse, decrease aggressive/defiant behavior, decrease family conflict and improve overall family functioning, decrease school problems/truancy, keep young people in their home community and avoid legal problems/court involvement” said Irvin Jennings, MD, executive director.
- $1,450 to Heartspace LLC to support trauma-release yoga classes for low-income women currently in treatment at McCall Center’s Hanson House
“Heartspace will bring trauma focused yoga classes to low income women who would not be able to attend traditional classes due to financial limitations,” said Laura Thomas LMFT. “This pilot program with McCall will develop specific curriculum that utilizes movement and breath work to build distress tolerance and desensitize post-traumatic stress triggers.”
- $1,400 to Housatonic Valley Regional High School to support the purchase of equipment for the recording studio
“We believe that supplying the studio with some well-chosen and high-quality instruments will foster more spontaneous creativity and increase the scope of the current recording sessions as well as the universe of students and community members who would use the facility.” said Nancy Martin, director of the Mahoney-Hewat SciTech Center.
The following is a comprehensive list of 2018 Third Cycle Grants:
After School Arts Program - $10,000 to support a collaborative community project led by ASAP, Pilobolus Dance Theater, American Mural Project and Warner Theatre (from the Carlton D. Fyler and Jenny R. Fyler Fund)
Bakerville Community Nursery School - $1,500 to support refurbishment of outdoor play equipment and the purchase of a portable sink for classroom use (from the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards Fund)
Barkhamsted Senior Center (through the fiscal sponsorship of the Town of Barkhamsted) - $2,100 to support the purchase of a commercial refrigerator (from the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards Fund)
Bethlehem Ambulance Association, Inc. - $4,000 to support the purchase of a LUCAS Chest Compression System (from the Khurshed Bhumgara Fund)
Canaan Child Care Center, Inc. - $3,200 to support reaccreditation fees and the purchase of a drying rack with easel (from the Khurshed Bhumgara Fund)
Covenant to Care for Children - $5,000 to support the purchase of basic essential goods for children to keep families intact (from the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards Fund and the Carlton D. Fyler and Jenny R. Fyler Fund)
Connecticut Legal Services - $5,000 to support the final phase strategic planning component of a capacity-building initiative focused on meeting the legal service needs of low-income people in CT (from the Khurshed Bhumgara Fund)
Falls Village Children’s Theater Company at the Center on Main - $3,950 to support a production of “Bollywood” by Lonnie Carter at the Center on Main (from the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards Fund)
Family & Children’s Aid - $5,000 to support the Multidimensional Family Therapy program in the Torrington area for families with adolescents experiencing substance abuse and/or behavioral and emotional challenges (from the Miriam Mason Cable Trust Fund and the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards Fund)
Fishes & Loaves Food Pantry - $1,500 to support the purchase of two new freezers (from the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards Fund)
Greenwoods Counseling Referrals - $10,000 to support IT hardware and service upgrades including HIPAA-compliant software (from the Khurshed Bhumgara Fund and the Keroden Endowed Fund)
Hands of Grace -$4,000 to support the purchase of a new commercial refrigerator (from the Khurshed Bhumgara Fund)
Harwinton Public Library (through the fiscal sponsorship of the Town of Harwinton) - $2,500 to support website redesign and staff training to maintain and update the website (from the Miriam Mason Cable Trust Fund)
Heartspace LLC (through the fiscal sponsorship of the McCall Center For Behavioral Health) - $1,450 to support trauma-release yoga classes for low-income women currently in treatment at McCall Center’s Hanson House (from the Khurshed Bhumgara Fund)
Helping Hands Chore Service - $1,500 to support affordable home-care services for seniors (from the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards Fund)
Housatonic Valley Regional High School - $1,400 to support the purchase of recording studio equipment (from the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards Fund)
Junior Achievement of SW New England - $8,500 to support financial literacy, workforce readiness, and entrepreneurship programming for 800 students in Harwinton, Litchfield, Torrington and Winsted (from the Khurshed Bhumgara Fund)
Kent Library Association - $10,000 to support the cost of a consultant to help plan and lead a campaign to substantially increase the library’s endowment (from the Khurshed Bhumgara Fund)
KidsPlay Children’s Museum - $12,000 to support cabinet fabrication and installation for a Resource Wall in the North Gallery Program Room (from the Carlton D. Fyler and Jenny R. Fyler Fund)
LARC - $1,200 to support the cost of replacing three windows at the Bertoli Drive Group Home in Litchfield (from the Edwin M. Stone and Edith H. Stone Fund and the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards Fund)
McCall Center for Behavioral Health - $1,500 to support Insight Group, a psycho-educational program for adolescents focused on underage substance use and mental health, at Shepaug Valley School (from the Miriam Mason Cable Trust Fund)
Music Mountain - $15,550 to support the purchase of a new ticketing system, new LED stage lighting, live-streaming equipment, including the cost of installation and staff training (from the Khurshed Bhumgara Fund)
The Norfolk Land Trust - $2,500 to support the cost of building and installing wood kiosks at five trail entrances (from the Keroden Endowed Fund)
Northwest Community Learning Center (through the fiscal sponsorship of the United Way of Northwest Connecticut)- $1,500 to support telephone and internet access fees for one year (from the Miriam Mason Cable Trust Fund)
Nutmeg Symphony Orchestra - $2,000 to support two educational concerts serving up to 1,400 third graders from Torrington, Winsted, New Hartford, Harwinton and surrounding communities (from the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards Fund)
The Salisbury Forum - $1,500 to support a viewing of Uprooting Addiction (working title: Recovering Community), a documentary film on opioid addiction and recovery featuring Northwest CT community members (from the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards Fund)
Torrington Public Schools - $5,000 to support a literacy project featuring award-winning young adult author Brendan Kiely at Torrington High School (from the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards Fund and the Roberta Lee August Fund)
Established in 1969, the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation serves 20 towns in Northwest Connecticut. Its total endowment, comprised of more than 250 funds, has grown from initial assets of $15,000 to more than $110 million. Last year, combined grants and scholarships totaled more than $3 million.
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Contacts:
Nicole Carlson Easley
Communications Director
Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation
860-626-1245
neasley@northwestcf.org
Christina Tranquillo
Program and Communications Associate
Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation
860-626-1245
ctranquillo@northwestcf.org
Website: www.northwestcf.org