Grants: Round 2, 2010 by Category

   
Arts & Culture
• Oxford Cultural Arts Commission (Town of Oxford): Nine Mile Players (Oxford Community Theater) - $6,000 to establish a community theater program for Oxford.
• Oxford Historical Society: Preparation for Preservation - $550. Preparation for the 250 year old Twitchell-Rowland Homestead to become Oxford’s first museum is nearing completion; this grant will help to bring artifacts out of storage and to record/store them in the new museum.
• Waterbury Symphony Orchestra: Education Program - $10,000 to support expanded and improved music education programming, scheduled for October 2010 through June 2011.

Basic Needs
• 12 grants, totaling $17,591 were made to support agencies providing basic items and services (food/clothing/shelter/etc) for area residents in need. Recipients included Boys & Girls Village, Brass City Harvest, Connecticut Food Bank, Covenant to Care for Children, CREDO Housing Development Corporation, Greater Waterbury Interfaith Ministries, New Milford Department of Social Services, Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury, Saint Anthony Roman Catholic Church, St. Mary’s Hospital, Saint Vincent DePaul, and Visiting Nurses of Connecticut, Inc.

Early Childhood Education
• Education Connection: Technical support for P3 collaboratives - $11,600 for on-site consultation to build the capacity of P3 collaboratives of preschools and public schools; support for network meetings and information sharing
• New Milford Public Schools: P3 Preschool Collaboration: (Year 2) up to $4,500 for collaborative planning, joint professional development and outreach to parents on kindergarten transition.

Economic and Community Development
• Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury, Inc.: Neighborhood Development Plan for North Main Street - $30,000 to support the creation of a Neighborhood Revitalization Plan for a section of Waterbury’s North End. The executed plan will be the foundation for specific parcel by parcel, block by block housing revitalization that works in concert with other area efforts.
• Women’s Business Development Center: Access to Capital, Business Sustainability, Financial Coaching (Year Two) - $15,000 to continue expansion of WBDC's Entrepreneurial Training and Professional Development programs in the Naugatuck Valley area and adapt them to current economic conditions.

Education
• Beacon Falls, Town of (Parks and Recreation Commission): Afterschool Programs with Eli Whitney Museum & Workshop - $4,000 for afterschool programming for the students of Beacon Falls. The programs would be taught by the Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop (New Haven). The programs will run through the winter/spring of 2011 and serve 100-200 Beacon Falls students.
• Cheshire Performing and Fine Arts Committee (through Town of Cheshire): John Frederick Kensett Program - $9,000 to familiarize Cheshire residents and members of the surrounding communities with John Frederick Kensett, the acclaimed Hudson River Valley artist who was born in Cheshire in 1816. Instructional materials will be developed to enhance the curriculum of third grade Cheshire students.
• Naugatuck Adult & Continuing Education: No Adult Left Behind (Year Two) - $1,626 to continue offering day classes for parents of school age children looking to communicate more effectively in English or to achieve their high school diploma.
• Naugatuck Valley Community College: Building Success for NVCC Hispanic Students / Latino Engineering Initiative: (Year Two) - $3,103 to continue the focus on current/future NVCC Hispanic students, working to encourage pursuit of career opportunities in technical areas that offer better wages and benefits.

Environment
• Flanders Nature Center: Flanders Farm Program Improvements - $4,995. The Flanders’ North Barn has been modestly repurposed to serve as a “rustic classroom” (used primarily for school-age children and their families). However, the barn and surrounding areas will be improved to make it a more well-functioning space for educational programming.
• Northwest Conservation District: Energy Conservation, Efficiency, and Renewable Energy - $9,500 for a new/expanded program targeted to residents, town energy committees, and schools in the 13 CCF towns of Goshen, Warren, Litchfield, New Milford, Washington, Morris, Bethlehem, Watertown, Thomaston, Bridgewater, Roxbury, Woodbury, and Southbury.
• Rivers Alliance: Naugatuck River Convocation - $9,998 to organize the Convocation for the Naugatuck River stakeholders.

Health Care
• Southmayd Home, Inc.: Healthier Meals for Our Residents - $5,000 to provide healthier meals for residents, through supplemental specialized nutritional menu and meal preparation training for cooks and the purchase of the DietMaster software program. (Supported through the Edith Kingsbury Fund)
• StayWell Health Center: Dental Equipment for Community Clinic - $5,000 for additional dental equipment to support an expansion of the Smile Builders program.
• VNA HealthCare (Hartford): Unfunded Care Initiative - $1,789 to expand support for residents of the Greater Waterbury area who need home healthcare services but are uninsured/underinsured and cannot afford the cost of necessary home health care themselves. (Supported through the Edith Kingsbury Fund)

Human/Social Services
• Judea Garden (St. John’s Episcopal Church of Washington): Planting and Harvesting Efficiency Improvement Plan - $2,500 to provide fresh local produce to neighbors in need. This grant will extend the growing season from early spring to late fall, providing a longer period of assistance to those in need.
• Salvation Army: Homelessness Prevention Program (Year Two) - $17,149 to continue serving low-income families in the Waterbury area at risk of homelessness. Families eligible for this program will receive intensive services, including short/medium-term rental assistance, utility payment assistance, legal services, and other supports that will help sustain their housing.

Nonprofit Assistance / Capacity Building
• Children’s Center of New Milford, Inc.: Computer Technology Upgrade – up to $7,500 to upgrade software and hardware for administrative and educational staff at child care center.
• Girls, Incorporated of Southwestern Connecticut: Technology Upgrade –up to $20,000 for expanded and upgraded computer network for administration and programs.
• Independence Northwest: Aging and Disability Resource Center – up to $20,000 to create a resource center as a website and to upgrade websites for agency and WCAA so they are fully accessible and all three are integrated.
• Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust: Strategic Planning and Board Development - $15,000 to fund a consultant experienced with land trusts to provide services in board development and facilitate and develop strategic plan with annual work plans.

Youth Programs
• Junior Achievement of Southwest New England, Inc.: 5th Grade Initiative at Kingsbury School - $20,645 over two years ($7,723 / $12,922) for an effort to provide a more intensive JA experience for Waterbury students (allowing 5th grade students to participate in multiple JA programs in various settings).
• Naugatuck High School Chamber Singers: NHS Tour of France - $5,000 to support the Chamber Singers as they tour France, singing in cathedrals and an international school. (Supported through the Priscilla Whittemore Travel Fund)
• United Way of Greater Waterbury: Waterbury Bridge to Success Program - $20,000 to coordinate positive youth development efforts to ensure that all Waterbury children and youth succeed in school, work and life. Professional development and joint programming relating to Waterbury's Bridge to Success Plan will support the city's overall effort to coordinate all services for children and youth ages birth to 21.
• Washington Montessori School: WMS 8th Grade Cultural and Community Service Trip - $3,000 to support 8th grade students from WMS in their travels to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to be of service on an environmental project there. (Supported through the Priscilla Whittemore Travel Fund)