American Eagle Federal Credit Union awarded three charitable grants totaling $9,500 to the Newington community during a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate its newest office in Newington. Martin Kellogg Middle School was awarded $2,000 for the purchase of student lab coats to be worn at the Academy of Biomedical Sciences. The town of Newington Human Services Department received $2,500 for need-based scholarships for resident children to participate in the Newington Summer Youth Adventures Program. The Lucy Robbins Welles Library was awarded $5,000 to create a technology and learning space for collaboration and creativity using a 3D printer.
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The Travelers Cos. has donated $100,000 towards The Village Truancy Court Prevention Project, a partnership between The Village, Capitol Region Education Council, the Center for Children’s Advocacy, the Connecticut Judicial Branch, and Hartford Public Schools. The project’s goal is to help students at Alfred E. Burr and Martin Luther King, Jr. elementary schools to improve attendance, academic performance, and their social connection to the school.
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The Connecticut Health Foundation has awarded $350,000 to four Connecticut nonprofit organizations to increase the diversity of consumers participating in health reform implementation and advocacy. The four grantees are: African Caribbean American Parents of Children with Disabilities Inc., Hartford; The Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern Connecticut, New London; Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Bridgeport; and Hispanic Federation, Hartford.
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Bloomfield insurer Cigna is the presenting sponsor for the 2014 YMCA Celebrates Champions event. It benefits the The YMCA of Greater Hartford’s annual campaign, Read to Succeed adult literacy program, and other innovative life-changing programs and services that are accessible to youth, families and adults regardless of their ability to pay. Professional baseball player and philanthropist Johnny Damon will be the guest of honor.
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Liberty Bank Foundation along with the James H. Napier Foundation, CUNO Foundation, Meriden Foundation, and the town of Wallingford awarded a total of $35,000 in additional support for summer youth employment programs in Meriden and Wallingford. As a result, 50 more low-income youth will be working this summer. Teens participating in the summer youth employment program receive pre-employment preparation that emphasizes the “soft skills” required for success in the workplace.
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Support from the Travelers Foundation will expand Easter Seals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut’s School-to-Life Transition Program for students with disabilities. Students in the program are typically between the ages of 16 and 18 and have a wide range of disabling conditions. The expanded initiative will include educational programming and activities that promote community integration and independence.
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Peter Grayson Letz, a former resident of North Stonington who died last fall, left his estate to the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut. The $8 million gift is the largest in CFECT’s 31-year history and will create the Peter Grayson Letz Fund for Animals and the Environment. The gift will be used to support and benefit animals, both domestic pets and wildlife, and for the preservation of the environment with an emphasis on environmental education, all in New London County.
