Laura Green, president and CEO of Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters, was among the first newsmakers to tape an interview for Comcast’s new Newsmakers series. The five-minute segment is scheduled to run this month throughout Connecticut on CNN Headline News.
For Green, it was a chance to spread the word about Nutmeg, which serves 11 of the state’s 169 municipalities.
“By making this interview available, they’ve provided a dynamic forum via which we can explain the proven benefits of the Big Brothers Big Sisters brand of mentoring and also appeal for greatly needed financial support as well as for volunteers,” Green said.
The interview took place at Comcast Cable’s video production facility in Seymour and was hosted by veteran broadcaster Eric Clemons. The series will showcase the state’s elected officials, policymakers and business, education and non-profit leaders to their key constituents.
“Comcast Newsmakers is just one of the many ways we use our technology to reach out and keep viewers connected and up-to-date on the important issues and happenings in their community,” said Mary McLaughlin, senior vice president of Comcast’s Western New England Region, which includes Connecticut.
The cable operator’s subscribers will be able to view Green’s interview from March 8 through March 30. The feature airs at 24- and 54-minutes after the hour, every hour on CNN Headline News. It will also be available On Demand.
Other scheduled Newsmakers interviews include R. Nelson ‘Oz’ Griebel, CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance; Jill Spinetti, president and CEO of the Governor’s Prevention Partnership; Attorney General George Jepson; Pedro Segarra, mayor of Hartford; John Rathberger, president and CEO of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association; and Adrienne W. Cochrane, president and CEO of the Urban League of Hartford.
Grants aids Entrepreneurial Center
The Entrepreneurial Center, part of the Center for Professional Development at the University of Hartford, has received a $75,000 grant from the Prudential Foundation. The grant will allow the Entrepreneurial Center to provide business advising and technical assistance to aspiring and established entrepreneurs.
“This new funding will assist us with our plans to make additional resources available to up-and-coming businesses and expand the scope and reach of the Entrepreneurial Center’s services,” said Eileen Peltier, senior director of the Center for Professional Development.
The Entrepreneurial Center was established in 1985 as an initiative of the Center for Professional Development. It helps Connecticut women and men achieve financial independence through self-employment by offering one-on-one coaching, business assessment, advice on developing business concepts and planning workshops for entrepreneurs at all levels. The Entrepreneurial Center operates out of historic Butterworth Hall at the University of Hartford’s Asylum Avenue campus.
The Prudential Foundation is an independent nonprofit grant-making organization funded by Prudential. Each year, the Prudential Foundation invests over $25 million in grants in efforts that support the revitalization of communities and support Prudential employees’ community engagement efforts.
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Donations thank students
David Platt, partner at Murtha Cullina LLP in Hartford, and Eric Remington, vice president of investor relations at Kaman Corp. in Bloomfield, went back to school recently.
The two business leaders met students at Carmen Arace Intermediate School in Bloomfield and presented checks for $1,000 each to Principal Tracy Youngberg.
The donations from each company were in appreciation of the students’ participation in the “Are You Warm Enough?” initiative, in which the fifth- and sixth-grade students were challenged to read as many books and solve as many math problems as possible. The students read more than 400 books and solved more than 5,000 open-ended math problems.
The donations will be used to purchase new coats, blankets, hats, scarves and gloves for needy children of Bloomfield and the greater Hartford area.
