More than 2,200 daffodil bouquets were packaged, wrapped and delivered to cancer patients at treatment centers throughout Connecticut last week as part of the American Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days campaign.
Entitled, “Gift of Hope”, the bouquets were pre-ordered at schools and worksites earlier this year. The bouquet includes 10 daffodil flowers, symbolically known as the flower of hope, and are given to cancer patients from anonymous donors.
In addition to the flowers for cancer patients, more than 2,000 stuffed bears — a limited edition Boyd’s bear designed exclusively for the American Cancer Society — will be distributed to children impacted by cancer thanks to the support of Connecticut residents.
Museum debuts wine line
Hill-Stead Museum has teamed with Jonathan Edwards Winery of North Stonington to create three exclusive wines, with labels showcasing Impressionist artworks on view solely at the museum’s 33,000-square-foot estate in Farmington.
“What we’re unveiling is a unique way to share the breathtaking art inside the museum with the outside world,” said Sue Sturtevant, Hill-Stead’s executive director.
The wines are a Napa Valley Chardonnay, a Napa Valley Merlot, and a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah from Lodi, California. Reproductions of renowned paintings from the Alfred Atmore Pope Collection by Edgar Degas and James McNeill Whistler adorn the labels for the new wines.
“A Prohibition Peek” wine-tasting event April 15 at the museum will give the public a chance to sample the wines, view the collector-edition labels, and place orders.
Tickets are $33, in honor of the year that Prohibition was repealed. For information, visit www.hillstead.org/activities/ambassadors_winelaunch.html.
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Lemonade Day is May 1
The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, East Hartford ChildPlan, the Maffe Foundation and Goodwin College will stage the annual Lemonade Day program on Sunday, May 1.
Lemonade Day is a nationwide program which teaches children entrepreneurial skills through a fun, hands-on experience running their own business — a lemonade stand. During the program they learn about business planning, marketing, finances, customer service, team work, and the idea of giving back to their community.
On Lemonade Day, the stands open for business, keeping the profits and competing for scholarships in the categories of most successful business, best stand, and best tasting lemonade.
The program is open to children in East Hartford and South Windsor. For more information or to register, call CCAT at 860-291-8832 or go to http://easthartford.lemonadeday.org.
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Center gains arts grant
VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, and MetLife Foundation have awarded $15,000 in grants to Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford as part of the national Arts Connect All program. The funding will allow children to take part in dance, theater arts, and film. The grant is one of 10 awarded across the nation.
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Aetna funds infant mortality studies
Aetna and the Aetna Foundation are funding three research projects aimed at driving down rates of infant mortality among African-American newborns, who are more than twice as likely to die in their first year as white infants, and improving health equity for their mothers. Grants totaling $730,000 have been awarded to separate studies by the March of Dimes, the University of California San Francisco and the Center for Health Care Strategies.
“Nearly 20 percent of babies born to African-American women are born prematurely, a condition that is a major factor in the stubbornly high infant mortality rates in the African-American population,” said Anne C. Beal, president of the Aetna Foundation, and a pediatrician who has been widely published on children’s health issues.
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Tennis benefit planned
Registration is underway for what is billed as the largest community tennis tournament in New England.
The 7th annual Wallingford Family YMCA/Wint Filipek Sr. Memorial Tennis Tournament is scheduled for June 11-19 at the recently renovated Hunt Tennis Center on the Choate-Rosemary Campus, Wallingford. The nine-day event, which features 21 divisions for all levels, drew 594 entries last year.
All proceeds from the tournament benefit Wallingford YMCA youth programs and the Winton S. Filipek Sr. scholarship fund.
Registration information is available at www.ymcafilipektennis.com.
