Employees of The Hartford’s offices in Simsbury and Windsor are paying $21,000 for the privilege of dressing more casually in the office. And the money is going to support local residents involved in Casting for Recovery (CFR), a national non-profit breast cancer quality-of-life organization.
Employees of The Hartford donated $20 each for a badge” that allows them to wear casual clothes to work. The funds raised were $7,000 more than last year’s Casual Day Campaign and will support the August Casting for Recovery retreat for Connecticut breast cancer survivors.
The nonprofit program, in its 17th year, will host 14 area women, who have been selected at random from a pool of applicants Aug. 3-5 at the Trinity Conference Center in West Cornwall. During the weekend, the women will have the opportunity to share their personal stories and challenges, receive small-group counseling and medical education, and learn the basics of what will be for most, a new sport: fly fishing.
The Hartford is also Casting for Recovery’s premier national sponsor and it was the first insurer in the nation to offer life insurance at standard rates to qualified women age 40 and older who had been treated for early-stage breast cancer.
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Komen funds Middlesex programs
Middlesex Hospital will be able to expand breast cancer screening programs for uninsured and underinsured women, thanks to a $50,000 grant from Komen Connecticut.
The grant will help continue a provider education campaign and breast cancer screening in the Middletown area. The need for these programs is substantiated by the 2011 Community Profile, which names Middletown as a designated community due to its high incidence rates of breast cancer.
Based on the Community Profile, Komen Connecticut’s priorities include strengthening and building the capacity of existing breast health providers, promoting the importance of screening and early detection, and increasing screening resources available to underserved women and women with the highest risk. In each of the past three years, Komen Connecticut has invested over $1 million in Connecticut-based breast health programs throughout the state.
Grant targets housing
The United Illuminating Company and Southern Connecticut Gas Corp. are providing a $10,000 grant to the Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund to support the loan programs that serve affordable housing developers, nonprofit organizations and small, local contractors.
The loan fund is a community development financial institution working to create and sustain vibrant neighborhoods and communities. In 24 years of lending, the fund has made more than $51 million in loans for projects that have produced more than 2,300 units of housing for low/moderate income households.
The utilities’ support will assist in the financing of an estimated 25 to 30 affordable housing units this year.
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Rite Aid donation
The Rite Aid Foundation has provided a $10,000 grant to the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Connecticut. The Hartford-based chapter of the national organization will use the grant to provide sponsorships to children with neuromuscular disease so they can attend summer camp.
During their week at camp, campers develop their independence as they step out of their comfort zones and experience fun summer activities in a safe environment.
Rite Aid operates one distribution center and 78 stores in Connecticut.
