Habitat gets $25K ESPN grant

Habitat for Humanity received a $25,000 grant from ESPN to support construction of a three-bedroom home in Bristol. In addition to the financial commitment, ESPN volunteers will build the home during summer and fall with a target completion date of Nov. 2014.

The home has been awarded to a U.S. veteran and his family. ESPN volunteers have previously teamed with Habitat for Humanity on home builds in Hartford, New Britain, Bloomfield and New Haven.

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The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has approved grants totaling nearly $3 million to support education programming in the city of Hartford. This investment includes more than $2 million for six Hartford community schools and $650,000 for five neighborhood-based Brighter Futures Family Centers.

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The Hartford Foundation presently funds six of Hartford’s community schools, which serve more than 4,000 students, engaging more than 60 school-community partnerships with area universities, healthcare providers, cultural organizations and others. 

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Berkshire Bank’s two charitable foundations awarded $843,615 in grants to nonprofits across Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Vermont.

In total, 277 nonprofit organizations received grants from the two foundations during the first half of 2014 including the following recent grant award recipients in Connecticut: Renbrook School, West Hartford; Billings Forge Community Works, Hartford; Greater Hartford SCORE; and YMCA of Greater Hartford.

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The Women & Girls’ Fund of Main Street Community Foundation is currently accepting grant applications from local nonprofit organizations. Nonprofits with programs serving women and girls in Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington and/or Wolcott may be eligible to apply.

The Women & Girls’ Fund funds programs that help women and girls realize their potential and improve the quality of their lives. A total of $30,760 was distributed in 2013 to 12 organizations and programs.

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With resources from its “Partnership Program,” Foodshare has worked with Hopewell Baptist Food Pantry in Hartford to help them purchase three upright convertible freezers.

This will allow for proper storage of frozen and refrigerated foods. In addition to this recent collaboration, Foodshare provided 55,247 pounds of food to Hopewell Baptist Food Pantry in the past year to support its work to feed those individuals and families experiencing food insecurity in Hartford.

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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 support and benefit animals, both domestic pets and wildlife, and for the preservation of the environment with an emphasis on environmental education.

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