A pair of grants from the Nonprofit Support Program at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving are making spring initiatives easier for The Children’s Museum and the New England Air Museum.
The New England Air Museum has received a $40,000 grant to update its web site, telephone system and staff computers and server infrastructure. Video-conferencing capabilities may also be added later. The grant was awarded through the Nonprofit Support Program at the Hartford Foundation.
The New England Air Museum is owned and operated by the Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association, a private, non-profit educational institution organized in 1959. Located at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, the museum is the largest aviation museum in New England.
The $20,350 grant to The Children’s Museum will allow the hiring of a professional consultant in the museum’s search for a new president and chief executive officer.
Former president and CEO Kevin Sullivan left the museum earlier this year to join the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. The board has appointed Don Peterson as interim director.
The Children’s Museum in West Hartford offers over 100 live animals, hands-on science exhibits, out-of-this-world digital planetarium shows, and programs for younger children and families.
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for the 29-town Greater Hartford region, dedicated to improving the quality of life for area residents for the past 85 years. The Foundation receives gifts from thousands of individuals and families, and in 2010, awarded grants of more than $29 million to a broad range of area nonprofit organizations.
• • •
Partnership targets hungry kids
Connecticut’s No Kid Hungry Campaign, a statewide public-private partnership aimed at ending childhood hunger by 2015, got a high-powered launch March 23.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy; USDA Under Secretary Kevin Colcannon; State Senate President Don Williams and State Speaker of the House Christopher Donovan joined a diverse group of community leaders, chefs and education leaders for a kickoff event at Macdonough School in Middletown.
Walmart donated $100,000 to help start the program, which will provide meals to kids in summer schools, parks and programs. Share Our Strength, with support from sponsor C&S Wholesale Grocers, is giving $200,000 to End Hunger Connecticut for the campaign’s first year.
In Connecticut, more than 127,000 children are at risk of hunger. The Summer Meals Program provides children nutritious meals when school lets out, but the program isn’t reaching about 75 percent of eligible children. The After School Supper Program closes the dinnertime hunger gap, but at least 24,000 eligible children are not participating in the program. There are only two After School Supper Programs in the state.
Share Our Strength, a national organization working to end childhood hunger, and End Hunger Connecticut, a statewide anti-hunger and food security organization, have set a goal of increasing the number of summer meals served by 10 percent, or 150,000 additional meals, in the first year.
• • •
Tighe & Bond offers services
Engineering firm Tighe & Bond is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a series of events to give back to its communities, including its The Centennial Project.
The New England firm with offices in Middletown and Shelton will identify two worthy projects for non-profit agencies that are in need of Tighe & Bond’s services, and then provide each with $50,000 worth of pro bono engineering services.
To identify potential projects for these services, Tighe & Bond has developed a request for proposals that non-profit organizations may complete. It is available at http://centennialproject.tighebond.com/. The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, April 29.
In addition to The Centennial Project, Tighe & Bond is planning client appreciation events in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. It also will publish a commemorative book that documents the firm’s history and people.
• • •
Two programs aid Japan
The plight of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami victims is prompting a pair of fundraising efforts.
Musicians from the Hartford Symphony Orchestra will perform a Japan Earthquake Relief Charity Concert on Saturday, April 9, at 6 p.m. at the Unitarian Meeting House in West Hartford. Proceeds from the event, organized by Ruriko Kagiyama and her husband, HSO Principal Violist Michael Wheeler, will go to the American Red Cross’ relief effort in Japan.
All donations are being made to the American Red Cross. Tickets are not for sale; admission is the donation.
Also, Competitive Resources Inc. of Wallingford will donate up to $50,000 to the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund.
The energy efficiency contractor will donate $50 for each Connecticut Light and Power and United Illuminating customer who has a low-cost home energy assessment through June 30.
Participation in the home energy survey program requires a customer co-pay of $75. The remainder of the service is paid for by the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund.
