Nearly 2,000 volunteers from 50 workplaces participated in local United Way Year of Caring projects this fall. Volunteers mobilized for half-day and full-day community service projects as part of a yearlong initiative to advance the common good in the priority areas of: education, income, health, and basic needs.
Local workplaces have provided volunteers for United Way Year of Caring, formerly Day of Caring, since 1992, to mobilize people around the issues that are important to them.
Additionally, this year, United Way has played a leadership role in creating and managing Year of Caring projects in support of community education goals. Volunteers engaged in family events designed to reinforce the importance of daily attendance in school; share resources that help children succeed in school; and provide experiences centered on building academic, social and youth leadership skills.
First Niagara Supports Mark Twain House & Museum
The Mark Twain House & Museum has received a $10,000 grant from the First Niagara Foundation in support of several free public programs created to share the legacy of Mark Twain and other iconic American authors with the community. The grant will fund the lecture series “The Trouble Begins at 5:30” as well as the “Nook Farm Book Talks.” Both of these free programs are designed to encourage community members to participate in engaging and entertaining cultural activities centered on Mark Twain, his legacy, and the history of the Hartford neighborhood he called home.
CRIS Radio a Finalist in Community Giving Program
CRIS Radio is the lone finalist from Connecticut in the fifth annual Tom’s of Maine “50 States for Good” community giving program and has a chance to win $10,000 through a public vote. The “50 States for Good” program highlights local nonprofits that address community needs and engage volunteers to get the work done. CRIS Radio counts more than 300 volunteers who provide the human narration of more than 70 newspapers and magazines, including children’s magazines and educational materials for students who are blind or print-challenged due to learning, physical, intellectual or emotional disabilities. Nonprofit finalists from each state were chosen by an independent panel of judges.
Webster Bank Supports Neighborhood Housing Services of New Britain
Webster Bank has provided Neighborhood Housing Services of New Britain Inc., a $8,500 community development grant to assist the organization in furthering its mission to increase the availability of affordable housing in New Britain. The funds will support a predevelopment analysis required to determine the feasibility of a site for new housing.
More than $110K in Grants Approved by New Britain Community Foundation
The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain has approved more than $110,000 in grants aimed at addressing a wide variety of needs on the part of the area’s nonprofit service providers, including funding to support early literacy and youth development activities at the New Britain Youth Museum. The funding represents the Foundation’s second round of discretionary grants for 2013 serving its four communities of Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington. A third and final round of grants will be authorized at year’s end.
