The Draper Foundation Fund, a fund of the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, recently awarded area nonprofits $757,978. The fund awarded $546,750 to 19 designated nonprofits and $217,228 in donor-advised grants to nonprofits that provide essential programs and services for residents of Northwest Connecticut.
Noteworthy donor-advised grants include:
$10,000 to Connecticut Food Bank, to support the Kids’ BackPack Program, which provides meals to 112 food insecure children in Torrington and Winsted when school is not in session. Weekend food packets are distributed discreetly to children whom school personnel identify as exhibiting behaviors associated with hunger and inadequate nutrition.
$10,000 to Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, to support a Medical Protocol and Competency Development initiative of the Litchfield County Opiate Task Force with the goal of increasing the number of MAT (Medication Assisted Treatment) providers for Litchfield County residents, and organizing and supporting a corps of Recovery Support Specialists.
Other nonprofit organizations awarded:
Charlotte Hungerford Hospital received $10,000 to support a Medical Protocol and Competency Development initiative of the Litchfield County Opiate Task Force
Colebrook Preservation Society, Inc. received $24,000 to support the final phase rehabilitation costs for the historic Colebrook Store building
Connecticut Food Bank $10,000 received to support the Kids’ BackPack Program, which provides meals to 112 food insecure children in Torrington and Winsted when school is not in session.
FISH of Northwestern Connecticut received $8,800 to support replacement flooring in the shelter and the food pantry
LARC, Inc. received $100,000 to support the capital campaign to upgrade and improve Camp MOE for year-round use
New Beginnings of Northwest Hills Litchfield County, Inc. received $9,000 to support replacement of the hot water heating unit and the air conditioning system
Northwest Connecticut Chamber Education Foundation, Inc. received $6,000 to support the Read Aloud Program in Northwest Connecticut
Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation received $10,000 to support improvements to the organization’s air-handling system serving communal spaces
Partners for Sustainable Healthy Communities received $8,128 to support the purchase of start-up equipment for the regional Food Hub located in Torrington
Winsted Area Child Care Center received $31,300 to support structural improvements to the BASE building
The following nonprofits designated by the Draper Foundation Fund receive awards twice annually:
Beardsley & Memorial Library, Colebrook Associates, Inc., Colebrook Congregational Church, Colebrook Historical Society, Inc., Cornell University for the Cornell Feline Health Center College of Veterinary Medicine, W. L. Gilbert Trust Corporation, Greenwoods Scholarship Foundation, Inc., Little Guild of St. Francis, Northwestern Connecticut Community College, Northwest CT YMCA , The Salvation Army, Tufts University, School of Veterinarian Medicine, The University of CT Foundation, Inc. , Vivisection Investigation League, a/k/a The Last Post, We Adopt Greyhounds, Inc., Winchester Youth Service Bureau, Winsted Area Child Care Center, Inc., and Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue, Inc.
A $30‐million endowment from the estate of Jim and Shirley Draper of Colebrook, The Draper Foundation Fund represents the largest single gift in the Community Foundation’s history and one of the largest single gifts on record to a community foundation in the state of Connecticut.
Established in 1969, the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation serves 20 towns in Northwest Connecticut. Its total endowment, comprised of more than 250 funds, has grown from initial assets of $15,000 to more than $94 million. Last year, combined grants and scholarships totaled more than $3 million.
Redistricting Process… Manipulating The Boundaries? is topic of program
LITCHFIELD — The League of Women Voters of Litchfield County announced today that it will co-sponsor a talk with the Litchfield Historical Society about redistricting, well-known as gerrymandering, on Jan. 14 at 3:30 p.m. at the Litchfield Historical Society. The term gerrymander is derived from the name of Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, who signed a bill that redistricted Massachusetts to benefit his Party. When mapped, one of the contorted districts in the Boston area was said to resemble the shape of a mythological salamander.
The featured speaker will be US history scholar, John Dasher, who will enlighten us on the how and why this process may give one party an unfair advantage over its rival. Dasher, who is a Litchfield resident, graduated from Amherst College, Columbia Law School and Columbia Business School. After a career on Wall Street, he earned a teaching degree and for ten years taught Advanced Placement US History in New Canaan and Fairfield, CT.
According to Wikipedia, “Gerrymandering in the United States has been practiced since the founding of the country to strengthen the power of particular political interests within legislative bodies.” In recent years, we know well that partisan gerrymandering is commonly used to increase the power of a particular political party. And, we know too that some jurisdictions are engaged in racial gerrymandering to weaken the political power of racial minority voters, while others engage in racial gerrymandering to strengthen the power of minority voters.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, or to RSVP - 860 567 4501 or molver@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.
The League of Women Voters of Litchfield County is a grassroots, nonpartisan political organization of women and men.
Donate Life Connecticut launches awareness campaign
The Connecticut Coalition for Organ and Tissue Donation, dba, Donate Life Connecticut, recently launched a series of public awareness campaign ads on cable television aimed at educating residents about the importance of organ donation, both living and deceased, clarifying misleading myths, and increasing the number of registered organ donors who can potentially give the gift of life to someone in need. Donate Life Connecticut is dedicated to increasing the number of registered organ and tissue donors in Connecticut and beyond through public education and awareness.
It takes just two minutes to register to be a donor and during this season of giving, the gift of an organ or tissue transplant may truly mean the gift of renewed health, the promise of more time with loved ones, and the miracle of tragedy turned into hope. There are now more than 116,000 people waiting for organ transplantation in the United States and every day, 22 patients die due to lack of available organs. Visit www.donatelifect.org for more information.