Bringing history to life. Expanding early literacy. Meeting basic needs. Those are a few ways that the recent grants awarded by Main Street Community Foundation will inspire, affect and touch the residents living and working in the towns of Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington and Wolcott.

A total of 40 organizations representing a broad range of programs and projects received $110,000 in grant awards. This is the result of the Foundation’s competitive 2018 General Grant Cycle, which saw the submission of 45 grant proposals.

The grants were awarded from 29 endowed funds established by donors to support the local community and the causes they care about.

“We are thrilled to be announcing $110,000 in grants, thanks to the generous donors who have established and built these funds to bolster our communities and help our neighbors,” said Susan Sadecki, President & CEO of the Community Foundation.

Sadecki also acknowledged the 27 local residents that comprise the Community Foundation’s volunteer Distribution Committee. “The Distribution Committee reviews all proposals, conducts site visits and makes the final funding recommendations to the Board of Directors,” stated Sadecki. “Their thoughtful review of the applications to ensure feasibility and their commitment to honoring donor intent is unmatched.”

The following grants were awarded from the various funds as described below:

• American Clock & Watch Museum - Installation of the antique Seth Thomas street clock on museum property (Jay & Elizabeth Tyrrell Fund for the Arts)
• American Red Cross - Disaster Response and Relief Services including the Home Fire Campaign in Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington and Wolcott (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Jaspersohn Family Memorial Fund, James R. Parker Trust, Gnazzo/Reidy Charitable Fund)
• Boys & Girls Club of Bristol Family Center - Job-readiness and career exploration program for Cambridge Park teens (Douglas and Noreen Schumann Special Interest Fund)
• Brian’s Angels - Basic human needs for the homeless including tents, sleeping bags and shoes (Ciccarelli-Vitale Community Advancement Fund, Bristol Brass General Grant Fund)
• Bristol Adult Resource Center - Updated signs at two Bristol locations (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund)
• Bristol Auto Club – Enhancement of the Saturday Cruise Night by providing family entertainment, music and games (Bristol Savings Bank Fund)
• Bristol Board of Education/Gifted Program - Annual Poetry Night for middle and high school students in the Gifted Program (Pat & Bob Wollenberg Family Fund for the Community)
• Bristol Board of Education/Bristol Eastern High School - Collaborative concert with Bristol Eastern High School Choral department and the Nutmeg Symphony Orchestra (Pat & Bob Wollenberg Family Fund for the Community, Margaret Haberman Memorial Fund for Music)
• Bristol Family Resource Centers - People Empowering People (PEP) program to teach parents to become community leaders (Fuller and Myrtle Barnes Fund for Education)
• Bristol Historical Society - Moulthrop Collection exhibit, which consists of glass slides depicting a glimpse into early 20th century history of Bristol (Edward W. and Audrey K. Mink Memorial Fund)
• Bristol Recovery Club - Updated music equipment for Club functions to provide a sober entertainment option (Bristol Savings Bank Fund, Edward W. and Audrey K. Mink Memorial Fund)
• Bristol School Readiness Council - Operation HALO (Healthy Alternatives for Little Ones) pilot program for preschoolers in conjunction with the Bristol Police Department and the Bristol Hospital Parent & Child Center (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Douglas and Noreen Schumann Special Interest Fund)
• City of Bristol - Arts in the Park in conjunction with Bristol Parks & Recreation’s Summer Concert series (Sid Bernard & Ed Miller Children’s Fund for the Visual Arts)
• Community Health Network of CT Foundation - Cooking Matters for Families nutrition education program in collaboration with Bristol Hospital Parent & Child Center (Smith Family Charitable Fund)
• CRIS Radio - Audio accessibility via internet radio for adults who are blind or visually impaired (Bristol Savings Bank Fund)
• Connecticut Rivers Council Boy Scouts - STEM Scouting, an after-school program for Bristol elementary school students (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Angela and Al Caruso Family Charitable Fund, JoAnn & David Mills Family Fund)
• Connecticut Science Center - Expansion of the Bristol Public Schools STEM program to include student programming as well as professional development for teachers (Fuller and Myrtle Barnes Fund for Education)
• Covenant to Care for Children - Basic essential goods for youth that are involved with the Department of Children and Families to preserve and reunify families (Jim & Eleanor Frawley Community Fund, Bristol Brass General Grant Fund)
• Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington - Kindergarten Readiness program for Southington children (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Fuller and Myrtle Barnes Fund for Education)
• Environmental Learning Centers of CT - Canoes and kayaks for Indian Rock’s summer camp (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, James R. Parker Trust)
• Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center - Imagine Developing Life-Long Learners program in conjunction with Bristol Preschool Childcare Center (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Sid Bernard & Ed Miller Children’s Fund for the Visual Arts, Jay & Elizabeth Tyrrell Fund for the Arts)
• Kelly’s Kids Inc. - Farm animal and nature based summer camp program for youth that are involved with the Department of Children and Families (Douglas and Noreen Schumann Special Interest Fund)
• Lock Museum of America - New LED lighting for display cases to enhance exibits (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund)
• Memorial Military Museum - Acid-free boxes for protection and preservation of World War I uniforms (Bristol Savings Bank Fund)
• New Britain Museum of American Art - Access to the Arts program for Wolcott students (Pat & Bob Wollenberg Family Fund for the Community, Fuller and Myrtle Barnes Fund for Education)
• New England Carousel Museum - Expansion of the Music-Art-Technology-History (MATH) program for second grade Bristol students (Bristol Savings Bank Fund, Sid Bernard & Ed Miller Children’s Fund for the Visual Arts, Fuller and Myrtle Barnes Fund for Education)
• Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters - Community Based Mentoring program in Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington and Wolcott (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Douglas and Noreen Schumann Special Interest Fund)
• Oak Hill/Connecticut Institute for the Blind - Veteran transition and support programs at Chapter 126 Sports & Fitness center in Bristol (Bristol Savings Bank Fund, Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Ronald F. and Emilie P. Duhaime Family Fund, Jim & Eleanor Frawley Community Fund)
• Plainville Community Food Pantry - Healthy Food Initiative, which includes farmer’s market vouchers and healthy pantry items (Bristol Savings Bank Fund, Edward W. and Audrey K. Mink Memorial Fund, Terry and Marguerite Fletcher Family Fund)
• Plymouth Community Food Pantry - Healthy Options program, which gives shoppers with special dietary needs access to nutritional food (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Bristol Savings Bank Fund)
• Prudence Crandall Center, Inc. - Domestic and Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Outreach program at the Alta at the Pyne Center alternative high school in Southington (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Calvanese Foundation Green & White Fund for Behavioral Health, Eva M. Pierce Memorial Charitable Fund)
• Quota International of Bristol - New back-to-school clothing and shoes to youth in the after-school program at the Cambridge Park Boys & Girls Club (Dumont Family Charitable Fund, Douglas and Noreen Schumann Special Interest Fund)
• Regional School District 10/ Har-Bur Middle School - 12 additional seats in the Fast ForWord reading program for students struggling to read (James R. Parker Trust)
• South Side School PTA - 12 Chromebooks to be used students in grades K-2 during independent learning time (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Fuller and Myrtle Barnes Fund for Education)
• The Agape House - Computer equipment, phone system, and other supplies related to the Life Skills Ministry for the Homeless (Ciccarelli-Vitale Community Advancement Fund, Karen and Kim Murphy Family Charitable Fund)
• The Children’s Museum - Science Achievement for All program for grades K-8 in Bristol schools (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund)
• United Way of West Central Connecticut - Community outreach and engagement for Bristol Early Childhood Alliance (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Formagioni-Lodovico Family Fund, Tedesco-Gallant Charitable Fund)
• Town of Southington – Creation of an open space pollinator habitat on a town-owned parcel to raise awareness about the benefits of land preservation (Merriman Family Fund, Bristol Brass General Grant Fund)
• Veterans Strong Community Center - Improve services, assistance and communications by hiring a new part-time outreach person who will conduct outreach hours directly in Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington and Wolcott (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Paige Wartonick Laferriere Memorial Fund, James R. Parker Trust, Becker Family Fund)
• Wheeler Regional Family YMCA - First Wave, a free program for low-income first-grade students in Plainville to teach them how to swim and introduce them to water safety (Bristol Brass General Grant Fund, Turkus Family Fund)

For more information about the Community Foundation’s grant program or the Foundation’s 2018 grant recipients, please contact Jarre Betts, Vice President of Programs, at 860.583.6363.