Frances Doolittle Fund supports student intern at local cable tv station

One young person went to work for MTV. Another for ESPN and A&E mobile. A third as a news anchor on CBS 2’s weekend morning show from New York City.

And all interned at North Haven Community TV, says Walter Mann, Executive Director of the public and governmental access television station which broadcasts across two Connecticut counties.

“I’ve seen young people start here who didn’t know what they wanted to do in life and realize they liked it so much, they wanted to pursue a career in broadcasting,” says Mann.

Mann is talking about people like Chris Bennett. Chris is majoring in Communications with a concentration in video production at Southern Connecticut State University. His minor is Journalism. He graduates in 2011.

A grant from the Frances C. Doolittle Fund this year supported the internship program. Frances established a fund by bequest in 2000 to support programs benefiting children and youth in the Greater New Haven community.

It seems befitting that Frances’ Fund would support the NHTV internship program. Frances’ husband, Franklin Malcolm Doolittle, was an entrepreneur in the nascent radio broadcast field of the early 20th century. By 29, he manufactured and sold radio receivers from his small company on Chapel Street. Franklin also broadcast the first football game (Yale vs. Princeton), became President of Connecticut’s first commercial radio station - later known as WDRC (for Doolittle Radio Corporation), broadcast the first commercial FM station in the nation from Meriden Mountain, and received a US patent for his radiotelephony work.

“My parents were unique individuals,” says son John Doolittle. “Dad was a brilliant engineer and Yale graduate, and Mother skipped two grades in elementary school, and worked her way through Vassar. Both were always interested in helping others succeed in life.”

Like Francis Doolittle, you or someone you know can create a lasting legacy through a permanent endowment that benefits the community for generations. To learn more, please contact Angela Powers at apowers@cfgnh.org or 203-777-7068.


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