At Community Fund for Women & Girls Annual Meeting:

• Requests for funding for women and girls’ programs are 3 times more than amount available
• $1 million campaign calls Greater New Haven to act now
• First ever grant awarded for public advocacy

New Haven, CT – (May 26, 2009) Residents in the Greater New Haven area are requested by leaders of the Community Fund for Women & Girls to accelerate their support for local women and girls’ programs. The call to action was made at the 14th Annual Meeting of The Fund thereby launching a campaign to raise $1 million by December 31, 2010. Though the Community Fund for Women & Girls is considered to be the largest charitable endowment in the region to fund such gender-specific projects, the ability to fund projects continues to be overshadowed by the need.           

“We need to bridge the $250,000 gap between funds available and funds requested this year,” said Helene Robbins, incoming Chair of the Fund’s Advisory Committee in reference to the $1 million fundraising effort. “A total of 16 organizations received funding this year and we would have liked to have been able to fund more. This is why we are so determined to grow the Fund. The more money in the endowment, the more money can be distributed to important programs that break the cycle of domestic violence, provide positive imaging and role modeling for young women, and increase awareness about gender-specific health issues, among others,” said Robbins.

“Over thirty-five percent ($356,000) of our $1 million goal has already been pledged by women closest to the Fund,” said Nancy Alexander, outgoing Chair. “A bigger endowment will enable us to do more than we already do on a grassroots and larger scale, to connect, inform and catalyze women, their ideas and resources to solve problems that affect them.”
The Fund is growing in power and according to Alexander is, “clearer about what we want to accomplish.” One significant accomplishment this year has been the revision of the Community Fund for Women & Girls’ mission statement to more accurately reflect its purpose: to promote social and economic advancement for women and girls through strategic philanthropy, grants, advocacy, and collaboration.

Leadership of the volunteer-driven Fund was also pleased to award a grant for the Basic Human Needs Policy collaboration between the Liman Project, Wiggin and Dana attorneys and other interested parties.  The Fund distributed its first ever public advocacy grant to this partnership to promote legislation which would secure a sustaining source of state and federal funding for diapers on behalf of more than 1040 children regionally and with the potential of benefitting all children living in poverty nationwide. Day care centers require that parents provide disposable diapers for each enrolled child, making it particularly difficult for underprivileged mothers and families living in poverty to keep their children in day care. Without day care, mothers of limited means are unable to work, thus perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

The Community Fund for Women & Girls is a component fund of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and was established by an anonymous woman in 1995. Since its inception the Fund has distributed $370,000 into the community. Contributions to the Fund’s $1 million campaign can be made online at www.cfgnh.org or via check payable to: The Community Fund for Women & Girls c/o The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, 70 Audubon Street, New Haven, CT 06510. For more information, contact Sharon Cappetta at (203) 777-7071.

Since 1928, donors to The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven have built the community's endowment consisting of over 700 funds and distributing approximately $14 million in grants annually. The Foundation has been helping donors achieve their charitable goals and improving the quality of life for Greater New Haven residents for more than 80 years. For more information about The Community Foundation visit www.cfgnh.org.                                       

Community Fund for Women & Girls 2009 Grant Recipients

The New Haven Diaper Bank                      
Policy Award: $10,000
The New Haven Diaper Bank was created in June, 2004 in response to a lack of public assistance for purchasing diapers and the consequent stress on economically vulnerable families at critical times.  Based on the successful model of regional food banks, The Diaper Bank collects in-kind and cash donations for the bulk purchase of diapers.  The diapers are then distributed through existing local agencies including shelters, food pantries, day care and health facilities.  The results: healthier and more comfortable babies, calmer families, and children allowed to attend day care.

Grant:  To support a project manager for the Basic Human Needs Policy collaboration between the Liman Project, Wiggin and Dana attorneys and other interested parties.  The goal is to secure a sustaining source of state and federal funding for diapers, serving over 1040 children regionally, and potentially all children living in poverty in the U.S. 

Hill Health Corporation                    
Large Grant Award: $10,000
Hill Health Center is one of the oldest freestanding medical and behavioral health clinics in the nation.  Established in 1968 in a small converted garage on Columbus Avenue in New Haven, it has grown into a complex and comprehensive agency with the ability to meet the diverse and complicated needs of inner city, indigent and multi-challenged, largely minority residents. 

Grant:  To support the Prison to Community Peer Support Program, a 44 week peer support group serving 40 newly released formerly incarcerated women, led by women who have experienced and overcome substance abuse and or mental illness and who have made the transition from prison to the community.

Planned Parenthood of Connecticut 
Award: $5000
Founded in 1923 by a group of dedicated women working to make birth control accessible to Connecticut women, Planned Parenthood’s mission is to protect the fundamental right of all individuals to manage their own fertility and sexual health.  Planned Parenthood Connecticut’s work focuses on providing reproductive health care services, education and training workshops, and advocacy for effective public polity regarding reproductive rights and health.

Grant:  To support the Real Life Real Talk program, a social change initiative that utilizes social marketing and community partnerships to foster open, honest and balanced talk about healthy teen sexuality for 285 New Haven mothers and their children.

 New Haven Healthy Start                
Award: $5000
In 1985, the Commission on Infant Health was founded in New Haven to address the high level of infant mortality and morbidity in New Haven.  Funded by the federal government since 1997, the project works with pregnant women and their infants up to age two, with the objective of improving birth outcomes and decreasing infant mortality in Greater New Haven communities.  It is built on community involvement, increased health care access, service integration and personal responsibility.

Grant:  To support Baby Buddies, a consumer education and referral program designed to address possible risk factors that contribute to the deaths of African American infants.  Baby Buddies will deliver health information to the African American community in New Haven through community events, churches, civic organizations, door to door, informational “house parties” and community conversations.

All Our Kin, Inc.                    
Award: $3600
All Our Kin trains, supports and sustains community child care providers, to ensure that children and families have the foundation they need to succeed in school and in life.  All Our Kin programs equip parents, relatives, and informal caregivers with the skills and resources to move out of poverty and open child care businesses in their communities.  Through individualized mentorship and support, All Our Kin builds capacity, quality and viability of existing child care businesses.

Grant:  To support the Family Child Care Toolkit licensing project.  The project will provide six more licensing tool kits to the existing program, allowing six women to become licensed home care providers for 36 children. 

 Eli Whitney Museum
Award: $2800
The Eli Whitney Museum was established in 1979 on the site where Whitney transformed American manufacturing in 1798.  The Museum is an experimental learning workshop.  It collects and exhibits, not objects, but the ways in which objects are made and the ways through which they educate.  Projects are designed to enrich the depth and scope of hands-on learning.  The projects focus on skills, materials and experiences that complement the work of conventional classrooms.  

Grant:  To support the Catherine Green Project to expand learning opportunities for 20 girls aged 9-13 through summer camp scholarships.  The Project focuses on creating workshops for girls that allow them to master skills that have traditionally been perceived to be the province of boys.  The project also trains teachers to identify and encourage girls with non-traditional aptitudes.

 Hamden Public Schools                    
Award: $3500
Through the public school system in Hamden, CT, Hamden Middle School works with students in grades seven and eight.  The current goals of the Hamden Board of Education include a 95% attendance rate, closing the achievement gap and ensuring that graduates of Hamden High School have the necessary skills to become productive citizens of their community. 

Grant:  To implement the Girls Circle program for at-risk girls in 7th and 8th grades at Hamden Middle School.  The 18-20 week curriculum includes units that teach and provide support skills in areas such as friendship, individuality and preparation for the future.

Higher Heights Youth Empowerment Programs Inc.          
Award: $3326
The mission of Higher Heights Youth Empowerment Programs is to change the lives of under-represented college bound students and empower, encourage and equip them to obtain a post-secondary education. 

Grant:  To support a partnership with James Hillhouse High School in New Haven to increase the college readiness and academic achievement of 50 female students and young parents who are at -risk of not enrolling in or completing a post-secondary education.

Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS)             
Award: $4921
2009 Women and Girls Alumnae Grant Recipient
The mission of IRIS is to help refugees and other displaced people establish new lives, regain hope and contribute to the vitality of Connecticut’s communities.  Since 1982, IRIS has resettled more than 4,000 refugee women, men and children from many countries including Iraq, Cuba, Afghanistan, and several African nations. 

Grant:  To support the Family Safety for New Americans project which will provide education, training and outreach to approximately 60 refugee and immigrant families, including 30 women and twelve girls, to break the cycle of domestic violence.

SARAH, Inc.             
Award: $1500
Originally established as a school in 1957, SARAH, Inc. has grown to become a service provider to over 500 children and adults with intellectual and other disabilities and their families in communities along the Connecticut shoreline.  SARAH programs and services cover the life cycle from birth to maturity and include early intervention, supported employment, work and life skills training and recreation and leisure activities. 

Grant:  To support classes and a resource library on women’s health issues for women with intellectual disabilities.

Southern Connecticut State University Foundation Inc      
Award: $1350
The SCSU Foundation was established in 1972 to solicit, receive and administer gifts and financial resources from private sources for the benefit of the campus and programs of SCSU, a state-assisted institution of higher education.

Grant:  To support the Sixth Annual Women and Girls in Sports Day for approximately 200 girls from minority, inner city and low-income families from New Haven County.  Girls will interact with coaches and women athletes who are successful, positive role models.

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Research Foundation    Award: $3500
The CAES Research Foundation was established in 2007 to support the scientific research and public outreach of The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.  The Research Foundation develops innovative opportunities for partnerships involving industry and philanthropic organizations that support the mission of advancing scientific knowledge and enhancing human health for the benefit of the citizens of CT and the nation. 

Grant:  To support the Middle School Girls’ Science Mentoring Program designed to reach over 500 disadvantaged middle school girls in New Haven’s public schools through the engagement and leadership of six middle school girls with women scientist mentors.

The Hospital of Saint Raphael H.O.P.E. Program
Award: $4000
The Hospital of Saint Raphael is a 511-bed community teaching hospital founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth and affiliated with the Yale University School of Medicine.  Founded in 1907, the Hospital recognized its role as a vital resource for the local community and actively seeks a lead role in improving the overall well being of area residents.  The HOPE (Having an Opportunity to Prepare for Employment) Program was implemented in 1996 and has been lauded as a model welfare-to-work job training program.

Grant:  To support the continuation of three key components of the HOPE program: transportation, journaling and semiannual parenting workshops for approximately 40 mothers and single women who are working to overcome the barriers of poverty through job training.

Young Parent Program of Milford               
Award: $1820
The Young Parent Program is a community based program that provides confidential parenting and pregnancy prevention services to young adults to promote healthy choices, responsible decision making, healthy birth outcomes and prevention of future unwanted pregnancies. 

Grant:  Working in collaboration with the West Haven Community House’s ParenTeen program, the Connections program is designed to fill the void in delivery of prenatal services in West Haven while broadening and enriching the Milford-based teen education program.  Approximately 60 young women under age 21 will be served.

Your Place Youth Center                  
Award: $4258
Your Place Youth Center was launched in the summer of 2008 to end youth violence by creating an alternative to gangs and meet the needs of diverse girls in the region by addressing gang affiliation, violence, rape, teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS.

Grant:  To support three sessions (Summer, Fall and Spring) of the “Go On Girl” group for a total of 45 at-risk teen girls from New Haven, Hamden and North Haven who have been affected by or involved in violence.