Blogs

Support for scientific research, monitoring and pollution reduction efforts in river and surrounding watershed   

New Haven, CT (April 22, 2019) – The Quinnipiac River Fund has awarded $138,000 in grants to study the Quinnipiac River and its wildlife, reduce pollution, and increase access and recreational opportunities. Eleven competitive grants were awarded to organizations working in Greater New Haven. 

The Quinnipiac River starts west of New Britain and flows through Wallingford and North Haven before spilling into New Haven Harbor and Long Island Sound. The river has a long history of pollution from industry and urban development. 

The Quinnipiac River Fund was established in 1990 with a mission to improve the environmental quality of the river, New Haven Harbor and the surrounding watershed. It is a permanent fund at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, and its grants and distributions are recommended each spring by an Advisory Committee and approved by The Community Foundation’s Board of Directors. The grants support studies of the water quality and ecology, studies of pollution, public access to the river, land use planning, land acquisition around the river, habitat restoration, advocacy, education, and other relevant projects.  Continue reading.

Derby Daycare Center was founded in 1972 in order to give working parents an affordable option for high quality childcare and early education. More than four decades later, it continues offer young children in the Valley with opportunities to grow and learn in a nurturing environment that puts a focus on play.  Continue reading.

April 11, 2019; Indianapolis Business Journal

“The Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) has a new five-year plan to make Indianapolis a more inclusive city—and it involves tackling criminal justice reform, reinvesting in poor neighborhoods, and training 5,000 community leaders and residents about institutional racism,” reports Hayleigh Colombo in the Indianapolis Business Journal.

The foundation, which has assets in excess of $426 million, changed its mission last year, Colombo notes, “to reflect its new focus on equity and tackling racism.” As NPQ’s Cyndi Suarez noted a year ago in an article about Puerto Rico, increasingly community foundations face a strategic choice: Do they stick with the traditional approach of funding the good work of nonprofits, or do they forthrightly challenge structural inequality by supporting community organizing and civic groups that aim to change those conditions? In Indianapolis, CICF has opted for the latter...

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2019/04/17/a-community-foundation-in-indiana-adopts-comprehensive-equity-approach/

Job Description

Youth Work-Site Coordinator for Edgewood Park Stewardship Program - Summer 2019

The Friends of Edgewood Park, New Haven, CT are looking for a coordinator to create and implement a five-week youth park stewardship work program in the park for summer 2019.

Work and Program Description:

The Site Coordinator will supervise three to five New Haven youth, ages 14 – 18, selected to participate in New Haven’s Youth at Work Program.  The youth will work 25 hours per week, July 1 – Aug 2   The coordinator will work 30 hours per week.  The Site Coordinator will plan and oversee the young people’s work, most often independently, and sometimes alongside community members and other volunteers. The Coordinator will work with the group to create and implement environmental projects and help the youth learn valuable long-term work skills.

In these Youth@Work park programs, the young people will focus on:

• Infrastructure improvements -  such as trail maintenance, tree planting and care, invasive plant control, and trash clean up,
• Environmental education – learning about plants, animals and eco-systems, and park/plant stewardship,
• Work skills development – attendance, punctuality, attitude toward work, and environmental careers.

Coordinator:

We are looking for a person who:

• Is excited to work with youth and diverse community members.
• Has youth leadership skills.
• Is creative, flexible, and autonomous, yet collaborative. S/he should be comfortable taking initiative. The position requires collaboration with Youth@Work and community members; working with the New Haven Parks Dept., and the Edgewood Park friends group.
• Have some knowledge of urban parks and their stewardship.
• Is comfortable leading and doing outside physical work.

We can offer you:

• $3080 total, for 10 hours of pre-program planning, and for 5 weeks of direct on-site supervision of the youth program, Jul 1 – Aug 2. (For 24 week days, the youth work 5 hours per day; the coordinator works 6 hours per day. No work on July 4. Coordinator pay is $20 per hour.)
• A base of diverse and passionate community members to help you design and implement the program.
• Financial support for implementation of the program (reimbursement for supplies/tools, etc. as approved by the park group.)
• Administrative support.
• A fascinating summer experience where you gain valuable insight into working with youth, community members, and the City of New Haven on environmental education and justice.

To apply for this position, please e-mail your resume and cover letter to Maria at mashashevshev@gmail.com by April 24.

Young people in Solar Youth’s Green Jobs program not only earn money to work outside. They also beautify New Haven neighborhoods while developing skills that will help them professionally and in life. 

Green Jobs was launched in 2010 with a grant from the CT Office of Policy and Management's Urban Youth Violence Prevention program in response to a need for constructive out-of-school opportunities for at-risk teens. A lack of funding suspended the program for a year until it was restarted with support from Elm City Communities, corporate funders, and a three-year grant from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. Continue reading.

We are on course to have an amazing summer at Schooner Camp for 2019!!

Join us for Long Island Sound exploration and sailing this summer. For ages 6-12, we have our popular one week Sound Explorer sailing program, but we also have a new two week Adventure Sailing program that will provide a more in depth experience for those learning to sail. For ages 6-8, we offer an exciting hands-on land based program exploring the Sound.

We have a generous scholarship program again this year for income eligible families. Our goal is to provide camp opportunity for 50% of campers with the support of financial aid. The application is available on our website or can be completed in conjunction with online camp registration. We hope you'll help us spread the word! 

Do you know someone that would make an amazing camp staff member, sailing instructor or Junior Counselor? Schooner Camp is hiring! We are looking for sailing instructors, environmental educators and an assistant camp director. Please link here for the job descriptions. Junior Counselors are teens ages 15+ that can receive volunteer hours for assisting staff at Schooner. Junior Counselors register through the online camp system.  

Further details on camp are listed on the Schooner section of our website. If you have any questions, please call the Land Trust office at 203-562-6655 or email Cori Merchant, Camp Director at cori.merchant@newhavenlandtrust.org 

Interested in serving on the Board of Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen?  Check out the Board membership posting below or on our website.

POSTING

Board of Directors Membership

Multiple seats available

Nominations accepted through May 31, 2019

Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK) is currently accepting nominations for membership on our Board of Directors.  Ideal candidates will be passionate and committed to DESK’s mission.  This is a volunteer position with an expected commitment to a three-year term.

Mission and Background

DESK serves people experiencing homelessness or living in poverty by providing food assistance and services that promote health, community, and equity.  We are located in downtown New Haven, just off the Green.  Our core programs include nightly dinner, a weekly food pantry, a summer mobile pantry, and a senior lunch program.  DESK has been operating in New Haven since 1987.  For more information on our programs, services, history, and vision, visit us online at www.deskct.org.

DESK’s Board of Directors is comprised of a small group of professionals who are highly engaged in the community in a variety of ways, each bringing at least one area of specialization or knowledge to their Board service.  In addition to our monthly meeting, Board members meet as part of standing committees (Finance, Development, Program, Nominating, and Facilities) or task-forces.

Core Requirements and Responsibilities of Board Members

• Board Meeting Attendance – Board members must generally be available to meet for the full Board meeting on the second Monday of each month.
• Committee Participation – Board members must serve on at least one standing committee. 
• Fiduciary Responsibility – Board members are responsible for providing financial oversight to the organization, including adherence to relevant laws, appropriate expenditures, and ethical fundraising practices.
• Programmatic Oversight – Board members are responsible for determining ethical, appropriate, and impactful program and service provision.
• Employment Oversight – Board members are responsible for ensuring ethical and fair employment practices in accordance with all laws.
• Strategic Planning – Board members are responsible for setting the mission, vision, and values of the organization and determine the long-term plans for achieving predetermined goals and ensuring organizational sustainability.

Skillsets and Backgrounds Currently Being Sought

• Social service and healthcare professionals
• Food service professionals
• Representation from underserved communities and neighborhoods in New Haven
• Financial and accounting professionals
• General diversity of voice

Compensation and Benefits

Board service is an unpaid volunteer position.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should complete the online application at www.downtowneveningsoupkitchen.com/hr, or email a cover letter and résumé to Daniel Scholfield at president@deskct.org with “Board Member Application” in the subject line.

DESK values greatly the role of diversity in organization and strongly encourages applications from people of all backgrounds and lifestyles.

Funding to Continue to Address Infant Mortality with Focus on Social Determinants of Health and Promotion of Health Equity for New Haven Families

• Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Infant Mortality Continue Especially For Black Mothers
• Significant Disparities Exist in IMR and Health Status in High distress, Low Income Neighborhoods
• New Focus on Maternal Mortality 
• Greater Emphasis Will Be Place on Social Determinants of Health, such as Housing, Education, Racism, Domestic Violence, Unemployment

New Haven, Conn. (April 1, 2019) –The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven has been awarded $5.4 Million for a 5 year period (2019-2024) from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Maternal and Child Health Bureau to continue its New Haven Healthy Start Program, which serves vulnerable young women, infants and fathers in New Haven. New Haven Healthy Start was among 100 programs across the nation to successfully compete for approximately $100 million in total federal aid to reduce high infant mortality rates and improve maternal care in high risk communities. Grant funds will continue to support care coordination model of service and community health workers and patient navigators as well as a central office staff housed at The Community Foundation.

“For three decades, meeting our community’s maternal and child health challenges has been a Community Foundation priority. Our partnerships have been strong with the city of New Haven’s Health Department maternal and child health division, local hospitals and both federally qualified health centers in the area. Through these and other partnerships we have been able to successfully navigate families through the fragmented health care system. With this new grant we can continue to address the underlying causes of infant mortality, including racial and ethnic health disparities, in a comprehensive and systematic way,” said William W. Ginsberg, president & CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. Continue reading.

LEAP is looking to hire a Development and Marketing Associate. Reporting to the Director of Development, the Development and Marketing Associate is responsible for the management of all development office systems and administrative functions, including LEAP's donor database, as well as communications and marketing via social media and press. Go to www.leapforkids.org/jobs to see the full job description. Please email your cover letter, resume, and short writing sample to   if you are interested in applying.

Strategies to help upper elementary and middle school kids who have experienced trauma understand and control their emotions.

Source - Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-students-how-deal-stress

Some people ask me why CHN keeps insisting that in order to heal, we, as people of African ancestry, must Defy the Lie of Black Inferiority and Embrace the Truth of Black Humanity.  

“Can’t you find some softer language?” they ask.

Sure, we could. But...

Source -  Community healing Network Blog: https://www.communityhealingnet.org/why-defy-why-the-lie/

WAKING UP. WORKING out. Riding the bus. Music is an ever-present companion for many of us, and its impact is undeniable. You know music makes you move and triggers emotional responses, but how and why? What changes when you play music, rather than simply listen? In the latest episode of Tech Effects, we tried to find out. Our first stop was USC's Brain & Creativity Institute, where I headed into the fMRI to see how my brain responded to musical cues—and how my body did, too. (If you're someone who experiences frisson, that spine-tingling, hair-raising reaction to music, you know what I'm talking about.) We also talked to researchers who have studied how learning to play music can help kids become better problem-solvers, and to author Dan Levitin, who helped break down how the entire brain gets involved when you hear music.

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/tech-effects-how-does-music-affect-your-brain/ ;

In January, 2018, Liliana Gonzalez felt a lump in her breast. Lacking health insurance, she was hesitant to see a doctor. She and her husband had only moved to New Haven two years prior, having fled civil turmoil in Venezuela to apply for political asylum. Then she learned about the Fair Haven Community Health Clinic, where a biopsy was taken and her worst fears were confirmed – she had breast cancer. With no insurance and no ability to pay for treatment, Gonzelez was terrified by the thought of cancer spreading through her body. 

That was when Gonzalez was referred to Project Access, a network of health care providers that offer free medical care to uninsured and low-income people in Greater New Haven. She was enrolled her in its Breast Health Navigation Program, and within three weeks of her diagnosis,  Gonzalez began chemotherapy. One year later, Gonzalez is responding well to treatment. Continue reading Gonzalez story.

Funding is still available from the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness (CCEH) to help people who have been evacuated from Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria who are continuing to experience a housing crisis.

This funding can be used to help stabilize housing through support such as rental assistance, security deposits, moving costs, utility assistance, credit repair, bus passes to employment, and more.

If you were evacuated from Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria and are experiencing a housing crisis, dial 2-1-1 (select option 7 for Spanish) to get connected to housing supports and access to this funding.

Download the "Hurricane Maria: How 2-1-1 Can Help" Fact Sheet (available in English and Spanish) to lean more about the resources available to those who have been evacuated. For more information, dial 2-1-1 or visit www.211CT.org.

If your organization is interested in partnering with CCEH to connect clients to this funding, please contact Joanne Vitarelli at assistance@cceh.org for more information.

Source: Greater Bridgeport Latino Network <gbln@hotmail.com>