Hartford Foundation Awards $560,000 To Local Food Pantries, Shelter Services As Holiday Season Nears – Hartford Courant

By Samad Fitzgerald On Jun 2, 2022

Aid for those in need will be distributed just in time for the holiday season, as the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is dividing $560,000 among dozens of food pantries, shelter services and other nonprofit organizations across Hartford County.

A total of 69 grants have been awarded to nonprofit agencies and organizations that provide food, emergency housing, fuel assistance, mental health counseling, medical and dental services, counsel employment, and clothing and other personal care items to low-income families and individuals.

In announcing the awards Monday, the foundation said more than $300,000 of the money was given to food programs.

“When individuals and families cannot afford to pay for groceries, housing, medical care or utilities, it is incredibly challenging for children to perform in school or adults to go to work each and every day,” said Hartford Foundation Community Investments Officer Dawn Grant. “Providing resources for these needs is a fundamental part of the Hartford Foundation’s mission to support the residents of Greater Hartford.”

Cornerstone Foundation, of Vernon, is one of the many nonprofit organizations that received money to support those in need during the holiday season. A grant of $10,000 will be put toward stocking the shelves of the organization’s food pantry and soup kitchen, according to the Hartford Foundation.

“Cornerstone’s primary endeavor is to improve the quality of life among the people we serve,” said Cornerstone Foundation Board President Angela Atwater. “Over the years, we have become a trusted grass-roots provider of social services that make the communities we serve better places to live. We are truly grateful for the ongoing support from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, which helps us to continue to assist local residents,” Atwater said.

In addition to shelters and food pantries, grants were also made to nonprofits involved in providing housing utilities. Operation Fuel, which operates out of Hartford and has provided energy assistance in the form of electricity, running water or heat to more than 160,000 households, received $20,000 from the foundation.

“The holidays can be extremely stressful for families individuals and who struggle to pay for basic necessities such as heat, electricity, and water,” said Brenda Watson, Operation Fuel’s executive director. “This grant will allow us to help many struggling households who have nowhere else to turn for assistance.”

The foundation has awarded grants of more than $680 million since its founding in 1925. According to the foundation, the size of each grant was determined by the “type and scope” of the program.

The $560,000 was split between 69 organizations, including:

Billings Forge Community Works ($4,000)
Bloomfield Public Schools, as fiscal agent for Laurel Family Resource Center ($3,000)
Bridge Family Center Inc., West Hartford ($4,500)
Bridge Family Center Inc., Hartford ($8,500)
Cathedral of St Joseph ($4,500)
Catholic Charities Inc., ($28,500)
Charter Oak Health Center ($6,500)
Chrysalis Center ($7,500)
Church of Christ, Congregational ($4,000)
Community Health Resources, Enfield ($3,000)
Community Health Services Inc., Hartford ($5,500)
Community Renewal Team Hartford/East Hartford ($8,500)
Community Renewal Team Hartford ($5,500)
COMPASS Youth Collaborative ($4,000)
Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness ($6,000)
Connecticut Radio Information System ($3,500)
Cornerstone Foundation Inc. ($10,000)
Covenant to Care for Children ($5,500)
East Hartford, food pantries/shoe program, ($18,000)
End Hunger Connecticut! Inc ($5,500)
Enfield Food Shelf ($9,000)
Enfield Loaves & Fishes Inc. ($9,500)
Family Life Education Inc. ($5,500)
Farmington Valley VNA ($3,500)
First Choice Health Centers ($5,500)
First Church of the Living God ($4,500)
Foodshare Inc ($15,000)
Gifts of Love ($9,000)
Glastonbury, medical supplies and winter clothing ($4,000)
Glory Chapel International Cathedral ($4,500)
Grace Episcopal Church ($4,500)
Hands on Hartford ($12,000)
Hartford Food System Inc. ($10,500)
Hartford Gay and Lesbian Health Collective ($8,500)
Hartford Interval House Inc. ($11,000)
Hartford Rescue Mission ($3,500)
Hebron Interfaith Human Services ($3,000)
Hispanic Health Council ($5,500)
Hockanum Valley Community Council Inc. ($15,000)
Hopewell Baptist Church ($4,500)
Horace Bushnell Children’s Food Pantry ($8,500)
House of Bread ($20,000)
Immacare ($13,000)
Jewish Family Services ($8,000)
John J. Driscoll United Labor Agency Inc. ($7,500)
Latino Community Services Inc. ($9,000)
Loaves and Fishes Ministries Inc. ($13,500)
Malta House of Care ($8,000)
Manchester Area Conference of Churches Inc. ($15,000)
Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation ($11,000)
My Sisters’ Place ($11,000)
Network Against Domestic Abuse ($5,500)
New Covenant United Methodist Church ($2,000)
Open Hearth ($12,000)
Operation Fuel Inc. ($20,000)
Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Connecticut ($3,500)
Rocky Hill, emergency fuel and energy assistance program ($3,500)
St Francis Hospital and Medical Center ($5,500)
Services for the Elderly of Farmington ($3,500)
Shiloh Baptist Church ($3,500)
Simsbury, food sustainability ($4,000)
South Park Inn ($12,000)
St Augustine Church ($5,500)
The Salvation Army Southern New England Division ($10,500)
Union Baptist Church ($5,500)
Village for Families & Children Inc. ($14,500)
Warburton Community Church ($4,500)
West Hartford, food pantry ($5,000)
Wethersfield, food bank ($6,500)
Windsor Community Service Council, Windsor Food and Fuel Bank ($4,500)
YWCA Hartford Region Inc. ($11,000)