CT Philanthropy Digest - Feb 2014

Calibrating the Community presents greater New Haven's social indicator data (produced by DataHaven) in a special framework to provide a portrait of the region.

         Produced by The Community Foundation of Greater New Haven, the publication, provides a framework of eight interconnected issue areas that are critical to the prosperity and health of the region's people, economy, and civic life, and is indended to engage policy makers, businesses, institutions, in conversations about how to build a stronger community for all of Greater New Haven.

          Over arching findings center on a changing population:

• Growth and increasing density - Greater New Haven is growing more quickly than metropolitan Boston, New York and Providence.
• Middle Class opportunity - Compared to most metropolitan areas, Greater New Haven has a higher population of middle class families.
• Youthful city in an aging region - of all Connecticut cities and towns, the City of New Haven is the single notable exception to the trend of a decline in the population of younger adults
• Increasing diversity and immigration - Greater New Haven residents are as diverse as the nation as a whole: 1 in 3 (161,000 people) now identify as a race or ethnicity other than White, up from 1 in 5 (91,000 people) in 1990.

         For more information: Tricia Caldwell, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, 203-777-7090, tcaldwell@cfgnh.org.

         The Aetna Foundation has committed $1.2 million to support the use of digital health technology, including mobile health or mHealth, among vulnerable and minority populations.

         The grants are part of a larger $4 million, three-year digital health commitment from the Aetna Foundation for the implementation and evaluation of technology innovations to help address public health concerns.

         The grants announced today will go to a diverse group of 23 organizations across 13 states, including health care organizations, regional hospitals and grassroots interventions all focused on easy-to-use ways to leverage existing technology to impact health.

         "We believe that digital health technology can serve as a powerful equalizer for improving health education and access to care among minority and low-income communities by reaching people where they are spending time - at school, at church, in their neighborhoods and on-the-go with real-time solutions that easily fit into their daily lives," said Garth Graham, M.D., M.P.H., president of the Aetna Foundation.

           To learn more about the Aetna Foundation's Digital Health Initiative and tangible ways your organization can benefit from their digital health innovations commitment, visit http://bit.ly/1fY2VQ7 or join the digital health conversation on Twitter with #digitalhealth.

         For more information: Elizabeth Sell, Aetna Foundation, 215-380-1691, selle@aetna.com.

The Tween Internet Safety Survey results recently released by Cox Communications and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children show that despite online bullying (also known as cyberbullying) being a serious concern for teens and their parents, many teens are not telling their parents about their experiences.

          "The most helpful way to address online safety and bullying is through open communication with children about these issues," said John Ryan, NCMEC president and CEO. "That's why we were encouraged that more parents are having these conversations. By keeping an open dialogue, parents can increase the likelihood that their children will come to them when something makes them uncomfortable online."

           According to the survey, 84 percent of parents of teens surveyed nationally have talked to their children about online safety at some point, and 77 percent have talked about Internet safety within the past year. This is a significant improvement when compared to Cox and NCMEC's 2005 survey which found less than 25 percent of parents were talking to their teens about Internet safety.

          Find full survey results and tips on how to keep your kids safer online: www.cox.com/takecharge.

Through a collaboration of four foundations, low-income preschool children at HRA of New Britain's Head Start programs are getting a better chance to enter kindergarten ready to succeed.

         That's because they are now taking part in the Jumpstart early literacy program, funded by $42,500 in grants from Liberty Bank Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, the Farmington Bank Community Foundation, and The Fund for Greater Hartford.

         Jumpstart helps preschool children develop the vital early language, literacy, and social-emotional skills they will need to succeed, not only in kindergarten, but in life.

          "Without early intervention, young children living in poverty will start kindergarten as much as 60% behind their more affluent peers," explained Kerri Osborne, executive director of Jumpstart Tri-State.  "If they haven't caught up to the point where they are reading at grade level by grade 3, they are four times less likely to graduate from high school by age 19."

          Jumpstart has recruited and trained 36 students from Central Connecticut State University to deliver its results-based, evidence-driven early literacy curriculum. Corps members, as the college students are called, undergo 40 hours of training in early childhood education to teach the Jumpstart session twice weekly at a Head Start preschool. During the 2013-14 school year, students will deliver the Jumpstart curriculum to 90 children in two New Britain preschools.

          Through a proven curriculum, these children develop the language and literacy skills they need to be ready for school, setting them on a path for lifelong success.

          For more information: Jim Williamson, Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, 860-229-6018.

The Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation has created an interactive Learning Disabilities Field Guide in an effort to provide current information, unite the field by creating the potential for collaboration, reduce overlap of efforts, and build a stronger community.

          The guide will evolve with time and the foundation will add to and edit information on a regular basis. Organizations, books, documentaries and initiatives may still be added to the field guide.

          For more information or to add a resource: Suzanne Lang, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, 203-639-5544, lang@tremainefoundation.org.

The Connecticut Bar Foundation is pleased to announce the Fourteenth Annual James W. Cooper Fellows' Quintin Johnstone Essay Contest. The 2013-2014 topic is "Food Fight."

          In writing their 1,000 word essays, students are asked to assume the role of a counsel for the State Department of Education who is asked by the Commissioner of the Department to prepare an analysis of the proposed plan to restrict school menus and to ban certain foods brought to school by students.

          The contest winner will receive $2,000 and the two runners-up will receive $1,000. Download eligibility and materials at http://www.ctbarfdn.org/20122013essay.

          Entries must be postmarked no later than Friday, February 28.

          For more information: Claire Howard; Connecticut Bar Foundation; 860-722-2494; cbfprograms@cbf-1.org.

          "Our local nonprofits provide critical services in our community, and Fairfield County Giving Day is a great way to showcase their important work and help them raise funds that will allow them to do more," said Juanita T. James, president & CEO, Fairfield County Community Foundation. "Whether you support a food bank in Fairfield, a land trust in Redding or an after school program in Greenwich, you'll know that your gift is helping a local nonprofit. Your $10 gift could help that organization secure a much larger grant."

          Fairfield County Giving Day is open to all eligible nonprofits organizations Fairfield County. Information on how to register your nonprofit or how you can support this community event is available online at www.fccfoundation.org. 

          For more information: Jeff Yates, Fairfield County Community Foundation, 203-750-3212, jyates@fccfoundation.org; T.J. Crawford, Bank of America, 646-855-3301, tj.crawford@bankofamerica.com.

          Oddfellows Playhouse and the Community Foundation of Middlesex County and its Sari A. Rosenbaum Fund for Women & Girls are proud to host "Women Take Center Stage ... In Life ... In Excelling ... In Giving Back," on Tuesday, March 11 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at the Odd Fellows Playhouse in Middletown.

          Playwright Liz Duffy Adams and Oddfellows Playhouse Artistic Director Kristen Palmer will take the stage to share their insights and experiences as leaders in the arts and give an insightful discussion about the power of women in the arts.

          To reserve a seat: Betsy@oddfellows.org or call 860-347-6143.

          "Through the use of issue oriented forums, Progreso Latino has brought together diverse groups of people to seek answers to complex and challenging issues and concerns." said fund supporter Judge Carmen Lopez.

          For more information: Sharon Cappetta, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven; 203-777-7071; scappetta@cfgnh.org.