Valley Community Foundation: Gifts grew 51 percent over '14

DERBY – The Valley Community Foundation announced Friday the number of gifts made by Valley residents and employees during The Great Give® 2015 increased by 51 percent over 2014.

The information was shared during a celebratory Ice Cream Social Thursday at which VCF also announced winners of the VCF Great Give Grand Prizes for attracting the greatest number of donors who live or work in the Valley (Valley Independent Sentinel, $2,000) and attracting the greatest number of new donors who live or work in the Valley (Shelton High School Education Fund, $2,000).

“We couldn’t be more thrilled at the response of Valley residents and workers who came out in strong support of local nonprofits during The Great Give 2015. A 51 percent increase over last year in the number of gifts underscores that the Valley is a philanthropic region and its people know the importance of giving locally in a global world where so many charitable options abound,” said Sharon Closius, President & CEO of the Valley Community Foundation.

Outreach was creative
“Organizations were particularly creative this year in their outreach, which included a 36-hour live webcast hosted by the Valley Independent Sentinel and a collaborative Valley Great Give video that is available on the VCF website.”

Overall, a 43 percent increase in giving from Valley residents and employees, combined with matching grants and prizes, resulted in nearly $230,000 in Valley-related giving.

The Valley nonprofits raising the most dollars were: 
Center Stage Theatre, who also won a second place Grand Prize from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven for attracting the most donors, Boys & Girls Club of Lower Naugatuck Valley, BHcare, TEAM, and Griffin Hospital. 
In addition to Center Stage Theatre and TEAM, organizations receiving the most gifts were Valley Independent Sentinel, Seymour Pink and the Shelton High School Robotics Team.

Also announced at the Ice Cream Social were the winners of special prizes awarded by VCF throughout The Great Give® including the Rifkin Family Fund Home Stretch Prize to Boy Scouts of America Housatonic Council, Valley Independent Sentinel and Center Stage Theatre. 
VCF Early Bird Prizes were awarded to Center Stage Theatre and Seymour Pink. A Cinco de Mayo Prize was awarded to the Valley Independent Sentinel and a VCF Golden Ticket to TEAM.

The Great Give® 2015 generated $1,291,096 including matching funds and prizes, for nonprofits working in the 20-town area served by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, which includes the VCF’s five-town region.

There were more than 7,000 donors who gave 9,611 gifts. 
To see all participating nonprofits and prize information, visit www.thegreatgive.org.

About the Valley Community Foundation
Established in 2004, the Valley Community Foundation distributes hundreds of thousands of grant dollars each year to support the local nonprofit sector and the people it serves. In addition to grant-making, VCF works in strong partnership with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, to promote philanthropy in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton.

To learn how your gifts of cash, life insurance, appreciated stocks, bonds, real estate, and other assets can help to support the quality of life in the Valley, visit www.valleyfoundation.org or contact VCF President & CEO, Sharon Closius, at sclosius@valleyfoundation.org or 203-751-9162. 
Find VCF on Facebook or follow VCF on Twitter.


This a press release from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. 

Veterans Resource Fair slated Saturday in Shelton

Seymour school board honors 2 veteran educators

Library, playground named for them
SEYMOUR - Two veteran educators, Kenneth Ewaskie and the late Vincentena Kobasa, were recognized this week at a dedication ceremony hosted by the Board of Education.


Please click here to read a story by New Haven Register correspondent Jean Falbo-Sosnovich.

Crisco leads passage of cybersecurity protections

HARTFORD - Following through on their promise to improve consumer privacy protections following a major data breach at one of Connecticut’s largest insurers, Senate Democrats led passage Thursday of major legislation that arose out of the Anthem data breach earlier this year. 

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco

In February, Anthem announced that the company’s IT systems were hacked in a major data breach. 
More than 80 million people nationally, including more than 1.7 million in Connecticut, were made vulnerable by the breach. 

Information stolen included data about current and former customers, such as: names, birthdays, medical IDs, Social Security numbers, street addresses, e-mail address, employment information, and some income data.

“This bill has far-reaching ramifications for consumer privacy in Connecticut,” said state Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, Chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee. 
“This is what the General Assembly is all about—protecting the safety and security of Connecticut citizens and doing so in a responsible manner. This is a major victory for consumer protection in Connecticut.”

“The hackers who executed the Anthem data breach perpetrated a crime on a grand scale,” said Senate President Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven. “This bill redoubles our efforts to ensure that all health insurance records are protected from criminal actors targeting personal information.”

The bill requires health insurance companies to set up protocols to ensure that customers’ most private data is kept secure; specifically, this data includes an individual’s first name in combination with such things as a social security number, credit card or debit card number, and protected health information as defined in federal law.

Companies must develop a comprehensive information security program to safeguard the personal information of their enrollees. This program will require that only personnel who need access to personal information should have it, that companies monitor their security systems for breaches, that they offer employee education and training on the proper use of the company’s information technology systems, and that they encrypt all data in transit—whether over the internet, on a laptop, or a flash drive.

Employees with access to vast amounts of confidential, personal data must use multi-factor authentication—a password and at least one additional type of authentication to get access to personal data. 
Additionally, companies must designate someone to be in charge of cyber security, report a security breach within 30 days, and provide credit monitoring to the victims of any breach.

This is a press release from Crisco's office.  

Beer, cheese, and fun to benefit Seymour-Oxford Rotary Club

Bike ride, walk in Shelton to benefit Parent Child Resource Center

Event to include activity spree, health fair

Ansonia named Employer of Year at annual BHcare event

Pictured from left, Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce President Bill Purcell, Ansonia Public Works Director Douglas Novak, Ansonia Mayor David S. Cassetti, BHcare Job Developer John Yeager, Business Advisory Council Chairperson Stephanie Tice at the employment salute./ Contributed photo

ANSONIA - Mayor David S. Cassetti recently accepted BHcare’s Employer of the Year award on behalf of the City of Ansonia.  

The award was presented to Cassetti at BHcare's 21st Annual Employment Salute where nearly 70 people gathered at Molto Bene Italian American Kitchen restaurant to honor the employer and employee of the year.

“It is an absolute honor to accept this award on behalf of the City,” Cassetti said. “I credit the excellent work of our new Public Works Director, Douglas Novak, in designing an innovative Summer Work Program that achieved beautification of Ansonia’s parks and greenways while also affording residents a temporary part-time employment opportunity.”

Cassetti’s Summer Work Program began mid-May 2014 with the hiring of seven new part-time employees intended to beef-up Ansonia Public Works’ ground crews and ensure a cleaner City.

Their duties included cleaning public parks, picking up litter, weed whacking, mowing, trimming shrubbery, planting grass, highway maintenance, and a broad range of other beatification efforts. 

 “The City was in need of a spring and summer cleaning,” Cassetti said. “Our seasonal workers were a tremendous help, and it is wonderful to see BHcare recognizing the program with this award.”

Novak is advocating for the program, which utilized several BHcare clients, to be continued during the summer of 2015.  

“The Summer Work Program gives full-time Public Works employees the opportunity to focus their attention on major maintenance initiatives within the City that have been neglected in the past due to budgetary constraints,” he said.

This is a press release from the mayor's office.

Book club, movie, music, more slated at Derby Neck Library

DERBY - The Derby Neck Library, 307 Hawthorne Ave., has scheduled programs in June.

Feature film

A free Dinner and a Movie (ages 18 and older, please) will be offered at 5:30 p.m. June 4.

This month’s feature film is “American Sniper.” Come enjoy this highly-acclaimed film and partake of free refreshments—including a dinner served at intermission.

Music and Movement
At 6:30 p.m. June 10 join Miss Kathi at the Library for Bedtime Music and Movement. Wear your pajamas if you wish and bring a favorite stuffed animal along for company as you sing and dance under our indoor stars.

Women's Forum
The Library hosts Women’s Forum, a discussion group that focuses on literature, history, and the arts at 12:30 p.m. June 15. 
This month we discuss two short stories about fathers—“A Father” by Anton Chekhov and "My Father Sits in the Dark" by Jerome Weidman, copies of which are available at the library.

Bring a light lunch if you wish; we serve free coffee and tea. 

Tech Talks
At 6 p.m. June 15 and again at 10:30 a.m. June 17 the Library hosts Tech Talks, a monthly presentation explaining what is new in technology and how to best integrate into your own needs. Bring any relevant questions you may have for the staff.

Writer's Round
The Library hosts Writers’ Round, a free workshop for authors of all genres—scripts, poetry, prose, essays, etc. at 6:30 p.m. June 25. Come share your original creations and practice with a writing prompt.

Book club
The Library hosts the Evening Book Club at 6:30 p.m. June 29. This discussion group meets once a month to explore novellas and some non-fiction. 

Each evening is filled with stimulating talk and solid ideas. We focus on award-winning authors and their best creations. Copies of each chosen book are available at the library. 

For more information on any programs, call 203-734-1492.

This is a press release from Pat Sweeney, reference librarian, Derby Neck Library. 

Conroy hails legislation for veterans

HARTFORD - State Rep. Theresa Conroy, D-Seymour, hailed recent House and Senate passage of veteran-friendly legislation.

“The Connecticut General Assembly stands with veterans,” Conroy said. “The legislation we recently approved will have a positive impact on women vets and veterans heading back to school.”

State Rep. Theresa Conroy

SB 904, An Act Establishing the Connecticut Women Veterans' Program, will establish a program within the state Department of Veterans' Affairs to provide information and services to women veterans.

The program will:

· Reach out to women veterans to improve awareness of federal and state veterans' benefits and services eligibility;

· Assess women veterans' needs for benefits and services;

· Review programs, research projects, and other initiatives designed to address or meet Connecticut women veterans' needs; and

· Incorporate women veterans' issues in strategic planning on benefits and services.

SB 694, An Act Concerning Services Available to Veterans On State College and University Campuses, seeks to provide adequate support for veterans at the state’s two and four-year colleges and universities.

Higher education officials will study the Operation Academic Support for Incoming Service-members (OASIS) center that is currently in place at Tunxis Community College in Farmington. 
The Tunxis OASIS provides support and services to more than 200 veterans currently enrolled at the school.

The bills await action by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.


This is a press release from Conroy's office.