Valley Community Foundation awards $22K in grants to local groups

The Valley Community Foundation announced it has awarded a total of $22,000 in its annual Community Grants Program to 11 community groups serving the Valley. 

These grants will support youth programs, athletics, and more in the region.

Sharon Closius, VCF President & CEO, said, “As business-as-usual operations begin to resume throughout the state, there are many volunteer groups and nonprofits with limited staff that continue to do incredible work in our community. 

Although the needs are ever-growing and continuously changing, we are proud to support these meaningful endeavors with $22,000 in total grant funding to support our Valley’s five towns.”

Steven Wolfe, Director of the All-America Valley Basketball Club, said, “This grant enables us to provide free basketball uniforms, shirts, reusable masks and other supplies to kids in the communities that we serve while we continue to work towards a more inclusive, affordable, equitable model for club play. VCF’s support allows us to comply with health and tournament protocols as well as regulations governing youth basketball sports competition. Without this funding, we would have been unable to provide our players with these items, which would further burden already distressed households with additional expenses.”

Applications for the Valley Community Grants Program are considered through a request for proposal process. 

These grants are responsive to community groups that are volunteer or nonprofit in nature, serve Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, and/or Shelton, and have less than two full-time or four part-time staff. 

Community Grants range from $250 to $2,500, and can be for new or recurring programs to support civic and community engagement efforts. More details about the application process are available on www.valleyfoundation.org.

2021 Community Grant Recipients:

All-America Valley Basketball Club – To support the club's participation in a 10-week competitive basketball tournament. $2,500

Annual Thanksgiving Basket Committee – To support families in need with a basket of food for Thanksgiving. $2,000

Troop 3 – Derby Boy Scouts of America – To support an Eagle Scout project to build a vegetable garden at St. Mary-St. Michael School. $1,950

Girl Scout Troop 60030 – To support improving the community gardens in Seymour. $1,750
Girl Scout Troop 60544 – To support a Gold Award Project to refurbish a War Memorial in Seymour. $2,000

Massaro Community Farm – To support a series of garden workshops. $2,000
Seymour Historical Society – To support Seymour Historical Society’s virtual programming. $1,200 Southford Falls Quilters, LLC – To support the 2021-2022 Southford Falls Quilters programs. $2,100

St. Thomas Church – To support the St. Thomas bereavement and caregivers programs and the Parish Nurse ministries. $1,500

Valley Parish Nurse Program – To support the Valley Parish Nurse outreach and education programs at multiple churches. $2,500

Youth Conservation Corps – To support the Walk Through History Program at the Rockhouse Hill Sanctuary in Oxford. $2,500

About the Valley Community Foundation

Established in 2004, the Valley Community Foundation (VCF) distributes $1.6 million in grants each year to support the local nonprofit sector and the people it serves. VCF works in strong partnership with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven to promote philanthropy in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton and receives a majority of its discretionary funding as a result of The Gates Fund and other preference funds at TCF that benefit the Valley. 

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, please visit the website at www.valleyfoundation.org or contact VCF President, Sharon Closius, at sclosius@valleyfoundation.org or 203-751-9162.

This is a press release from the Valley Community Foundation.  

Troop 60001 to sell Girl Scout cookies today at Veterans Park in Ansonia

Support the Scouts! They will be at Veterans Park next to Ansonia City Hall from 1 to 4 p.m. today, Saturday!

Troop 60135 in Seymour to host Paint Night

Scouts donate children's books, toys to Griffin Hospital in Derby

Girl Scout Troops 38392 and 38325 recently donated children’s books, magazines, and toys to Griffin Hospital’s Emergency Department./ Contributed photo

DERBY - Girl Scout Troops 38392 and 38325 of Milford recently helped make visits to the Griffin Hospital Emergency Department a little more comforting with a donation of books, magazines, and toys.

Griffin recently started collecting items and activities, such as paperback books, crossword puzzles, toys and playing cards, to help patients, especially children, feel more comfortable during their stay in the Emergency Department.

Maggie Cole, a patient safety monitor at Griffin and leader for Girl Scout Troops 38392 and 38325, heard about the need and organized collections that included area troops as well. The Scouts recently delivered several bags of children’s books, magazines and toys to the Emergency Department.

“We are very grateful to Maggie and all the Scouts for this donation,” said ER Nurse Susan Rupar. “We plan to have a cart with books and items to help patients pass the time as they wait for test results or for treatment.”

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

Girl Scouts to hold bottle and can drive at Shelton Community Center

Learn about Girl Scouts next week at Christ Episcopal Church in Ansonia

Cassetti assists Ansonia Girl Scouts in their cookie sale

Ansonia Mayor David S. Cassetti is always ready to help out residents of Ansonia. 
He will even don a Thin Mints costume, if that's what it takes.  

Cassetti had fun advertising Girl Scout cookies after the city's 7th annual Irish Flag Raising ceremony Saturday at City Hall.

Brownie Troop brings holiday spirit to Bishop Wicke Health Center in Shelton

SHELTON - The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all the residents to hear! 

Shelton’s Brownie Girl Scout Troop #60465 helped spread the holiday spirit this season by visiting residents at Bishop Wicke Health and Rehabilitation Center for a fun-filled day of caroling and gift giving. 

This is the second year in a row these Girl Scouts have hosted this Annual Christmas Caroling event and they certainly brightened the spirits of the residents. 

Debra Samorajczyk, Administrator at Bishop Wicke, said,“To see the smiles on the residents’ faces is such a wonderful sight. This wonderful event brings both the younger and older generations together which is something we really value here.

"This was the second year in a row that they participated.  When I saw them at the end of the night, I asked if they would like to come back again next year and they all cheered, they want to make it a tradition," she said.
   

"In addition, they handed out handmade Christmas cards and jingle bell wands that the residents used during the musical event.  They even got a chance to visit with Santa.

This was a great community event that brought both the younger and older generations together.  

"The event was attended by residents and their family members, staff and their family members as well as these wonderful young Girl Scouts."

Bishop Wicke offers short-term rehab and skilled nursing care, including specialized programs for surgical recovery, orthopedics, cardiac and respiratory rehab, heart failure and more. 

The facility is located on the Wesley Village Campus at 584 Long Hill Ave. and is owned and operated by United Methodist Homes, a local, not-for-profit organization.

 

For more information about relationship-centered care at Bishop Wicke, visit www.wesleyvillage-ct.org or call 203-929-5321.

This is a press release from United Methodist Homes. 

Girl Scouts participate in ceremony honoring veterans at Seymour Middle School

Members of Girl Scout Troops in Ansonia, Derby, and Seymour pose Wednesday at Seymour Middle School after taking part in a ceremony that honored local veterans for their wartime service. They presented each honoree with a box of Girl Scout cookies as they entered the auditorium. 

Stay tuned for a story in the Valley Independent Sentinel.