20 years of Sowing Seeds, Encouraging Growth

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2015, the Community Fund for Women & Girls is held a lunch in October featuring Gloria Steinem and Teresa Younger.

Over its 20-year history of advancing women and girls throughout Greater New Haven, the Community Fund for Women & Girls has worked to advance women's influence and gender equity through education, information and convenings. As the region's only endowment focused on the social and economic advancement of women and girls, the Fund has thoughtfully awarded grants to seed quality programming and support programs and services for women and girls to be successful. Two examples of projects that have expanded after initial support from the Fund are highlighted below.

Cultivating Art Among the Generations

Working through a 2013 grant, The Mary Wade Home Inc. in partnership with the Creative Arts Workshop, launched an intergenerational arts program for Mary Wade residents and girls from around the neighborhood. The project featured a series of art workshops uniting adolescent girls (ages 12 to 14) with senior women over age 65. The project forged new friendships and nurtured creativity and collaboration between the elder participants and their young partners.

One resident noted that she felt as though she gained a granddaughter. The girls gained valuable perspectives while engaging in safe and constructive after school activities. The program caught the attention of the Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut which was so impressed that they awarded Mary Wade additional funds to expand its arts and education work to create an eight-week Mary Wade for Arts & Education Program. From January to August, residents at all levels of care and their family members connect through music and educational entertainment.

Helping Girls to Triumph Over Trauma

In 2001, Clifford Beers Clinic (CBC) received funding in support of a group therapy program for children who were victims of sexual abuse. That Safe Kids/Strong Kids program provided a comfortable, nurturing space for girls to break free from the trauma of abuse. At the time, CBC was becoming a trauma-focused agency. The funds they received not only enhanced the therapeutic quality of their programming, they also helped them earn valuable recognition from the National Child Trauma Stress Network. With that recognition came substantial funding enabling CBC to develop additional programs supporting women and girls.

In 2015, the Community Fund for Women & Girls, a component fund of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, celebrated 20 years of advancing women. To commemorate the occasion, a lunch was held October 30th featuring Gloria Steinem and Teresa Younger.

Did you know?

About 63.3% of women participate in Connecticut's labor force and women with dependent children are more likely to be in the workforce than all women- 77.6% of women with children under 18 and 73.6% of women with children under age 6.

Source: Permanent Commission on the Status of Women 2015 Legislative Report