Pam and Hervey Townshend Family Scholarship Fund

Pamela and Hervey Townshend have longstanding individual and generational ties to New Haven’s well-known university and local private schools. When thinking about a donor advised fund, however, they saw an opportunity to make a difference for students in New Haven’s public schools. 

They established the Pamela and Hervey Townshend Family Scholarship to support public school students who are overlooked by scholarships that base awards on high academic achievement. 

“Young people who get 1600’s on their SATS and get straight A’s are stars and likely to get academic scholarships. It’s the kids who are the B students who, perhaps because of a home situation or circumstance, could be an A student but they are not,” Pamela Townshend said. “They might have to go right to work after school or they may have to help their families. They are consistent hard workers. They’re bright. They’re determined. They’ve set their sights on a better future. I particularly felt I wanted to help give those students a leg up.” 

Pamela and Hervey Townshend have long been part of the Greater New Haven community. Pamela worked for decades in maternal and child health as a midwife in a busy obstetrics practice and as a health advocate. Hervey is in the printing industry. 

The Townshend/Townsend family history dates back to the founding of Connecticut, tracing its first family member to Thomas Townsend, a Puritan, who emigrated from England to Lynn in the colony of Massachusetts Bay about 1637, according to the Townshend Family Collection of papers at the New Haven Colony Historical Society.

“My husband and I and all of our kids are products of the New Haven area private school and college world here,” she said. “My husband’s father went to Hopkins. We have a long family connection to Yale and to Hamden Hall.”

Having supported the private schools over many years, the Townsends decided it was time to direct their philanthropy to New Haven public school students. The Townshends placed their scholarship fund with The Community because “we’ve known about the Foundation’s work for years and years,” Pamela said. “They invest well. We know our money is safe with them. Their mission is our mission.” 

“We also wanted our three kids and their families– even though they are no longer local – to be part of this,” she said, adding that they liked how the Foundation staff helps facilitate family philanthropy. 

“We can meet the recipients and get to know them a bit and know their story and they can get to know us,” she said. “That’s important to us and to our kids too. It’s a privilege to be in a position to be able to give back.”