During an annual reception held online, VCF Chairman Jack Walsh noted COVID-19 presented a challenge unlike anything before, immediately impacting every aspect of Valley life: education, the economy, healthcare, employment, housing.
“It really was the perfect storm,” something from which the community is still emerging, Walsh said. “Despite all the hardship, there was hope. Hope that we would continue to be together while apart. Hope that we would get through this. Hope that the worse was behind us.”
It was, Walsh noted — a year of resilience.
In advance of Wednesday’s annual meeting, The VCF asked Valley residents in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton to submit photographs showing moments during the pandemic when the community came together.
The result was a 9‑minute video posted at the top of this post that shows the resilience to which Walsh referred.
The Valley Community Foundation is a philanthropic nonprofit agency and an affiliate of The Foundation for Greater New Haven. The foundation supports scores of local groups and organizations through charitable giving and endowed funds.
In addition, the VCF manages some 216 donor funds. The annual reception was the VCF’s chance to update the Valley community on what the foundation has been up to.
During the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, The VCF, The Valley United Way, The Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce and The Valley Council on Health and Human Services launched the “Valley COVID-19 Response & Recovery Fund.”
In 2020 the fund issued almost $200,000 in grants, including $97,850 to purchase protective equipment and cleaning products for organizations such as local ambulance corps.
Eleven new funds were established at The Valley Community Foundation, and almost $2 million in grants were awarded to Valley nonprofits in 2020. Click this link to watch videos highlighting the new funds.
In 2020 the value of The VCF’s charitable assets grew to $32.5 million — up from $8 million in 2010.
In the coming year, The VCF, will be joining with its partners at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven for “Stepping Forward,” a $26 million effort to address racial inequity in the region.
Multiple studies have shown COVID-19 — both the virus and its associated impacts — hits communities of color harder than communities that are predominantly white.
The VCF plans to hold a series of forums in the fall on topics related to the issue. Click here to learn more.
Learn more about what The VCF does locally by visiting the organization’s website.
The complete digital reception is embedded below:
