Outfitting young Valley athletes with free basketball uniforms to providing garden workshops to Valley folks with green thumbs are just some of the perks that come with a recent round of grants courtesy of The Valley Community Foundation.
VCF recently awarded $22,000 in its annual Community Grants Program to 11 community groups serving the Valley. The grants support local youth programs, athletics and more in the region, according to VCF President/CEO Sharon Closius.
“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,” Closius said in a press release. “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.”
One of the lucky recipients this year is the All-America Valley Basketball Club, based out of the Derby Veteran’s Community Center, which received $2,500. Director Steven Wolfe expressed his gratitude to VCF’s continued support of the youth basketball league.
“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,” Wolfe said in a prepared statement. “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.”
Another grant recipient is Derby Boy Scout Troop 3, which received $1,950 for Eagle Scout candidate Alex Robertson, 16, of Seymour, to build a vegetable garden at St. Mary-St. Michael School in Derby.
Scoutmaster Randy Ritter said Alex’s “grow your own” garden will have sustainable benefits for years to come. Alex got the idea from a community garden Troop 3 has been maintaining in Derby for the past three years, according to Ritter.
“Alex’s project is terrific because once completed, it will allow for St. Mary-St. Michael School to use the vegetable garden to teach gardening, food sustainability and also allow them to provide the produce from the garden with the families at the Spooner House (the Valley’s homeless shelter and home to ACT’s Food Bank). “The project will also help expose and promote the scouting program to the students and hopefully some will join Cub Pack 3 or Scout Troop 3. We are very fortunate that the Valley Community Foundation is supporting the project financially, and Corey Thomas, from Massaro Farms, has been mentoring Alex on the development of the garden boxes.”
Here’s a complete list of VCF’s 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
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 can be found at www.valleyfoundation.org.
VCF, established in 2004, annually distributes more than $1.6 million in grants, in partnership with the New Haven Community Foundation, to support local nonprofits and the people they serve.
