Total of $35,000 is disbursed to six local organizations
BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, March 10, 2020: Hartford Wolf Pack Community Foundation, Inc. president, and Wolf Pack assistant general manager, Pat Boller announced today that the Wolf Pack Community Foundation has issued six separate grants, totaling $35,000 in funding, to six Connecticut non-profit entities.
A grant of $10,000 was made to Gaylord Hospital, Inc, of Wallingford, to help defray expenses for the Gaylord Sports Association’s Wolfpack sled hockey team. Children in Placement-CT, Inc., of New Haven, received $5,000 to help fund a regional manager position in Hartford. A grant of $5,000 was made to Ädelbrook, of Cromwell, for help with athletic event expenses for youth with various disabilities. Special Olympics Connecticut was presented with $5,000 for support of its Northern Time Trials track and field event. The Children’s Law Center of Connecticut received $5,000, to assist with the costs of representing children in Family Court. Finally, a grant of $5,000 was issued to True Colors, Inc. Sexual Minority Youth & Family Services of CT, to help fund mentor/mentee activities.
“All of these organizations do great and important work in our community,” said Boller. “They are all programs that improve the health and welfare of young people throughout the area, and we are grateful to be able to support their good works.”
Gaylord Specialty Healthcare provides world-class rehabilitation for persons who have had a life-altering accident or illness. They serve persons with spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke and medically complex conditions requiring an average in-patient stay of 25 days. They also provide out-patient orthopedic and sports medicine therapy and concussion care. Their adaptive sports program, Gaylord Sports Association, provides team and individual play for persons with physical disabilities.
“Gaylord’s long history with the Hartford Wolf Pack began 15 years ago when we joined forces to host the Tip-a-Player Dinner and Sports Carnival,” said Sonja LaBarbera, President, and CEO of Gaylord Specialty Healthcare. “We are so grateful for the Foundation’s continued support of the Gaylord Wolfpack. Their partnership not only enables us to purchase new sled hockey equipment and team jerseys but will also serve to shine a spotlight on the important role that adaptive sports plays in improving our athletes’ quality of life.”
Children in Placement-CT is celebrating its 40th anniversary of serving the children of Connecticut who have been abused and neglected, as their distinct representation in court, providing an insightful and clear report on their best interest for a safe, permanent home.
“Children in Placement is honored to be partnering with the Hartford Wolf Pack in supporting our combined missions of supporting at-risk youth,” stated Children in Placement-CT’s executive director, Janet Freimuth. “Children in Placement’s staff and volunteers adamantly work to advocate for abused and neglected children throughout the state of Connecticut to ensure safe, permanent homes. We are grateful that the Hartford Wolf Pack organization sees the benefit of supporting Connecticut’s children.”
Ädelbrook provides residential treatment, special education, trauma intervention, therapeutic group homes, family therapy, in and out-patient services, and in-home care and specialized services, for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and/or developmental/intellectual disabilities.
Ädelbrook director of community engagement Sharon Graves said, “When told about the Hartford Wolf Pack Community Foundation grant, the youth were so excited, they started dancing around, and they all started talking about how they can’t wait to do more 5Ks and the Terrier Tough race, and they were excited to be able to try new sports and events this year. The grant from the Wolf Pack Community Foundation will allow Ädelbrook youth to engage in physical exercise and provide them with a sense of regulation and adopting mechanisms for coping. They will be able to participate in athletic competitions, such as Terrier Tough, The Great Inflatable Race, Hartford Marathon, Special Olympics and more!”
Special Olympics Connecticut (SOCT) is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition. SOCT was formed in 1969 to serve the needs of people with intellectual disabilities throughout the state.
“Special Olympics Connecticut is pleased to welcome back the Hartford Wolf Pack Community Foundation as a Bronze sponsor of our Northern Time Trials event taking place on Sunday, May 3, 2020, at Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor,” said Liza Nolan, senior director – foundations & grants for Special Olympics Connecticut. “The Hartford Wolf Pack Community Foundation will be supporting Olympic Town at this event, which is an area filled with fun and interactive events for athletes and their families to enjoy during downtime from the competition. In order to achieve our mission of providing year-round sports training and athletic competition, we rely heavily on the support we receive from our community partners such as the Wolf Pack Community Foundation. The Foundation’s mission to improve and enhance the lives of Connecticut residents is thoroughly aligned with ours, and we applaud the many efforts the Wolf Pack Foundation has made to support underserved communities and individuals throughout the state.”
The Children’s Law Center of Connecticut, through its programs and services, promotes safe, stable environments for children whose parents are in chronic conflict.
Justine Rakich-Kelly, The Children’s Law Center of Connecticut’s executive director, stated, “We are truly grateful to our friends at the Hartford Wolf Pack Community Foundation for their generous support! The Children’s Law Center represents children in highly contested custody cases. Because of the generosity of the Hartford Wolf Pack Community Foundation, we will be able to protect more of Hartford’s vulnerable children and help their families to understand and better meet their children’s needs. The Wolf Pack Community Foundation have been generous supporters, and we are thrilled to be able to partner with them again in 2020.”
True Colors works to ensure that youth of all orientations and genders are welcomed, valued and affirmed at home, in school and in the community at large. They provide youth leadership programming; offer CT’s only mentoring program for LGBTQ+ youth, train more than 5,500 educators and other youth-serving professionals each year and produce the largest LGBTQ+ conference in the nation
“We are so grateful to the Hartford Wolf Pack Community Foundation for their generosity and support,” said True Colors executive director Robin McHaelen. “This grant will allow us to create wonderful new memories for the LGBTQ+ youth in our mentoring program. What a tremendous gift!”
The Hartford Wolf Pack Community Foundation supports charitable programs for inner-city youth, and youth amateur sports, in order to enhance and improve the lives of Connecticut’s children and of those in our community.
