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Local nonprofits benefiting Southington residents awarded $539,095 in grants

By Brian Johnson; The Bristol Press; May 29, 2026

SOUTHINGTON — The Bradley Henry Barnes and Leila Upson Barnes Memorial Trust at the Main Street Community Foundation has awarded more than $539,000 to local nonprofits.

“A total of $539,095 was recently awarded to seven nonprofit organizations working to improve the health and wellbeing of Southington residents,” said Samantha Rajotte, scholarship and program officer with the Main Street Community Foundation.

The Bradley Henry Barnes and Leila Upson Barnes Memorial Trust was established in 1973 with the express purpose of “providing funds for organizations that work to improve the health and wellbeing of Southington residents.”

“Since MSCF was appointed trustee of The Bradley Henry Barnes and Leila Upson Barnes Memorial Trust in 2004, the Trust has awarded a total of $15.6 million, all to the benefit of Southington residents’ health and wellbeing,” Rajotte said.

Here are the organizations awarded grants in this cycle:

Arc of Southington — $40,945 to purchase and install emergency generators at three group homes in Southington in order to allow residents, many with medical fragility, to stay in their homes in case of an electrical outage.

The LEAF (Lewis Educational Agricultural Farm) — $60,000 to provide operating support for agricultural education programs in collaboration with the Southington’s public schools and the greater community. Programming includes planting and harvesting school gardens, farm to school lunch program, summer farm camp, adult classes on healthy food preparation, delivery of fresh produce to Bread for Life and Southington Community Services food pantry.

LiveWell — $100,000 to support the second year of the Dementia Positive Southington initiative, the goal of which is to pioneer a Dementia Positive community in Southington that promotes positive attitudes towards people living with dementia and advocates for brain health as a public health priority.

Prudence Crandall Center, Inc. — $95,000 to support domestic violence intervention and prevention services for Southington residents including: community education and prevention, outreach activities, community counseling services, supportive housing placement, court advocacy and the 24/7 crisis shelter and hotline.

Senior Transportation Services — $112,000 to provide Southington residents aged 50+ or disabled, one-on-one, curb-to-curb, reliable transportation. The service provides free rides to medical appointments, pharmacy, personal care appointments, bank or to visit a loved one in a care facility.

Southington Education Foundation — $35,650 to support the Asset-Building Classroom curriculum writing and implementation for 6-12 graders in Southington Public Schools and to support student enrichment activities related to the ABC curriculum.

Wheeler Health — $95,500 to support the Southington Community Health Outreach Project, which enhances access to behavioral health and substance use resources and services for residents of Southington through a full-time project coordinator based in the community.

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Bristol schools to receive $3K a year support project

By Brian Johnson; The Bristol Press; May 25, 2026

BRISTOL — Bristol Public Schools will receive $3,000 annually for three years as part of its partnership with the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence was awarded a $36,000 Seedlings grant to “continue and extend” their work through Sept. 30, 2028. Superintendent of Schools Iris White said Bristol schools will be receiving $3,000 annually for the next three years to support the district’s participation in the project.

White said Bristol Public Schools are proud of their continued partnership with the Prudence Crandall Center in New Britain, which she said reflects “a shared commitment to supporting the social-emotional well-being, safety and healthy development” of local students.

“We have already started to work with the Prudence Crandall Center who are providing training for our school counselors and psychologists about abusive relationships and raising awareness about available supports in the community,” she said.

“We will be providing more workshops and ongoing support for staff, students and families.”

White said the focus at the secondary level will continue to center on “critical” topics including “healthy relationships, self-esteem and boundaries, dating abuse prevention, safe use of technology and education that empowers students to recognize and build respectful, healthy relationships.”

“We are grateful for this partnership and for the opportunity to continue providing our students with the knowledge, tools and support they need to thrive both academically and personally,” White said.

White attended the 15th annual Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence First 100 Breakfast and Awards Ceremony at the Hartford Marriott Downtown. She said it was an “inspiring” event that honored and celebrated Connecticut leaders who “work tirelessly to improve the lives of domestic violence survivors and their families.”

“I was proud to have been nominated by Prudence Crandall as one of the First 100,” she said.

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City Council Allocates 2026 HUD Funding

By Tadhg Ua Briain; New Britain Progressive; May 13, 2026

The City Council approved a resolution allocating funds provided to New Britain by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the federal dollars meant to support viable communities, provide decent housing, and expand economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents.

Funding is provided annually to the city by HUD and distributed by the Council under its required five-year HUD funds action plan. The proposed funding recipients and amounts originates from the city’s Commission on Community and Neighborhood Development.

This funding includes two main categories: the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the HOME Program. According to the proposal, the allocations include an estimated $1,509,184 for the CDBG program and an estimated $507,374.06 for the HOME Program.

The city also anticipates receiving program income during Fiscal Year 2026, including $97,299 from CDBG activities and $171,170 from HOME activities, which will help support new projects. The proposed allocations also set aside $301,837 for General Management & Administration under the CDBG, and $50,737.41 for HOME Administration.

CDBG Allocations
The largest CDBG allocations in the proposal are $232,470 to the New Britain Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Dept. for Willow Brook Pool Upgrades/Repairs, and $200,000 to the Department of Planning and Development for the Neighborhood Preservation Program. The full list includes:

  • Friendship Service Center: 59 Arch Street Window Replacement, $66,000.00.
  • New Britain Department of Public Works: Infrastructure Program, $150,000.00.
  • New Britain Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Dept.: Willow Brook Pool Upgrades/Repairs, $232,470.00.
  • New Britain Senior Center: Handicap Accessible Van Purchase, $30,000.00.
  • New Britain Public Library: Exterior Renovations: Back Entrance Handicap Ramp & Staircase, $125,000.00.
  • Police Athletic League: PAL Facility Improvements, $90,000.00.
  • New Britain Soccer, Inc.: NBSC Concession Stand, Restroom, & Roof Renovation Project, $50,000.00.
  • Department of Planning and Development: Business Assistance Program, $37,500.00.
  • Department of Planning and Development: Neighborhood Preservation Program, $200,000.00.
  • Girls with Voices, Inc.: Girl Talk Whole Girl Wellness, $10,000.00.
  • OIC of New Britain, Inc.: Rising Young Men Heights of Success, $10,000.00.
  • Boys & Girls Club of New Britain, Inc.: Camp Schade Summer Field Trip Program, $10,000.00.
  • Boys & Girls Club of New Britain, Inc.: After School and Saturday Program, $10,000.00.
  • Greater New Britain Teen Pregnancy Prevention: Pathways to Success in Higher Education, $15,000.00.
  • New Britain Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Dept.: Every Kid Counts After School Program, $25,000.00.
  • Prudence Crandall Center: Supportive Housing Program for Domestic Violence Victims and Their Children, $15,000.00.
  • Meriden-New Britain-Berlin YMCA: YMCA Basketball Training League, $10,000.00.
  • Neighborhood Housing Services of New Britain: REACH (Rental Eviction Avoidance Counseling for Housing Stability) in New Britain, $10,000.00.
  • Human Resources Agency of New Britain: Food & Resource Center HRA Food Security Stabilization Hub at New Britain, $10,000.00.
  • Queen Ann Nzinga Center, Inc.: We’re Grownish Youth Enrichment Program, $10,000.00.
  • New Britain Senior Center: Community Support Worker, $10,000.00.
  • Arts for Learning Connecticut: “Express Yourself” Afterschool Arts for Learning at Smalley Elementary, $10,000.00.
  • Literacy Volunteers of Central Connecticut: Workforce Literacy & Economic Advancement Program, $10,000.00.
  • New Britain Judo & Dynami Arts, Inc.: Judo for Life: Empowerment Through Sports, $10,000.00.
  • New Britain Police Athletic League: PAL All Year Activities, $11,377.00.
  • YWCA of New Britain: YWCA Childcare Business Incubator, $10,000.00.
  • YWCA of New Britain: YWCA House of Teens: Community Health Worker, $10,000.00.
  • New Britain Roots, Inc.: New Britain Community Fridges, $10,000.00.
  • Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Connecticut, Inc: New Britain Community-Based and Big Futures Mentoring, $10,000

Proposed HOME Program Allocations
The largest HOME allocation proposed is $163,113.93 to CCARC, Inc. for Oakwood Drive ADA Bathroom & Safe Access Improvement. The full list includes:

  • CCARC, Inc.: Oakwood Drive ADA Bathroom & Safe Access Improvement, $163,113.93.
  • Neighborhood Housing Services of New Britain: Curtain Avenue Homes, $73,894.00.
  • HRA of New Britain, Inc.: HRA Supportive Housing for People Living with HIV/AIDS, $45,000.00.
  • Department of Planning and Development: Home Ownership Program, $98,522.61.
  • Curtin Avenue Homes: CHDO Reserve (15%), $76,106.11.

The Council approved an amendment to the allocations proposed to add $10,000 for Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

CDBG funds are divide between capital improvement programs and city operating funding, on the one, hand and grants to community organizations to support operating funding for their programs, on the other.

Read the full article here.

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Plainville police raise money for charity through collectible patch sales

By Caitlin Nuclo; WFSB; May 13, 2026

PLAINVILLE, Conn. (WFSB) – The Plainville Police Department has found a new way to help the community by raising money for local charities through collectible patch sales.

Officer Shane Dufresne has been collecting police patches for 28 years. It’s a sort of currency between departments.

“So, when I became a police officer 28 years ago, I decided I was going to collect patches,” Dufresne said. “You would connect with people, and you did it the old-fashioned way, where you would mail them out, you know, connect with an officer.”

Officers also trade patches when they visit other departments for joint investigations or follow-ups.

Over the years, his collection has grown to a thousand patches at one point.

“But if you trade a patch with somebody, you can call them up and say, ‘Hey, I need some help with this,’” Dufresne said.

Now he’s sharing that passion project with the community. In the last five years, he’s created more than a dozen specialized patches and sells them to the public for $10. The money raised goes to charity.

“You know, sometimes in our job we see the downside of things with domestic violence and victims of domestic violence,” Dufresne said. “So we did these two years apart, and the proceeds went to the Prudence Crandall Center.”

The department also created a breast cancer awareness patch.

“The very first one we did was the Pink Cancer Awareness, and this raised the most money,” Dufresne said.

So far they’ve raised nearly $14,000 benefiting a local autism group, an Alzheimer’s charity and the Special Olympics.

The most recent design is marking America’s 250th birthday.

“It’s a great way to connect with the community and help people in your own community,” Dufresne said. “You know, we know where the money’s going. It stays local, and we’re proud to be a part of the community.”

The America 250 patch is selling now. Money raised from this one supports the Officer Robert Holcomb Scholarship Fund in honor of a fallen officer from the department.

Copyright 2026 WFSB. All rights reserved.

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Plainville still hoping to have nonprofits apply before meeting

By Brian Johnson; The Bristol Press; May 1, 2026

PLAINVILLE — The Town Council will have a public hearing on neighborhood assistance act proposals.

A public hearing is set for Monday at 7 p.m. in the Town Council chambers of the municipal center at 1 Central Square for 2026 Neighborhood Assistance Act Proposals. However, as of Friday, the town has not received any.

“This is a very worthwhile program that is of a great benefit to our nonprofits,” Town Manager Michael Paulhus said. “It is unfortunate that we haven’t received any applications yet.”

The Connecticut Neighborhood Assistance Act (NAA) Tax Credit Program is designed to provide funding for municipal and tax-exempt organizations. It provides a corporation business tax credit for businesses who make cash contributions to these entities.

This is the first year Paulhus recalled there being no proposals on the table.

“There is an application process for proposals that assist organizations that serve the Plainville area,” he said. “In past years we have had businesses submit proposals such as improvements at the Prudence Crandall Center. They are based in New Britain but also serve Plainville.”

Paulhus said if there are no proposals by Monday the public hearing will simply open and then close. He encouraged businesses that are interested in supporting local nonprofits to reach out to him.

The Town Manager’s Office can be reached at 860-793-0221, ext. 8701 or paulhus@plainville-ct.gov.

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Connecticut woman honors murdered best friend by raising money to fight domestic violence

By Taylor Knight; WFSB; Apr. 30, 2026

HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) – Dana Casser was at WestFarms Mall on Sept. 8, 2018, when she got a call from the Middletown Police Department asking her to come down to the station.

They would not tell her what happened over the phone, but she already knew.

“I said to them, ‘is Danielle dead?’” Casser said. “And they said, ‘Yes.’”

Danielle Fasciacco, her college roommate and best friend, had been murdered. Police charged her ex-boyfriend.

“One of our last conversations was me telling her to go get a restraining order, which I don’t think would have saved her life,” Casser said. “But it was what we had talked about.”

In the weeks and months following, Casser relied on the good memories of her best friend to get her through.

“She was a free spirit, spunky, wild, crazy,” Casser said. “We lived together our sophomore year in the same room. That was an experience. She was incredibly intelligent, incredibly kind and caring.”

The next summer, Casser, a teacher, needed a distraction from the sadness. She started making cups.

“I started designing things. I was watching YouTube videos, and it kind of became a downward spiral of making all of these cups. My house turned into a glitter festival,” Casser said.

That glitter festival is now her nonprofit, Cups for a Cause DV. She sells them at farmers markets, craft fairs and her own fundraisers, like one coming up May 17 in Plainville.

A portion of the proceeds from each cup gets donated to a local domestic violence organization, like the Prudence Crandall Center.

Danielle Derosier is the chief program officer at the center. She said Casser’s impact goes beyond dollars.

“Dana’s been an amazing supporter to us for a long time,” Derosier said. “She’s always come through with if we need blankets and sheets for our shelter. If we need something for our kids to do an event she’s, like, the first one to raise her hand.”

Derosier said the signs of domestic violence are easy to miss until it is too late.

“Isolating you from things that you like, maybe your support systems like family and friends, being overly jealous or possessive, having your location, checking your phone all the time,” Derosier said.

Casser knows that feeling. She worried about her friend.

“It was a lot of verbal abuse at the end of the relationship when he had broken up with her,” Casser said. “Prior to that, it was a lot of taking her away from her friends, and taking her away from what she enjoyed doing.”

But she did not really know what resources were out there. Now after hundreds of cups and thousands of dollars donated, Casser knows what help is available and she is making sure no one else has to get that phone call without knowing where to turn.

Copyright 2026 WFSB. All rights reserved.

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Concert by women to benefit Prudence Crandell Center at St Joseph Church Sunday

By David Fortier; The Bristol Edition; Apr. 23, 2026

A free concert of music composed by women will be held at St. Joseph Church on Sunday, April 26, at 4 p.m. A free will offering will be taken to benefit Prudence Crandell Center. Following the concert, there will be a reception in the church hall.

The music program honors, according to the release announcing the concert, “the steadfast efforts and significant accomplishments” of women “living in a time when women’s efforts were undervalued and underrepresented.”

The concert is presented by the Waterbury chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

Prudence Crandell Center has for its mission “empowering individuals and families to heal and thrive free from domestic violence thorough comprehensive, coordinated services, while working to crate lasting systems change and safe communities,” the release announcing the concert states.

The center, the first domestic violence program in the state, serves aside from Bristol, Berlin, Burlington, Kensington, New Britain, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington and Terryville, with 28 units of supportive housing open to survivors from throughout the state.

Services include a 24-hour crisis hotline, emergency shelter, 63 units of supportive, affordable housing, court advocacy, counseling and community education and prevention services.

For additional information about Prudence Crandall Center or to donate, please visit www.prudencecrandall.org. To access the 24-hour hotline, call or text 888-774-2900. All services are free and confidential.

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Bristol concert to benefit Prudence Crandall Center

By Brian Johnson; New Britain Herald; Apr. 20, 2026

BRISTOL — The Waterbury Chapter of the American Guild of Organists is presenting a concert benefiting Prudence Crandall Center at St. Joseph Church.

The “Play Like A Girl: A Concert of Music by Women to Help Women,” will be held Sunday, April 26 at 4 p.m. at the church at 33 Queen St. A reception will follow.

The concert is free to attend. A free will offering will be taken for Prudence Crandall Center.

Based at 594 Burritt St. in New Britain, the Prudence Crandall Center is “dedicated to helping individuals achieve lives free of domestic violence by providing care, advocacy, support and education.”

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United Way Campaign Raises $104K For Greater Hartford Nonprofits

By Michael Lemanski; Greater Hartford Patch; Apr. 13, 2026

United Way’s ‘860Gives’ initiative recently raised $104,816 from 843 donors, supporting 88 nonprofits in 48 hours.

HARTFORD, CT — A regional giving campaign led by the Hartford-based United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut raised more than $100,000 in its first year, drawing hundreds of donors and supporting dozens of nonprofits across the Hartford area.

The inaugural “860Gives” event generated $104,816 from 843 donors over a 48-hour period, benefiting 88 participating organizations, according to United Way officials.

“860Gives showed us something remarkable,” said Eric Harrison, president and CEO of United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut. “In just 48 hours, our region demonstrated that when we unite behind our nonprofits, we can create real, measurable change. Organizations filled critical funding gaps, donors discovered new causes to champion, and our entire community rallied around a shared purpose.”

The campaign began March 31 at 6 a.m. with a “Power Hour” kickoff that awarded $1,500 in prizes to the three nonprofits that secured the most unique donors in the first hour.

Additional cash and in-kind prizes were distributed throughout the event, with 14 organizations receiving awards as fundraising continued.

Organizers said many of the most successful participants prepared in advance by securing matching gifts, launching peer-to-peer campaigns, and coordinating outreach during the limited fundraising window.

Among them was the Prudence Crandall Center in New Britain, which raised $12,749 from 38 donors.

“I loved the concept of 860Gives from the minute I heard about it,” said Carolyn Jasper, the organization’s chief development officer. “We raised $12,749 from 38 donors, but the real win was visibility. As Connecticut’s first agency serving domestic violence survivors and the only program serving a 9-town region in central Connecticut with housing programs available to survivors statewide, we need people to know we exist. 860Gives gave us that platform. Every donation, every page view gets us closer to connecting survivors with the support they need.”

United Way officials said funds raised through the campaign will support services such as food assistance, housing, and other community needs across the region.

The organization plans to build on the campaign’s initial success, positioning 860Gives as an ongoing effort to expand local philanthropy and nonprofit visibility.

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