WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Several Jewish community programs are among 10 West Hartford organizations to receive grants from the West Hartford Greater Together Community Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.  The $5,000 grants will help fund programs or projects that will “improve or enhance the quality of life in West Hartford or otherwise contribute to address a direct need” of the West Hartford community. This year’s grants cycle focused on organizations with annual operating budgets under $1 million serving key populations, with preference given to organizations/programs specifically supporting youth; seniors; and traditionally marginalized/underserved communities.

The 2022 West Hartford Greater Together Community Fund grant recipients are:

• Children’s Reading Partners – to support its core program of offering volunteer literacy support to students, educators and families in West Hartford. Children’s Reading Partners is a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford.

▪ Jewish Teen Learning Connection (JT Connect) – Summer of Service, a weeklong immersive social- action camp offering 7th – 12th graders the chance to explore needs in our local community through volunteer projects, develop leadership skills, and build relationships. JTConnect is a program of the Jewish Federation of Greatern Hartford.

▪ Voices of Hope – traveling Trunks of Hope available to schools and community organizations. They will be filled with artifacts from the life of a West Hartford resident who is a genocide survivor accompanied by lessons plans, class materials, and more. Voices of Hope is a non-profit educational organization created by descendants of Holocaust survivors from across Connecticut who attempt to raise Voices of Hope raises social consciousness by connecting people to the inhumanity of the Holocaust and other genocides through quality educational and community programming in order to ensure future generations never forget.

▪ Dignity Grows, Inc. – supports 500 West Hartford residents through its Hope in a Bag program to help address Period Poverty and hygiene inequity. Totes including menstrual and comprehensive hygiene items are respectfully distributed through local social service agencies. Dignity Grows is a national organization with roots in the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford.

Other West Hartford organizations that received grants:

• Autism Families CONNECTicut –
• Connecticut Alliance for Victims of Violence and Their Families, Inc. (CT-ALIVE) –
• Golden Door: A Center for Immigrants – Building Bridges Book Club,
• Seniors Job Bank, Inc.
• Volunteers in Psychotherapy 
• West Hartford Parent Community Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Groups (WH EDI) –

 For additional information, email westhartfordcommunityfund@gmail.com.