Philanthropy Matters. Philanthropy Works. 1 dollar a day ~ 365 dollars a year. Invested in Middlesex County. What can a dollar a day do? Take $1 a day for 365 days, you have $365. Join with friends, neighbors, businesses, each bringing $365 to the table … a group of 10 creates $3,650; a group of 100 creates $36,500; and it grows and grows and grows. A dollar a day can accomplish a great deal. Why the 365 Fund? Because anyone can be a philanthropist. The 365 Fund allows you to leverage your dollars with others to support programs and causes…
DonateEileen loved, well, everyone. Her mantra was “there are friends just waiting around every corner.” She just knew those friends were there. She also knew that friends are trustworthy, compassionate, and honest … and live by pinky swear! Eileen always lived by the mantra, even when her life changed forever at 19 when she experienced a traumatic brain injury. While every day experiences and tasks became challenging, Eileen chose to embrace those challenges as opportunities. She met every “bump in the road” with great strength, grace, fortitude, and smiles. She also saw the world through a different lens and observed…
DonateHelping Dreams Become Realities Connor Meaney Young was a visionary. He was also an entrepreneur. At 14 years old, Connor channeled his passion for landscaping and his vision of entrepreneurship into his own business. A native of East Haddam, Connor and a fellow classmate started C&M Lawn and Landscaping. Their goal was to offer the best landscaping experience possible to their community, and to look to their clients and community to help them grow as business leaders and community members. Connor was a true caretaker at heart – of his business and of his community. His eagerness to learn from…
DonateThe Wiltsie Eisenstein Fund exists to serve our community by empowering women, specifically in the trades, by offering them educational opportunities for advancement in fields where they are often underrepresented. We also seek to improve the lives of animals by partnering with groups that work to advocate for, and rescue animals in need. Our purpose is to leave a legacy of hope and kindness.
DonateThanks to the generosity of so many individuals and businesses, every fall and winter a group of volunteers on the shoreline are kept busy helping families choose warm coats, scarves, gloves, socks, and shoes. Warm the Children volunteer coordinators receive family referrals from the town social service offices and assigns them to volunteer shoppers. Shoppers and families meet at WalMart where parents and children select new winter clothing and footwear. Children and youth between the ages of birth and 18 years can participate in the program. Warm the Children Shoreline serves local families in need in Old Lyme, Lyme, Old…
DonateFamily and Community. Two simple words that can make all the difference in someone’s life. Yet if you asked Jackie Kilar and her teammates of the Wesleyan University Women’s Ice Hockey Team, they would tell you those two words are very important because they describe how they feel about one another and about the Middletown Community. When Jackie Kilar first arrived on campus at Wesleyan University, she couldn’t imagine how those two words would become central to her life in Middletown and her place on the Wesleyan University Women’s Ice Hockey Team. While in high school, Jackie’s mother Joan was diagnosed…
DonateCommunity… youth… sports… all passions of Buzzy and Harriet Levin. The Levin family has a long history of working to support their community, finding ways to help families and youth lead better lives. Buzzy Levin was well known for his generosity. Though he championed many organizations, events, and issues, what most of his friends and family recall were the quiet, behind the scenes things he did for neighbors and customers – the small, thoughtful “gifts” of recognition to say “job well done.” Buzzy and Harriet know the importance of community in our daily lives, and they passed on this belief in…
DonateGolf is a Game of Faith… (and a little bit of practice, of course)… on so many levels If you’re a golfer, you know that it takes faith that your next round will be good – even great. If you’re not a golfer, you probably know a golfer and understand that at the heart of every round is not only those great shots, but also the camaraderie generated both during and after the round. Yet what everyone understands – whether a golfer or a friend – is that golf takes commitment, passion, and a belief that each game will provide…
DonateHONORING THOSE WHO SERVE Greg Kalkreuth is very much like many young people in their 20’s – he works hard, spends time with friends and family, saves for the future and generally enjoys all that life has. Greg is so very grateful for all that he has and can do, and he wanted to find a way to give something back. He began talking with his mother who worked for the Community Foundation for many years. She talked about the many Funds started by people who wanted to make a difference, what they support and how to get involved ……
DonateChristopher R. Belfoure was just 24 when he tragically died in July 2011. Yet his passions – his belief in the global community, his dedication to teaching and the environment – will be shared through the Chris Belfoure Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation of Middlesex County. A graduate of Valley Regional High School and West Virginia University, Chris spoke fluent Mandarin and was pursuing a career as a corporate trainer in Shanghai. He is remembered as a charming, intelligent, ambitious man with a zest for life and adventure. Chris believed knowledge to be a bridge between cultures and a…
DonateCDKL5. A rare disease with no apparent cause, no cure, and a very clinical name. Yet, for Middlesex County and its surrounding neighbors, this disease has a very personal and lovely face – Avery Rose Leopoldino of Westbrook. Avery was diagnosed at two years old with this extremely rare disease. At the age of 6 weeks, she began experiencing frequent seizures and was originally diagnosed with epilepsy. Upon learning from doctors that Avery did not have epilepsy but a very rare genetic disease with no known cure, Avery’s parents, Mark and Kristin, had to take a long pause and start…
DonateProviding Opportunities for Creative Expression York Butler, a gifted artist and copper craftsman, was fighting a battle with cancer in 2006. His sister Jill, an artist in her own right, was grappling with a sense of uselessness, an inability to do something meaningful to support her brother. As she sat with him, she asked a simple, quiet question – “how can I be of service to my brother during his illness?” What came was an inspiration, a command, to pick up a Sharpie pen. “I don’t draw people, but what came were these characters with things to say,” Jill explained. “I…
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