The Katharine Matthies Foundation grants for 2000 have been announced. Fleet Bank, Trustee of the Foundation, will distribute 46 grants totaling $742,386.75 to organizations that serve the Lower Naugatuck Valley community.
Katharine Matthies was a benefactress and lifelong resident of Seymour. The Foundation she established supports non-profit activities and programs that improve the quality of life in the Valley area. Since its first grants were made in 1989, the Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $7 million to fund projects serving the towns of Seymour, Oxford, Beacon Falls, Ansonia and Derby.
Recipients of 2000 grants are:
AHA Development Corporation, $10,560 to extend the hours of the 13-station computer lab at Tinney Community Center.
Beacon Falls Historical Society, $2,800 to equip new office facility with computer and accessory equipment.
Birmingham Group Health Services, $7,380 to support Internet-based program in the Lower Naugatuck Valley and to create a community-based web program.
Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, $28,880 to open an after school satellite at Derby Veterans Center.
Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, $15,061 to provide after school busing from Seymour schools to the Boys & Girls Club in Shelton.
Catholic Family Services of Ansonia, $21,456 to continue and expand the Families Together Program.
Children in Placement, $5,000 to provide volunteer court advocates for abused and neglected children.
Covenant to Care, Inc., $3,500 to increase the hours of the regional coordinator.
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, $20,000 to provide educational workshops for teachers from the Seymour school system.
Department of Children and Families, $10,000 to support recreational/cultural opportunities for Valley children in foster care.
Derby Historical Society, $30,000 to upgrade building handicap accessibility.
Girl Scouts, Connecticut Trails Council, $8,248 to sponsor 20 girls who cannot afford to participate in Girls Scouts without financial assistance.
The Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, $15,000 to support the Naugatuck River Valley Marketing Initiative.
Griffin Hospital, $83,333 as first installment of multi-year grant to fund 3 patient care components of Capital Campaign 2000.
Healthways, Inc. $15,802 to support the expansion of the Active Parenting Today program.
Housatonic Council, Boy Scouts of America, $33, 247 to purchase equipment and improvements to the Edmund D. Strang Scout Reservation.
Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, $18,000 to continue the development and expansion of programs.
Long Wharf Theatre, $17,220 to support the participation of middle and high schools in the Student Series Program.
Lower Naugatuck Valley Parent Child Resource Center, Inc., $8,000, to implement a Parent Advocacy Training Program.
Maritime Aquarium, $22,500 to provide marine science education to elementary and middle school students.
New Haven Symphony Orchestra, $10,000 to support the Valley Pops 2000-2001 concert series.
Oxford Economic Development Corporation, $15,000 to enhance the economic development efforts of Oxford.
Oxford Lions Club, $25,000 towards constructing a pavilion at Jackson’s Cove Park.
Pop Warner Football of Seymour, $12,075 to upgrade player equipment to safety standards.
Sage Services of CT, Inc., $15,000 to provide employment for residents of Seymour and other Valley communities.
Salvation Army, $2,200 to purchase a utility trailer to transport food for the Emergency Food Pantry.
Seymour Ambulance Association Inc., $4,250 to purchase equipment for the training center.
Seymour Cultural and Arts Commission, $14,510 to expand community programming at the Strand Theatre.
Seymour Land Conservation Trust, Inc., $8,500 to improve safety and handicapped access in the park.
Seymour Volunteer Fire Department, $33,724.75 to help purchase a personnel accountability system.
Seymour-Oxford Nursery and Child Care Association, Inc., $4,275 to create a component called SONCCA Science.
Shakesperience Productions, Inc., $5,500 to offer performances and workshops in Valley school districts.
Southern Connecticut Library Council, $24,500 to replicate the Family Place Model in Seymour and Derby Public Libraries.
Southford Cemetery Association, Inc., $10,000 to repair and restore broken gravestones in Southford Cemetery and Jack’s Hill.
Team, Inc., $23,790 to fund home-delivered meals, homemaking visits and part-time counseling for frail seniors living in Seymour, Oxford, Ansonia, and Derby.
Valley Alliance, $5,000 to fund salaries and fees associated with musicians of Orchestra New England.
Valley Chapter of The American Red Cross, $11,875 to provide prompt and immediate relief to families who fall under the "extraordinary circumstances" category.
Valley Mental Health Center Inc., $25,500 to make renovations to the Mental Health Center’s Valley Social Club.
Valley Regional Planning Agency, $15,000 to provide educational outreach, technical capacity and administrative resources to establish a model non-point pollution program in the Lower Naugatuck River Valley.
Valley Regional Planning Agency, $20,000 to provide planning and mapping services for the Valley area.
Valley United Way, $18,850 to continue to expand the role of the Volunteer Action Center.
Valley United Way, fiduciary for Valley Council of Health and Human Services, $6,850 to promote diversity through the LEAD program.
Valley United Way, $10,000 to conduct major strategic planning process to enhance the quality of life in the Valley Community.
Valley United Way, fiduciary for Valley Council of Health and Human Services, $20,000 to support the Healthy Valley 2000 project.
Yale University, $15,000 to provide partial funding for the second year of the pilot rowing initiative for the Valley.
Young Audiences of CT, $10,000 to continue performances, classroom and teacher’s workshops in Ansonia, Seymour and Oxford, and expand programming to Beacon Falls.
Katharine Matthies Foundation
Fleet Bank, Trustee
C/o Marjorie Alexandre Davis
777 Main Street, CT EH 40222B
Hartford, CT 06115
(860) 986-7696 or (860) 986-7845