Main Street Community Foundation has recently announced the awarding of $45,000 in grants to local organizations through the Women & Girls Fund. For the past 20 years, the Fund has helped to support programs improving the conditions and opportunities for women and girls in Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington and Wolcott.

In the spirit of partnership, the following grants were awarded to organizations that have a longstanding relationship with the Fund and are providing critical programs to women and girls:

• Boys & Girls Club of Bristol - $3,000
• Bristol Youth & Community Services’ Parent & Child Center - $3,000
• Burlington Food & Fuel Bank - $2,000
• CT Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF) - $3,000
• EdAdvance’s Plymouth Family Resource Center - $2,000
• Environmental Learning Centers of Connecticut - $2,000
• For Goodness Sake - $2,500
• Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center - $3,000
• Literacy Volunteers of Central CT - $2,000
• Plainville Community Food Pantry - $1,000
• Plymouth Community Food Pantry’s Diaper Bank - $2,000
• Prudence Crandall Center - $5,000
• Shepard Meadows Equestrian Center - $2,000
• St. Vincent DePaul Mission of Bristol - $3,000
• The Agape House - $2,500
• The Children's Law Center, Inc. - $5,000
• Tunxis Community College’s Launch Your Leadership Program - $2,000

All grants are for unrestricted support of women and girls programming.

“Based on the ongoing needs of the community, we knew the best way to support the nonprofits that are providing vital programs was through unrestricted support,” stated Jessica Pieri, Chair of the Women & Girls Fund’s Distribution Committee.

Grants were made possible with the proceeds from the annual Wonder of Women (WOW) event, the Barbara Hackman Franklin Fund for Women and the John & Gloria DiFrancesco Fund for Women and Girls.

These most recent grants are in addition to the 20th anniversary grants awarded in September, bringing the total for 2021 to $65,000.

“We are thrilled to be awarding a total of $65,000 in grants – the most ever awarded,” said Catherine Cassin, Chair of the Fund’s Advisory Board. “The first grants Main Street Community Foundation awarded from the Women & Girls Fund totaled about $7,000. The Fund has grown tremendously thanks to the generosity of the many donors who believe in its mission.”

Since the Fund’s establishment in 2001, over $665,000 in grants has been awarded to improve the lives of local women and girls.