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02/13/2019 11:01 PMOne of the many benefits of working with a community foundation is the ability to pool resources with others who share a passion for improving the quality of life for all. By working together and leveraging funds, the impact of the collective effort is far greater than any one party can accomplish on its own. A great example of this type of community partnership at work is the St. Luke’s Fund at the Community Foundation of Middlesex County (CFMC). In 1865, St. Luke’s Home, Inc., was founded in Middletown as a nonprofit organization committed to serving the various needs of seniors and veterans in Middlesex County. This past October, faced with ongoing changes in state and federal funding streams, the St. Luke’s Board of Trustees decided to dissolve the organization and continue to be faithful to its mission by establishing the St. Luke’s Home Fund at CFMC.
Former St. Luke’s trustees serve on the fund’s advisory committee, providing guidance on funding nonprofit organizations whose work addresses similar needs—support for veterans, seniors, and transportation in communities throughout Middlesex County. In fact, seniors and individuals in need living in Chester, Deep River, and Essex will continue to have transportation to and from medical appointments thanks to the dedicated volunteers at Friends In Service Here (FISH) and thanks to a grant from the St. Luke’s Fund. The Estuary Council of Seniors will expand its transportation program thanks to a co-funding grant award from the St. Luke’s Fund, allowing the organization to provide more local medical trips, expand its weekly shopping trip program to include residents of Clinton, Killingworth, and Westbrook, and provide a lunch bus for the Clinton and Killingworth congregate meal sites.
There’s more. The St. Luke’s Home Fund is co-funding a grant to the Cromwell Senior Center for the purchase of a portable wireless sound and microphone system to better accommodate those with hearing loss. Last, but certainly not least, the St. Luke’s Home Fund will continue to fulfill its mission of helping veterans through a grant to the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center. The grant will help indigent veterans who live in Middlesex County move from homelessness to stable housing and from poverty to sustainable income, all while having access to V.A. healthcare and other veteran benefits that have been wrongly denied.
The St. Luke’s Home Fund at CFMC illustrates the many ways in which community partnerships can truly work to address the changing issues and needs for the benefit of all. We’re grateful for its commitment to ensuring our seniors and veterans in need of services will be provided for now and well into the future. Community partnerships can—and do—work to address the changing landscape and challenges. Together we can always find solutions. CFMC is honored and humbled that St. Luke’s leadership chose to work with us to continue their mission. As this new year of new partnerships and new challenges gets underway, we look forward to sharing all of the great things happening because of good people in our local community. Learn more by calling 860-347-0025 or visiting MiddlesexCountyCF.org.