Stories of Impact

Individual Scholarship Endowed Fund

Richard (Dick) and Terrye Blackstone married in 1943. During World War II, Dick served with the Army in the Pacific, and after he was discharged in 1945, the young couple moved to East Hartford, where they raised three children. They were both well known in town: Terrye was a substitute teacher and active in many civic organizations, including the East Hartford Woman’s Club and the East Hartford Commission on Culture and Fine Arts. Dick served as mayor from 1969 to 1979 and held several jobs in state government before retiring as deputy commissioner for the Department of Human Resources in 1989.

This scholarship was established by their children to honor their parents’ commitment to public service. It supports East Hartford students pursuing a major in the Arts, Political Science or Education, who have been involved with volunteer and/or extracurricular activities, that include public service.

Field of Interest Fund

Glastonbury resident Shawnee Baldwin spent her career engaging youth from Parks and Recreation programs and the YMCA to youth ministry in many churches. As the Coordinator of the Youth and Young Adult Ministry in the Archdiocese of Hartford for 20 years, Shawnee developed leadership programs that empowered youth and those who work with them. Shawnee currently works part time at the Glastonbury and Wethersfield YMCAs and with the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network. She established the Acacia Zawadi Fund to support the environment, leadership development for youth and young adults and/or inter-religious and interfaith efforts in the region. It is named for the Acacia tree, a symbol of stability and resilience, and the Swahili word for gift, which it what young people are to her.

Amanda Aronson recognized the value of the Safe Grad event at her children’s high school and wanted to help secure it for future students, so she established the Hall High Safe Grad Fund through her company StoryB.

“Safe Grad creates a healthy way for seniors to celebrate on the night of their graduation, so they are alive and well in the morning to begin the next chapter of their lives,” said Amanda. “It also offers them their first lived experience that you can celebrate a momentous occasion without substances. In a world with increasingly serious substance-related issues, this is one last lesson we can help students learn.”

As the Fund grows, Amanda hopes it will serve as a reliable source of revenue to ensure the continued existence of the event for future generations of students and also to serve as a model for other communities.

Agency Fund

For more than 9,000 students in the West Hartford schools, the Foundation for West Hartford Public Schools offers grants for programs and projects that go beyond the basics. “We’re the outside-the-box stuff… it’s the best part of school, the memorable experiences,” said Carol Lorenzo, board president. Grants include placing a camera on a meteorological balloon to view the stratosphere and project a flight pattern, building a greenhouse for students to engage in hands-on learning and growing coral in a marine biology lab. Teachers come up with ideas that align with the curriculum for the grants, usually of $300 – $3,500, said Kristin Johnson, administrative director. Grant funding comes from private donations, not taxpayer money. In partnering with the Hartford Foundation, they will reach a broader audience while creating an endowment to ensure teachers continue to spark something unique in their students, inspiring kids through a speaker, artist or activity they would not otherwise experience.

Business Donor-Advised Fund

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year, the entire staff at Fairview Capital Partners Inc. in West Hartford wanted to reach out to the community and the organizations they already supported with more immediate funding. JoAnn Price, co-founder and managing partner of the second-largest Black-owned private equity firm in the country, didn’t have to look very far. She spent 10 years on the board of the Hartford Foundation, the last three as Chair, and saw firsthand the positive impact corporate philanthropy could have on a community. The Fairview staff also appreciated the power of the Foundation’s reach and the credibility it has earned through its collaborations throughout the Greater Hartford community. Every Fairview staff member has participated in the Fund, and they plan to continue their efforts. “It has given them a different perspective,” she said, and made the staff aware of organizations that are not part of their day-to-day lives. “It makes the company better. It makes people better.”  When you are in a position to make a difference, you have to lean in, JoAnn said. “You’ve got to have the heart.”

Community College Scholarship Endowed Fund

Gail was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on March 29, 1954, the youngest of five children. She was a natural teacher and used every opportunity to instill a love of learning in her three children, Erin and twins Heather and Steph. Every road trip and vacation had to include an educational element, whether it be a museum visit or a stop at a Civil War battlefield, a tradition that continues today.

In 1994, Gail made the decision to go back to school at the age of 40 to become a teacher, with the support of her loving husband Jim. In 1996, Gail graduated with a master’s degree in education from Wilmington College, an achievement that made her whole family proud and one that inspired all her daughters to do the same.

In 1999, Gail was offered a job as a sixth grade teacher at Henry Barnard Elementary School in Enfield, where she would teach until moving to John F. Kennedy Middle School in 2016. She was the favorite teacher of countless students, often getting recognized when out in the community. She had a reputation for being tough but fair and remarkably empathetic. Gail changed many lives, including that of one young man who came back from serving overseas to tell her that while he was in a war zone, it was her voice that got him through. Along with her passion for education, Gail was a fierce advocate of community college and education, especially for the military and their families. She would be proud to have a scholarship bearing her name.

Unrestricted Endowment Fund

Ellie and Jim Venneman generously established an unrestricted fund to honor the memory of their son, David, who died after a long battle with addiction. The Vennemans chose an unrestricted fund in recognition of how society’s needs are constantly changing. The family appreciates that their fund will be managed by qualified professionals, and distributions will be overseen by a Board of Directors who know where the grants are most needed.

A gift from a favorite aunt inspired Elwyn and Elsie Harp to follow the personal example of generosity that she set. As Elsie remembers it, “With [her gift] came a note that she wanted to share some of her good fortune.” Elsie said it made a lasting impression on her and Elwyn. “I thought, what a wonderful thing to do. And that’s what started us on the road to giving.”

Like their aunt, the Harps established a charitable fund at the Hartford Foundation and they encouraged their children to follow in their family’s philanthropic footsteps. “I think you, by example, can get people to think to help others when they’re able to,” Elwyn said. “You help your neighbor because you may need help yourself one day.”

Giving to their community is not new for Ray and Leander Dolphin and their daughter Maya.

Ms. Dolphin, managing partner at Shipman & Goodwin in Hartford, is Chair of Connecticut’s Judicial Selection Commission while also giving her time as a trustee of The Ethel Walker School and serving on the board of directors of CBIA.  Mr. Dolphin is a school administrator with the Manchester Board of Education, and previously spent decades as an educator in Washington, DC and Hartford.  Maya is a senior at The Ethel Walker School, a teaching volunteer with the Horizons Program at Ethel Walker, and serves as a mentor for a student at Grace Academy.

The Dolphins established a donor-advised fund to support causes that matter to them, including education and arts education in the Greater Hartford community. In the future, they plan to include their daughter in making grant recommendations.

When he was in high school, Dr. Robert Patterson began searching for scholarships and came across a listing from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. He was awarded a scholarship and attended Georgetown University for his undergraduate studies. Years later, Dr. Patterson became the Chair of the African American Studies Department at his alma mater, where he teaches students to think critically and focus on solving some of our society’s most complex problems.

With the help of the Hartford Foundation, he created The Robert J. Patterson Scholarship Fund to pay forward the opportunities that he had been given. The scholarship will assist students seeking to major in African American Studies, humanities or social justice.

Greater Hartford residents share why they love this region and what inspires them to give in this video.