Meserve Memorial Fund Announces Grants

Danbury area agencies have received grants from the Meserve Memorial Fund.

In June, the second grant-making session of the 2003-04 year, the Albert W. and Helen C. Meserve Memorial Fund awarded 12 grants totaling $30,770 to Danbury area nonprofit organizations.

According to Karl Epple, chairman of the Meserve Memorial Fund Distribution Committee, approval of the grants was reached after an in-depth review by the Distribution Committee of 26 agency requests that totaled $212,964.

Grant awards were made to the following not-for-profit organizations:

$1,000 to AmeriCares Free Clinic of Danbury to help defray the cost of medication for the clinic’s patients.

$3,675 to Ann’s Place to support the printing of a new book to be written by cancer survivors for cancer survivors, entitled Tapestry of Hope.

 $1,200 to Bethel Visiting Nurse Association to purchase a new cholesterol testing machine and pulse oxymetry machine for its new Congestive Heart Failure Management Program.

$3,000 to Family & Children’s Aid to partially fund the construction of a new handicapped-accessible ramp at a new group home.

$2,500 to Families Network of Western Connecticut to support the cost of printing new program brochures.

$1,995 to Women’s Center of Greater Danbury to fund the painting of the interior of the center’s domestic violence shelter.

$1,000 to CARD Foundation to support the BOOST program serving children and youth from greater Danbury with attention, learning, emotional, and behavioral disorders.

$3,000 to Connecticut Yankee Council-Boy Scouts of America to support camperships for boys participating in Cub Scout Day Camp Programs in Danbury and Redding.

$2,400 to Obey Foundation to support the Drum Call Program for youth in Danbury.

$3,500 to Friends of Bennett’s Pond to develop a four-acre arboretum.

$5,000 to Swampfield Land Trust to support the creation of the Ives Trail Greenway. This grant is made possible by a bequest given to the Meserve Memorial Fund from the estate of the late Carlo A. Valluzzo, a Danbury resident.

$2,500 to Tarrywile Park Authority to support the installation of safety handrails to stairways on the property.

The Meserve Memorial Fund was established in 1983, a legacy of the late Mr and Mrs Albert W. Meserve, to support charitable organizations that benefit the greater Danbury region. The region served by the Meserve Fund encompasses Newtown, Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford, Redding, Ridgefield, Sherman, and Bridgewater.

Decisions on grants are made by the Distribution Committee made up of community representatives. Current members of the committee are: Karl H. Epple, chairman, Paul Altermatt, Mary Ann Frede, Clarice Osiecki, and Harold C. Wibling. Trustees of the fund are Wachovia Bank and David Clark Murphy.

The fund is administered by the Fairfield County Community Foundation (FCCF) in Wilton. The next deadline for applications is October 1.

For further information or a copy of the application and grant guidelines, call Jeanette Allam at FCCF at 203-563-3604.