Our Stories

	Catalyst Fund an Obedzinski Family Affair For David, Linda and teenage daughter Katie Obedzinski, the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain's Catalyst Fund offers possibilities far beyond the noble goal of making Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington better communities. Yes, there is that...but there is also the immeasurable reward to be gained by coming together as a family to make a difference in the world.
	A Family History Serving New Britain Children Helping young children to fulfill their dreams and be all they can be is part of Tracey Madden-Hennessey's DNA. The long-time chair of the New Britain Early Childhood Collaborative and Associate Director of the New Britain YWCA has made serving New Britain's children her life-long passion, and her 30-year career is chock full of impact and accomplishment.
	A Charitable Journey with Immeasurable Reward Donna Rutola has been part of the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain family for more than a decade and remains one of the Foundation's - and our community's - most steadfast supporters. But her 40-plus year career in business didn't start with a focus on philanthropy. It was a colleague's skepticism at a company meeting some 25 years ago that started Donna on her diverse and rewarding journey serving the Greater New Britain community.
	CFGNB & Foodshare Partner Against Hunger Hunger is an issue we all personally experience daily, yet most of us are able to easily provide our bodies’ with plenty of nourishment.  As well, we get an almost primal satisfaction from feeding our friends and families.  Cooking and serving food to those we love is the basis of nurturing others.  So we contemplated: what must it feel like to be unable to provide that basic nurturing and critical nutrition for yourself and your family on any given day?
	Read This . . . Because You Can Whether its reading a chapter of “Harry Potter” to your child, Googling the internet gathering helpful facts or managing all the aspects of your busy job—we rely on our ability to read countless times every day.  Now imagine you can’t read… Really try to imagine that. It would change your life completely, wouldn’t it?
	Foundation Strategy Helps Sustain Area Families Headlines remind us daily that our economy remains in a slump and although some gains have been made, the outlook for many families continues to be uncertain at best.
	Expanding Family Literacy Initiative Helps Parents and Their Children Succeed Plainville resident Carol Hermanowski knew it was finally time to confront her reading problem when her daughter began to catch on that Carol was making up the stories she was “reading” from the children’s books.  Read more about how the First Years First grant helped this mother finally learn to read.
	Family Resource Center Gaining Visibility It's morning in the Dragon's Den at Derynoski School and the room is filled with the sights and sounds of children playing.
	Driving the Downtown Renaissance Yes, there is life in the Hardware City, driven not by the pounding machine presses of years ago, but by a new generation of arts and culture led by Trinity On Main.
	Building Bridges to Productive Lives At Literacy Volunteers of Central Connecticut, learning to read, write or speak English just scratches the surface.
	Preserving the Past, Enriching the Future The good people of Southington know the value of their heritage, as evidenced by the glorious preservation and restoration of the Southington Historical Society and Museum.
	Beautiful Music Cori and Brian Humes, born and raised in families for whom helping others is a way of life, knew they had the desire, and knew they had the wherewithal. What they didn't have was a plan.
	In the Family Tradition As a third-generation business owner in New Britain, Gerry Amodio knows what a successful business brings to a community - and how a thriving community feeds that success.
	For the Common Good Bill and Gail Millerick both feel that the work of the Plainville Community Food Pantry is a perfect example of how resources can be put to work to benefit those in need, regardless of address.
	A Healthy Commitment Andy and Fran Meade have been enriching people's lives in Southington for decades - and have long understood the impact that genuine commitment can have upon a community.
	Why We Give: Joan & Charles Leach For Joan and Charles Leach, giving back to their community is personal, rewarding – and lots of fun.
	Why We Give: CW Resources CW Resources, Inc., is a private, nonprofit vocational rehabilitation agency serving the needs of persons with disabilities and the socioeconomically challenged.
	Why We Give: Schaller Auto World The Schaller group has nearly 200 employees and sells some 3,000 vehicles each year, all while maintaining its family-oriented roots that are so important to the New Britain community.
	Turning A Loss Into A Legacy Before Alma Exley died of breast cancer in March 1995, she left her husband Woody a “honey-do” list of sorts. She wanted to encourage more people of color to become teachers.
	Offering Alternatives As Executive Director of the largest service provider in Southington, John Myers sees a lot of need in the community.