Vol. 7 Issue 2

Louis 0. Thibeault Fund for the Advancement of Children's Education Helps Local Children Overcome Obstacles to Success

Growing up in the picturesque community of Berlin, New Hampshire, Louis Thibeault thrived in an environment of close family, caring friends, and strong community. His childhood was fueled by the rolling hills, winding rivers, and cool clean air of the White Mountains. It was a beautiful and friendly place, but as a child growing up in New England, Louis knew that the ice on the pond wasn't always as sturdy as it seemed, a destructive storm could linger behind the billowing clouds of a perfect summer day - that more often than not, the most menacing of troubles are those left unseen.

Louis graduated from Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass., and relocated to Torrington, where he lived and worked for 45 years. Over the course of his career, and as he raised his family in Torrington and Goshen, Louis worked for The Torin Corp., First Federal Savings and Loan, and for 12 years, as the general manager of the Torrington Country Club.

"My life was certainly not dramatic in any way, but I had the opportunity to work with some great people in the Torrington community," Louis said. "It was a great place to work, live and bring up my family."

After 45 years, Louis wanted to give something back to the community. "There are wonderful things in Torrington," he said, "family events, movies, things that children enjoy. It is a wonderful place to live. "But in some homes, there are children whose needs are not always met because of neglect, because their parents don't know what's wrong, or because their parents can't afford to help them."

It's something that Louis understood at a young age, witnessing the frustration that his close friend experienced growing up with an unrecognized learning disability. Louis describes his friend as extremely intelligent, but a little different than the other children in grammar school.

"He was very creative," said Louis. "He picked up on things quicker than other people, but he struggled in school and eventually lost interest. In some ways, his opportunities were limited because nobody knew he was Dyslexic. "Many children have great potential and are hindered because they have a hidden deficiency," he said. "They get so far behind that they give up."

Louis chose to reach out to the children of the Northwest Corner by establishing the Louis O. Thibeault Fund for the Advancement of Children's Education. Established in May of 2009, the Fund supports the education of economically disadvantaged children facing unseen obstacles by helping provide health examinations, and when needed, eye-glasses, medical prescriptions as well as human services needs that must be met, so children can focus on education.

"I wanted to do something for the community," said Louis.

Although the Fund has supported several children in the community with different challenges, Louis feels very strongly that every child should be screened for vision problems and that every child who needs glasses should have them.

"An eyeglass need is probably one of the more insidious infirmities that a child can have," says Louis. "It's more difficult to recognize than broken teeth or walking disabilities. "If a child doesn't know that he has astigmatism or myopia or some other vision deficiency, he doesn't know what he's supposed to be seeing. He just knows that school is harder for him than it is for his peers.

"This is not a huge fund," said Louis. "But if it helps a child, or two, or three, it is well worth it."

In May, early childcare providers from Education Connection, Healthy Families, Family Strides, Children First, and The Maria Seymour Brooker Memorial attended training in the use of the Pedia Vision SPOT Vision Screener. The Spot Screener and training in its use were made possible by a grant from the Louis O. Thibeault Fund for the Advancement of Children's Education. Beginning in the Fall of 2014, students attending preschool and early childhood development programs throughout Torrington and Winsted will receive Pedia Vision SPOT Vision Screener eye screenings.

"This is an opportunity to help a great number of children in a preventative and proactive way, to discover abnormalities in kids that can be corrected," says Louis Thibeault, who established the Louis O. Thibeault Fund for the Advancement of Children's Education in 2009 to help children experiencing academic difficulties because of unknown or untreated medical conditions. The SPOT is a handheld, non-invasive vision screener that enables early education providers to bring vision screenings to children. The Spot can quickly detect near-sightedness, far-sightedness, unequal refractive power, blurred vision, eye structure problems, pupil-size deviations, and eye misalignment. When deficiencies are detected, screeners provide a printed report that parents can take to a physician for a follow-up screening and appropriate treatment.

"Early intervention is critically important," said Douglas Zybrands, who provided SPOT training at Education Connection in Litchfield, CT. "Without funding from sources like the Louis O. Thibeault Fund for the Advancement of Children's Education at the Community Foundation of Northwest CT, many of these children would likely go without early vision screenings."

Growing up in the picturesque community of Berlin, New Hampshire, Louis Thibeault thrived in an environment of close family, caring friends, and strong community. His childhood was fueled by the rolling hills, winding rivers, and cool clean air of the White Mountains. It was a beautiful and friendly place, but as a child growing up in New England, Louis knew that the ice on the pond wasn't always as sturdy as it seemed, a destructive storm could linger behind the billowing clouds of a perfect summer day - that more often than not, the most menacing of troubles are those left unseen.

"Many children have great potential and are hindered because they have a hidden deficiency," he said. "They get so far behind that they give up."

Louis graduated from Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. and relocated to Torrington, where he lived and worked for 45 years. Over the course of his career, and as he raised his family in Torrington and Goshen, Louis worked for The Torin Corp., First Federal Savings and Loan, and for 12 years, as the general manager of the Torrington Country Club.

"My life was certainly not dramatic in any way, but I had the opportunity to work with some great people in the Torrington community," Louis said. "It was a great place to work, live and bring up my family."

After 45 years, Louis wanted to give something back to the community.

"It's something that Louis understood at a young age, witnessing the frustration that his close friend experienced growing up with an unrecognized learning disability."

"I wanted to do something for the community," said Louis.

Although the Fund has supported several children in the community with different challenges, Louis feels very strongly that every child should be screened for vision problems and that every child who needs glasses should have them.

"An eyeglass need is probably one of the more insidious infirmities that a child can have," says Louis. "It's more difficult to recognize than broken teeth or walking disabilities.

"If a child doesn't know that he has a stigmatism or myopia or some other vision deficiency, he doesn't know what he's supposed to be seeing. He just knows that school is harder for him than it is for his peers.

"This is not a huge fund," said Louis. "But if it helps a child, or two, or three, it is well worth it."

Thibeault Fund for the Advancement of Children's Education Grant Provides State-of-the-Industry Vision Screening to Hundreds of Preschool Children

In May, early childcare providers from Education Connection, Healthy Families, Family Strides, Children 1st, and The Maria Seymour Brooker Memorial attended training in the use of the Pedia Vision SPOT Vision Screener. The Spot Screener and training in its use was made possible by a grant from the Louis O. Thibeault Fund for the Advancement of Children's Education. Beginning in the Fall of 2014, students attending preschool and early childhood development programs throughout Torrington and Winsted will receive Pedia Vision SPOT Vision Screener eye screenings.

"This is an opportunity to help a great number of children in a preventative and proactive way, to discover abnormalities in kids that can be corrected," says Louis Thibeault, who established the Louis O. Thibeault Fund for the Advancement of Children's Education in 2009 to help children experiencing academic difficulties because of unknown or untreated medical conditions. The SPOT is a handheld, non-invasive vision screener that enables early education providers to bring vision screenings to children. The Spot can quickly detect near-sightedness, far-sightedness, unequal refractive power, blurred vision, eye structure problems, pupil-size deviations, and eye misalignment. When deficiencies are detected, screeners provide a printed report that parents can take to a physician for a follow-up screening and appropriate treatment.

"Early intervention is critically important," said Douglas Zybrands, who provided SPOT training at Education Connection in Litchfield, CT. "Without funding from sources like the Louis O. Thibeault Fund for the Advancement of Children's Education at the Community Foundation of Northwest CT, many of these children would likely go without early vision screenings."

157 Laptop Computers Provided to Northwest Corner Nonprofits

In August, The Community Foundation distributed 157 gently used laptop computers valued at more than $76,000 to nonprofits in Northwest CT. More than 50 nonprofits responded to the Community Foundation's invitation to apply for the laptops, which were donated to the Foundation from an anonymous corporation for distribution to nonprofits in Northwest CT. For a list of nonprofits that were provided with laptops, visit www.cfnwct.org/news/laptop

(from left to right) Lyndsay Raymond, Executive Director of Torrington PAL; Bill Burgess, President of Litchfield Hills Food Systems, Inc.; Katie Stolarcyk, President, School on the Green Board of Directors; and Sunny Torres, Treasurer of Harwinton Library Friends accept laptop computers that were donated anonymously to The Community Foundation for distribution to nonprofits in Northwest CT.

The Women & Girls Fund Releases Report on the Status of Local Women and Girls

The Women & Girls Fund has released From Challenge to Opportunity: A Report on the Status of Women & Girls in NW CT. More than 90 attendees gathered at Fairview Farm Golf Course in Harwinton, CT to learn about the challenges experienced by women and girls in Northwest CT. The Honorable Anne C. Dranginis, and Carolyn M. Treiss, Executive Director of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women spoke about the economic challenges many women and girls face in Northwest CT and the importance of coming together as a community to address these challenges.

A short video presentation highlighted grants made by the Women & Girls Fund that had a positive impact on women and girls in the Northwest Comer.

From Challenge to Opportunity: A Report on the Status of Women & Girls in NW CT provides details about the challenges in educational attainment, employment and domestic violence experienced by women and girls in our Northwest Comer and reveals opportunities to address these challenges and make meaningful improvements. The Women & Girls Fund, initiated by the Foundation in 1999, supports programs that address women's needs and contribute to the welfare of children.

Visit yournccf.org/community-impact/womenandgirlsfund to learn more about the Women & Girls Fund, and view From Challenge to Opportunity: A Report on the Status of Women & Girls in NW CT.

Presentation Brings Together Fundholders, Nonprofit Leadership and Policymakers

The Community Foundation hosted a presentation by CT Voices for Children at the Litchfield Inn in Litchfield, CT that provided an in-depth picture of the status of children and families in the Northwest Corner. CT Voices for Children is a research-based policy and advocacy organization that works statewide to promote the well-being of CT's children, youth, and families.

Using data specific to Northwest CT towns and cities, CT Voices for Children provided a baseline for assessing needs and identifying emerging trends, challenges, and successes of children and families in our local towns.

More than 60 community leaders, including Community Foundation fundholders, nonprofit managers, and local policymakers, discussed opportunities for wise investments, policy, and advocacy.

The presentation provided a snapshot, including:

• Unemployment Rates: While most towns in the Northwest Corner have unemployment rates lower than the 8.4% state average, Torrington's unemployment rate is higher at 9.2%. Winchester's unemployment rate is 8.5%.
• Affordable Family Housing: The vast majority of home renters in the Northwest Corner who earn less than $50,000 annually spend 30% or more of their income on rent.
• Children Living in Poverty: 12.6% of children in CT are living in poverty; in Torrington, 15%; and in Canaan, 21%. Statewide, the number of children living in poverty has been increasing rapidly since 2007.
• Teenage Pregnancy: 6.1% of CT births are to teenage mothers; in Torrington, 7%; in Winchester, 11%.
• Education: 80% of CT children attend a pre-kindergarten program; in Cornwall, 57%, in Sharon, 65%; and in Barkhamsted, 24%.

"Much of this research is startling," said Guy Rovezzi, president of the Community Foundation of Northwest CT. "As a community, we balance our love for the Northwest Corner with the knowledge that hardship and adversity exist within our beautiful and vibrant towns.

"We hope this research begins a broader conversation as the first step in facilitating collective action and positive change in our communities."

Visit www.cfnwct.org/news/ctvoices to view the complete presentation.

Nonprofit Executive Directors, Board Chairs Broaden Skills, Network For Good

In August, executive directors and board chairpersons from 20 nonprofits from across CT with focus areas including human services, healthcare, animal rescue and care, and the arts gathered in Litchfield, CT to attend the first in a series of educational and networking events developed through a collaboration between The Community Foundation of NW CT and the Connecticut Community Foundation. The meetings focused on honing skills and building collaborative relationships.

Joan Garry, Principal of Joan Garry, Principal of Joan Garry Consulting, a nonprofit consulting firm specializing in strategic assessment, fundraising strategy, messaging, leadership development, executive coaching and crisis manage­ment led two sessions: Build a Better Board and Be a Five Star Board Chair.

Hope and Love Option, Miriam Mason Cable Trust Fund Save Horses, Heal Heroes

Hope and Love Option, Inc. (HALO), of Bethlehem, CT, has two goals: to rescue and rehabilitate PMU* foals and nurse mare foals, so they can learn to live happily and healthfully with people and to help veterans and others recovering from abuse or experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.

"You have to pick a place where you can be effective, where you can set something in motion that serves the greater good to the best of your ability," says HALO founder Nanette Dieterle.

For many at-risk foals born into industries where they are viewed as by-products, that place is at the end of a windy road in Bethlehem, CT.

HALO provides therapy to several women and girls through a program based on the EA GALA** model, which focuses on recovery and skills training. Therapy participants learn about themselves and others by participating in activities with horses, and exploring and discussing feelings, behaviors, and patterns.

According to Nanette, therapy participants work with horses on the ground. Interaction with therapy horses requires non-verbal communication, assertiveness, creative thinking and problem-solving, leadership, responsibility, teamwork, relationship and confidence building through-out the healing process. Therapists observe and interpret responses and behavior and guide the healing process.

The foals and mares that provide that healing come from state seizures and animal hoarders, but most of them arrive at HALO as orphaned foals, by-products of a pharmaceutical industry that requires mares be impregnated for the production ofhormone replacement therapy medication, but has no use for their foals, and from breeders who keep nurse mares to nurse newborn racehorse thoroughbreds leaving nursing mares' foals orphaned.

"Foals should stay with their mothers for six months," says Nanette. "These babies are orphaned days or weeks after their birth." These newborn orphaned foals are often sick, malnourished and completely unsocialized, making them difficult to adopt and expensive to rehabilitate. "They require years of care and training to grow into what society would consider functional," says Nanette, "but they have so much to offer at every stage of development."

"The care of these horses and the role that therapy participants play in the journey these foals take from being rescued, to healing others, to moving on to loving home is integral to the therapy process," says Nanette. There is a treatment horse for almost everyone at HALO. There are gentle giants, miniature horses with special needs, and young energetic colts and fillies. "They have all been rescued from abuse, neglect and certain death," says Nanette, "and they all have something unique to offer."

HALO recently partnered with Hearts 4 Heroes, a nonprofit organization providing equine-assisted and canine-assisted therapy to veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The organization adopted two rescued and rehabilitated nursing mares from HALO to work with veterans in North Carolina suffering from PTSD. The two organizations hope to expand their partnership and bring the Hearts 4 Heroes program to CT.

"It's amazing to watch therapy participants and horses pick each other," says Nanette. One recent therapy participant at HALO felt drawn to Marnin, a large male known for his skittishness and distrust of people. "I watched her walk toward him," said Nanette, "thinking this is not good; he runs from everyone." She walked up to him. He studied her, and then he stepped toward her and put his head on her chest. "Rescuing horses, who in-turn help rescue people," says Nanette, "there is no down side to that."

The urine of pregnant mares or PMU is used in the manufacturing of Premarin, human female hormone replacement medication.
**Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association.

Miriam Mason Cable Trust Fund Helps Provide Hope and Love
A $2,000 grant to Hope and Love Option (HALO) from the Miriam Mason Cable Trust Fund enabled HALO to establish a presence in the EAGALA-based abuse-recovery community with the development of a web site, www.hopeandloveoption.org, and marketing materials. The Miriam Mason Cable Trust Fund was established in 2006 by Peter Cable of Harwinton in honor of his wife, Miriam. Through its support of human services organizations, the Fund has provided grants to 15 nonprofits for programs that preserve the history of Northwest CT, improve educational opportunities for local children, support mental health initiatives, and improve the quality of life for elderly and disabled residents. As an endowed fund, the Miriam Mason Cable Trust Fund helps improve life in Northwest CT in perpetuity.

FOUNDATION FOCUS

Community Foundation Welcomes Board Members

Anita Baxter of New Hartford, James Blackketter of Kent, and Jeffrey Lalonde of Goshen have been named to the board of directors of The Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut.

A resident of New Hartford, Ms. Anita Baxter is a skilled corporate trainer and process improvement facilitator. Through her business, Baxter Communications, she worked with business and government organizations in process-improvement, improving customer satisfaction, lowering costs and increasing profitability.

She is a graduate of Ohio University. Ms. Baxter is currently president of the Arnolda Improvement Corporation and serves on the Board of Directors of the Northwest Community Bank.

Ms. Baxter is well-known in her community having served as First Selectman for three terms in the 1980s. She holds board posts and volunteer positions with numerous organizations, including serving on the Advisory Board of the Northwestern Connecticut Community College, and on the boards of the Licia & Mason Beekley Community Library and the New Hartford Board of Education. She has served as president of the New Hartford Business Council, and as an EMT with the New Hartford Volunteer Ambulance Association.

"Anita is an accomplished professional and community leader," said Community Foundation President Guy Rovezzi. "Her analytical skills and ability to build consensus around disparate views will be an asset to the Community Foundation."

Mr. James Blackketter is an accomplished businessperson having served as vice president and director of strategic planning of Inmont Corporation of New York, vice president and general manager of Inmont's REH division in New Jersey, and director of the printing ink division of BASF in Canada.

A longtime Kent resident and involved community member, Mr. Blackketter was a founding board member of the Kent Village District Committee. He served as senior deacon of the First Congregational Church of Kent, President of the Kent Chamber of Commerce, and Chairman of the Kent Zoning Board of Appeals.

Mr. Blackketter and his wife, Gini, owned Kent's House of Books shop for 23 years. He is a Board member for the Kent Community Fund and the Kent Library Association, a member of the Kent Board of Finance, and a volunteer at Quality Thrift shop and the Kent Food Bank. "Jim's impressive credentials and tireless community service make him a great resource," said Community Foundation President Guy Rovezzi. "He will provide the knowledge and familiarity of community needs in the greater Kent area, enabling the Community Foundation to improve its service to the people in that community."

Mr. Jeffrey Lalonde is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and Western New England College. A resident of Goshen, he is the president of Torrington Savings Bank. He has served as vice president of commercial lending for Shawmut Bank and senior vice president, and president & CEO ofVanguard Bank.

Well-known in his community, Mr. Lalonde, has served as chairman of the Investment Committee and member of the Board of Trustees of the Northwest Connecticut YMCA, corporator of The Maria Seymour Brooker Memorial, a member of the CT Junior Republic Advisory Committee, board member the Goshen Housing Trust, vice president and board member of the Torrington Library, past president and board member of the Torrington Country Club and a board member of the Torrington Development Corporation, Hillside Cemetery, and the Ebersol Scholarship Committee.

He previously served as a board member for Northwest Connecticut's Chamber of Commerce, Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, the Community Health & Wellness Center, and as a member of the Torrington Winsted Rotary Club, and the Mayor's Insurance Committee.

"Jeffrey is highly regarded for his sound and knowledgeable leadership," said Community Foundation President Guy Rovezzi. ''His dedication to community service and commitment to improving all aspects of community life are reflected in his extensive volunteer record."

Susan Bremer, Grants and Program Director, Joins the Community Foundation

Susan manages the grant-making process for the Foundation. She provides pre-application counsel and assistance to nonprofits, and support and due diligence to the Board members and Trustees entrusted to award grants for Community Foundation cycle grants, the Draper Foundation Fund and The John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation. She also manages the post-grant process for the Community Foundation.

Originally from Chicago, Sue has called Colebrook home since 1994. She is a CPA with a bachelor's degree from The University of Illinois. In addition to her experience in accounting and regulatory compliance, Sue evinces a lifelong belief in the importance of community volunteerism.