May 29, 2020
By Erica Moser
e.moser@theday.com

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The Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut on Friday announced its first round of grants from the Neighbors for Neighbors Fund, which was established in mid-March to help those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and has received contributions from hundreds of donors. The grants total $473,517 to 61 recipients.

The Community Foundation shows a breakdown of where the dollars go: $175,800 for food security, $112,745 for housing security, $59,592 for protective gear, $55,000 for nonprofit capacity, $28,000 for children's needs, $20,380 for other supports, $15,000 for disability supports and $7,000 for community health care.

The largest grants were $25,000 to Connecticut Legal Services, $21,000 to Windham Area Interfaith Ministry, and $20,000 to Windham Region No Freeze Project.

Other grant recipients include The Arc Eastern Connecticut, The Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul Place, Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern Connecticut, Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut, New London Homeless Hospitality Center, Fairview Odd Fellows Home, Thames Valley Council for Community Action, and Project Oceanology. To view the full list of recipients, visit bit.ly/cfectneighbors.

The recipients were selected through partnering with the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut and the United Way of Central and Northern Connecticut to assess proposals, the Community Foundation said. The organization's goal is to provide additional funding cycles into 2021.

"We are resilient. And we will come out of this era a stronger community, because we care for each other," President and CEO Maryam Elahi said.

Those looking to donate to the Neighbors for Neighbors Fund, or another Community Foundation fund, can do so at cfect.fcsuite.com/erp/donate.