June 1, 2021 - United Way of Greater New Haven (UWGNH) released a Summer Youth Program Grant Fund to distribute $225,000 to help summer programs adapt and meet the changing needs of local youth. Through community conversations with young people and youth organizations, UWGNH identified an increased need for access to quality in-person time with peers, as well as time with adults who “get” and listen to the needs of participants. Additional staffing was highlighted as a key piece of addressing the social and emotional challenges of young people transitioning back to in-person activities, as well as program equipment and PPE to offer safe and physically distant programming.
The grant application opened in early May 2021 with the goal of efficiently reviewing applications and distributing funds. A grant review committee made up of community members, including young people, youth advocates, parents, youth organizations, representatives from New Haven Public Schools and the City of New Haven, and United Way staff reviewed each application. A total of $225,000 was distributed to 30 community organizations through the Fund, of which the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven contributed $50,000. View the list of grantees below.
2021 Grantees:
- Canal Dock
- Church Street School/HPS
- COLLAB
- Community Action Agency
- Concepts for Adaptive Learning
- ConnCAT
- DESTINED to Succeed
- Elephant In the Room
- Elm City Internationals
- Hamden/North Haven YMCA
- Helping Our People to Excel (H.O.P.E.)
- Horizons
- Ice the Beef
- Junta
- LEAP
- New Haven Ballet
- New Haven Ecology Project
- New Haven Pride Center
- New Haven Reads
- New Haven YMCA
- Phenomenal, I Am
- r'Kids
- Shubert Theater/CAPA
- Solar Youth
- Soundview YMCA
- Sportsometry
- Squash Haven
- The Boys & Girls Club of New Haven
- We Are the Village
- Youth Entrepreneurs
Grant Review Committee:
- George Black
- Juan Boone
- Mike Degen
- Tracey Foskey
- Darcy Hudson
- Nile Lee
- Marquis McGraw
- Marc Pamelard
- Edwardo Perez
- Frankie Roman
- Fatima Sampedro-Valle
- Michael Twitty
- Tomi Veale
- Angela Wardlaw
