Canton, CT May 17, 2023…Canton Community Health Fund (CCHF) today announced the distribution of nearly $45,000 in grants and scholarships to nonprofits that benefit the Health, Safety and Well-Being of Canton’s residents, and to individuals pursuing careers in a health-related field.
Sylvia Cancela, CCHF Chair: “Canton Community Health Fund’s grant award recipients – our Community Partners – use their talents and commitment to positively impact the lives of our neighbors, friends and family, every single day. Our Dr. Diters Scholarship award recipients, whose health-care ambitions we support, will make their marks into the future. We are proud to fund their endeavors as they, and we all, move forward with purpose, determination and promise.”
2023 Grants
The following grants, worth a total of nearly $42,000, were awarded to a diverse group of 12 non-profit organizations – CCHF’s 2023 Community Partners:
– Canton Emergency Fuel Bank provides assistance to residents through payment of unprecedented heating and electric expenses.
– Canton Fire & EMS Department’s new drone, equipped with thermal imaging, infrared/high resolution technology, will greatly enhance the visual capabilities of firefighters and EMT’s during woodland/river search and rescue calls, brush fire scene management, structure fires and large event operations – when time is of the essence for life safety.
– Canton Food Bank will expand their partnerships with local farms, to increase the availability of fresh fruit and produce for clients.
– Canton High School will host their annual Substance-Free Graduation Event at Big Sky in Simsbury. CCHF’s Community Sponsorship not only celebrates these graduates, but also supports this evening of health, safety and well-being.
– Canton Parks & Recreation will place two new Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) into service at youth sport facilities in Canton, to increase emergency preparedness.
– Canton Police Department will purchase Personal Flotation Devices and Rope Throw Bags, for each police cruiser, to enhance officer and patient safety during rescues on the Farmington River.
CPD will also purchase Stop the Bleed Kits/Go Bags for every officer to use during a wide variety of emergency responses.
– FAVRAH: The Arc of the Farmington Valley is adding 2 outdoor gliding benches to their therapeutic Day Services program. These benches are designed to aid in managing sensory processing disorders, resulting in enhanced community engagement and decreased stress for their clients.
– Focus on Canton working through Canton Social Services, provides short-term financial assistance to Town residents, for payment of utilities, rent, medical bills, etc., so they can remain in their homes.
– Gifts of Love provides household goods, fuel, mental health and financial resources, in addition to their weekend backpack food program, to Canton residents.
– Healing Meals Community Project provides organic meals, for up to 12 weeks, to Canton residents facing health crises.
– A Promise to Jordan will host educational programming and resources to help build awareness both before and after addiction impacts families in the Canton community.
– SpiritHorse Therapeutic Riding Center of Canton manages Connecticut’s only licensed therapy riding center to offer lessons and programming for Canton’s children, teens and adults with disabilities, veterans and their families and clients of other community organizations in Town.
Dr. Diters Scholarships
Two Canton High School (CHS) graduating seniors will each receive $1,000 Dr. Diters Scholarships to pursue majors in: Cellular and Organismal Physiology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh, respectively. These awards will be announced at a special CHS ceremony in June.
Canton resident Amanda May, a 2022 CHS graduate, also received a $1,000 Scholarship to support her continuing education at University of Massachusetts, where she is majoring in Chemistry with a concentration in Math. Amanda plans to pursue a medical career specializing in cancer research.
Cancela: “We congratulate all of Canton Community Health Fund’s Community Partners and Scholarship recipients, and thank them for their ongoing efforts to enhance the Health, Safety and Well-Being of our entire community.”
Canton Community Health Fund is a private foundation that accepts gifts and bequests for the benefit of Canton residents. Our all-volunteer Board manages the investment of the Fund, programming, distribution of grants and the Dr. Diters Scholarship. We invite you to support CCHF’s Mission through gifts of your time and/or donations which help us to help the entire Canton community. Contributions can be made to CCHF via mail at P.O. Box 75, Collinsville, CT 06022 or through our website www.cantoncommunityhealthfund.org. Follow us at @CantonCommunityHealthFund.
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Last modified: May 18, 2023