Healing Meals Project, Mental Health Connecticut Earn Grant Awards from Red Sox Foundation
/The Healing Meals Project, based in Bloomfield and serving the Greater Hartford region, is described as the state’s only non-profit that experientially teaches about healthy foods from ‘start to finish,’ preparing and delivering delicious, organic meals for families dealing with a serious health crisis, and cooking nutrient-rich meals prepared by youth volunteers working alongside adult mentors and an Executive Chef.
The community-building initiative has received a significant financial boost from the Boston Red Sox Foundation, with the announcement that the nonprofit is Connecticut’s winning organization from among five nonprofit finalists this year in online fan voting.
As the official team charity of the Boston Red Sox, the Red Sox Foundation's mission is to serve children, families, veterans and communities in need through health, education and recreation opportunities across New England. Founded in 2002, the Red Sox Foundation is the largest team charity in all professional sports.
Each year the theme of the IMPACT (Inspiring More Philanthropy Across Charities Together) Award focus changes to respond to the evolving needs of communities, while staying aligned to the Red Sox Foundation mission. Foundation officials noted that as the spread of COVID-19 directly impacts non-profit organizations across New England, “it’s important now more than ever to take care of our mental health. As such, the IMPACT Awards this year will focus on organizations that have demonstrated an impact on raising awareness and improving the mental health outcomes of the people in their community.”
The organizations with the most fan votes in each of the six New England states wins a grant; $10,000 for first place and $2,500 for second place. Organizations were nominated last month and finalists were named on June 9, when online voting began. The winners in each state were announced last week.
As the top vote-getter from Connecticut, the Healing Meals Project will receive a grant of $10,000. Second place finisher Mental Health Connecticut will receive a $2,500 grant. Mental Health Connecticut, through advocacy, education, and service, empowers people to promote mental wellness, instigate meaningful systems change, and engage in mental health recovery furthering the mission to improve mental health for all Connecticut residents.
Healing Meals Community Foundation was founded in 2016 by Sarah Leathers, built on “three certainties:”
Nutrient-rich food is a necessary part of a person’s overall well-being.
Young people must be central participants in shaping our collective future.
When individuals are linked to their community, they have an overall sense of connection.
“Our dual mission drives us to deliver on those beliefs,” the organization’s website explains. “We provide healthy organic meals to people in a health crisis while fostering compassion and empowering youth and adult volunteers in our communities.”
A recent poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that 45 percent of all adults believe the coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on their mental health. In addition, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that 6.5 million Americans aged 65 and older are dealing with some level of depression. With social isolation measures in place in much of the world, loneliness has become a familiar facet of everyday life, but especially for older Americans living by themselves, in nursing homes or retirement communities.
The other Connecticut finalists were:
Andover, Hebron, Marlborough Youth and Family Services, Inc., promoting and supporting the health and well-being of children, youth and families for themselves and for the greater good of the communities.
Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation, named in memory of a Sandy Hook victim, is a nonprofit organization with a mission to create safer and more loving communities through groundbreaking next generation social and emotional learning (SEL) programs that are suited for all stages of life.
Journey Found, providing behavioral, residential and other support services to individuals of Connecticut with pervasive developmental disorders and intellectual disabilities to enable each to become all they are capable of being.
The 6th Annual IMPACT Awards is presented by Ruderman Family Foundation. The IMPACT Awards provide Red Sox fans with the opportunity to nominate their favorite local non-profit organization for their chance to win a grant from the Red Sox Foundation. Out of all the nominees received, Red Sox Foundation names five finalists from each state – Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
First place finishers in each state will receive a $10,000 charitable contribution to the nonprofit/501(c)(3), On-field check presentation prior to a 2020 Red Sox game (hopefully!) and four (4) tickets to a 2020 Red Sox home game, along with recognition on redsox.com and redsoxfoundation.org and a custom Red Sox jersey. Second place finishers will receive A $2,500 charitable contribution to the nonprofit/501(c)(3), four (4) tickets to a 2020 Red Sox home game, recognition on redsox.com and redsoxfoundation.org and a custom Red Sox jersey.
Last year’s top recipients from Connecticut were the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center and Greater New Britain Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Inc. In 2018, Community Action Agency of Western Connecticut and River House Adult Day Center were selected.
