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Elsa Núñez, Eastern Connecticut State University president, talks about the dual enrollment program at Eastern and Quinebaug Valley Community College with participating students and their mentors.
[Photo: Jake Koteen] |
Education opportunities for Hispanics, access to healthcare improve thanks to giving circles at the Hartford Foundation
Ismael Gracia had no plan to continue his education after he graduated last year from Hartford Public High School. Now he's a full-time college student and says the program that put him there is "an amazing thing."
Mark Belsky, a family physician in Hartford for 26 years, sees the link between bad diet and disease every day. This makes him a passionate advocate for a new program that will provide life-saving nutrition information to help counter "an obesity epidemic."
The programs praised by Ismael and Dr. Belsky are supported by two giving circles at the Hartford Foundation - the Latino Endowment Fund and the Catalyst Endowment Fund.
Latino Endowment Fund
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Ismael Gracia is grateful for the program that is helping him attend college.
[Photo: Jake Koteen] | Ismael is among nine Hartford students in a dual-enrollment program started in the 2008-09 school year at Eastern Connecticut State University and Quinebaug Valley Community College. The students, who benefit from specialized tutoring and mentoring services, were identified by guidance counselors as being highly-motivated but not college-bound. The full-tuition program is supported by a two-year, $40,000 grant awarded in 2007 from the Latino Endowment Fund.
The program addresses an issue highlighted by the Pew Hispanic Center: The percentage of Hispanic students who begin at a community college and earn a bachelor's degree is barely half that of their Caucasian peers.
"I wanted to try a new strategy to give these students hope and a future," said Eastern President Elsa M. Núñez, who originated the program. "If we can make a difference in a few young lives at a time, it will be worth the effort."
Ismael agrees. College, he says, has "opened my eyes" to career opportunities.
Catalyst Endowment Fund
Dr. Belsky's comments were among the many offered during a discussion of healthcare access at the Catalyst Endowment Fund's 15th anniversary meeting where two $25,000 grants were endorsed by members.
Receiving grants are:
- The "Healthy Hartford - Healthy Eating Project," to be run by the Area Health Education Center Program at the University of Connecticut Health Center. The project will provide culturally-appropriate nutrition information - in English and Spanish, in print and in meetings - to hundreds of patients with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity at two Hartford health centers.
- Malta House of Care Foundation, Inc. to help expand hours of operation and add a fourth mobile clinic site in Hartford to provide free primary care to the uninsured. Malta House, a nonprofit, is staffed by volunteer physicians, nurses and support staff. It has recorded more than 7,000 patient visits since it was established in 2006. The grant will enable the purchase of approximately 1,200 prescriptions.
Members of the Latino Endowment Fund and Catalyst Endowment Fund pool their donations to the respective funds, study issues affecting the Greater Hartford community, and make grant recommendations. For 2009, Catalyst Fund members are exploring access to affordable, healthy food for area residents. The Latino Fund is examining how to support civic engagement among Latinos.
For more information about the Foundation's giving circles, visit www.hfpg.org/typesoffunds or call the philanthropic services department at 860-548-1888.
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