$185,000 Grant to Help Keep Farmington Valley Nurses ‘At Home’
January 2012
Plans by the Farmington Valley Visiting Nurse Association to purchase and renovate the building in Granby where it has housed programs for more than two decades have been supported by an $185,000 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
The building at 248 Salmon Brook St. in Granby has been "home" to the Farmington Valley Visiting Nurse Association’s Community Programs Department, the Granby Food Bank and the Granby School Nursing program. The building has been leased from the Town of Granby, which decided to sell the building in 2010.
“After a thorough assessment of the property, the Farmington Valley Visiting Nurse Association Board of Directors and staff decided that it was in the best interest of the Farmington Valley community and the Agency to purchase the property,” said Incy S. Muir, VNA Executive Director. In May 2011, the Agency began a Keep Us at Home campaign to raise $350,000 for the project. Approximately $42,000 remains to be raised.
“This grant will help secure our long term presence in the Farmington Valley and assure the uninterrupted delivery of our important illness prevention services, school nursing program and vital Food Bank, said Muir. “The Farmington Valley VNA remains committed to carrying out its historical mission of providing health care services to individuals of all ages, regardless of ability to pay, and will be able to continue this charitable work thanks to the generosity of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.”
Because of the Granby location, during one year:
- 17,292 Farmington Valley residents benefited from one or more illness prevention or educational programs.
- 1,752 bags of groceries were distributed to 925 food bank participants.
- 10 registered nurses provided school nursing services to the students and administrative staff of Granby’s five public schools.
The Farmington Valley Visiting Nurse Association was founded in 1908, serves residents of Avon, Canton, Farmington, Granby, Hartland, Simsbury and West Hartford. It is a non-profit, state-licensed and Medicare-certified home health agency and hospice based in Simsbury with satellite offices in Farmington and Granby. A comprehensive program of services is available to any individual or family, regardless of ability to pay or other hardship. For more information, visit www.farmingtonvalleyvna.org.
The Hartford Foundation grant includes funding from its Madoff Family Fund in Memory of Emily Madoff, Guy C. and Anne T. Shafer Fund, and Howard Hunt Garmany Fund.
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for the 29-town Greater Hartford region, dedicated to improving the quality of life for area residents. The Hartford Foundation receives gifts from thousands of generous individuals and families and in 2011 awarded grants of more than $28 million to a broad range of area nonprofit organizations. For more information about the Hartford Foundation, and its strategic plan, Accelerate Success, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.