New Haven's 'Solar Youth' Receives 'Sustainable CT' Funding
Willimantic, CT (01/28/2020) — New Haven is among seven Connecticut municipalities to recently received funding from the Sustainable CT Community Match Fund for a sustainability-oriented community project.
Solar Youth, a New Haven-based organization, raised $17,500 ($35,000 including the Sustainable CT match) from a crowdfunding campaign to grow its 2020 green jobs-development program in the city's West Rock neighborhood.
The Sustainable CT Community Match Fund doubled the funding available for each project with a dollar-for-dollar match. Sustainable CT is an initiative of the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University meant to assist communities in becoming more resilient and sustainable.
Solar Youth staff will now work to recruit participants and finalize partnerships for the internship program, which helps local teens build job-readiness skills and learn about careers in the green sector.
According to Joanne Sciulli, executive director of Solar Youth, the Green Jobs Intern program has proven to be an important employment and learning opportunity for New Haven teens who live in a neighborhood with great need for positive youth development. Sciulli says that interns develop important skills that will help them succeed in life, while engaging in youth-led community service projects that help improve their community and local environment.
About Sustainable CT and Community Match Fund
Sustainable CT is funded by the Hampshire Foundation, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation and Connecticut Green Bank. The Sustainable CT Community Match Fund is an innovative funding resource that provides a dollar-for-dollar match to all donations raised from the community, doubling local investment. The program is helping to bring projects across the state to life by providing fast, accessible funding as well as fundraising coaching and support to residents and organizations with great ideas to make their communities more sustainable.
Anyone in a Sustainable CT-registered municipality (more than 50 percent of the state) is eligible to receive this funding, meaning that schools, nonprofits, community groups and individual residents can all propose projects and access the matching funds. To start a Community Match Fund project, visit ioby.org/sustainablect or contact Sustainable CT's Abe Hilding-Salorio at hildingsalorioa@easternct.edu or 860-465-0256.
"Through the Community Match Fund, we aim to put residents at the forefront of creating positive, impactful change," said Hilding-Salorio, community outreach manager for Sustainable CT. "Match Fund projects are community led and community funded, demonstrating the power of people working together to make change in their communities."
Sustainable CT, an initiative by the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University, provides a roadmap of sustainability best practices for towns, technical assistance, funding and recognition through certification. Forty-seven towns and cities across Connecticut have earned the prestigious Sustainable CT certification, demonstrating accomplishments in nine impact categories including inclusive and equitable communities, cleaner transportation, vibrant arts and culture, natural resource stewardship and affordable housing. Find more information at www.sustainablect.org.
https://easternct.meritpages.com/news/-sustainable-ct--matches--57k-for-community-projects-across-state/13659
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Eastern Connecticut State University is the state of Connecticut's public liberal arts university, serving 5,000 students annually at its Willimantic campus and satellite locations. In addition to attracting students from 162 of Connecticut's 169 towns, Eastern also draws students from 34 other states and 19 countries. A residential campus offering 41 majors and 65 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal art foundation grounded in an array of applied learning opportunities. Ranked among the top 30 public universities in the North Region by U.S. News and World Report in its 2019 Best Colleges ratings, Eastern has also been awarded 'Green Campus' status by the Princeton Review 10 years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.