l to r: Brian Reilly Chief Auditor Travelers, Jeanmarie Cooper Board Chair Village, Galo Rodriguez CEO Village, Chuck Clarke Vice Chairman Travelers, Rosemarie Clarke, and Mayor Perez.

Village Cuts Ribbon for The Travelers Early Childhood Learning Center

 The Village is pleased to announce that on Friday, May 29, 2009, it welcomed Mayor Eddie Perez and other local leaders to help cut the ribbon to commemorate the opening of the Travelers Early Childhood Learning Center. The Center provides needed school readiness programming for Hartford children, ages 3 to 6. While the Center has been operating for several months, the May 29 event offered the Village the chance to acknowledge the Travelers Foundation, which provided a generous grant to establish the Center. The grant from Travelers Foundation is also a lead gift in the Village's Champions for Children Bicentennial Campaign, a 3-year, $5-million fund raising effort to support and strengthen agency programs.

The Travelers Early Childhood Learning Center is an essential component of the Academy for Successful Families, the Village's innovative integrated system of delivery for early childhood services. Created in partnership with the Mayor's Office for Young Children and the statewide Healthy Child Development Workgroup, the Academy is grounded in existing programs and addresses gaps in service for children aged birth to 8 and their family members.

The Travelers Early Childhood Learning Center responds to an identified need for school readiness programming in Hartford. In 2005, Hartford Mayor Perez released the Blueprint for Young Children, which offered a comprehensive portrait of the challenges that the city's children face and prescriptions for change. Among the areas cited for improvement was school readiness. The Travelers Early Childhood Learning Center operates year-round, providing residents of Hartford with full-day, early education programming in an environment that fosters independence, confidence and self-esteem among children of diverse backgrounds.

"Travelers has made a significant commitment to education in the Hartford region," said Dr. Rodriguez.. "Maximizing opportunities for young children is crucial if they are to have the best chances at success later in life. As corporate citizens of Hartford, Travelers understands this and the Village is honored to be partnering with them on this important initiative."

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV), a leading auto, home and business insurer, provides support for charitable organizations in the community through the Travelers Foundation and with corporate funding and in-kind services. The company's community giving is focused on education, community development and the arts.  Travelers' employees are consistently active in community initiatives and perform thousands of hours in volunteer time each year. For more information, visit www.travelers.com.

 The Village for Families and Children, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in 1809 that provides services for families and children in the Hartford region. Two centuries later, the Village has evolved to become one of the largest community service organizations in the greater Hartford region, helping families and touching the lives of thousands of children, women, and men annually through adoption and foster care programs, outpatient and residential health services, parental education and community support services.  To learn more about the Village visit www.villageforchildren.org