Friendly Champions

Greetings!  A letter from Mr. Chuck Clarke, Honorary Campaign Chair

Let me say hello and welcome everyone to the Village’s first E-newsletter devoted to the Champions for Children Bicentennial Campaign.  We want to keep our friendly Champions updated as to how we are doing toward reaching our three-year goal since last September, and how our teamwork is paying off.  Just as importantly, we want to encourage more people from our community to go ahead and make the decision to become a Champion for Children. 

The children and families that are served at the Village face considerable challenges and need a strong safety net of support services. Yet, despite significant challenges, they also possess the strengths and power to succeed if they receive the necessary resources and support.  Hartford’s children and families need Champions now more than ever, and you can help the Village provide the hope, care, and opportunity they are so deserving of.

Involvement, commitment, compassion, support, leadership and teamwork are just a few of the qualities that describe a Champion. By joining the campaign you will not only support the Villages work, but you can be part of an organization that has demonstrated the qualities of a Champion throughout its 200 years of dedicated service to our community.  United we can make the Villages campaign a success.

Chuck Clarke

Vice Chair, Travelers

Honorary Chair, Bicentennial Campaign

Biography:  Mr. Chuck & Mrs. Rosemarie Clarke

Both Chuck and Rosemarie Clarke are long time Connecticut residents. Having raised six children together, they have also been active in working and volunteering in the greater Hartford community for many years.

Currently serving as the Vice Chairman of Travelers, Mr. Clarke first joined the company in 1958. Since then, he has held various positions with management responsibility for many aspects of the company. In December 2001 he was named President of Travelers Property Casualty and was named Vice Chairman of the Travelers Companies, Inc. in 2004.

Mrs. Clarke has supported the Village with her gifts of time and talent as a Village Auxiliary for more than twenty years.

Where We Are in the Campaign!

July 2008                  September 2009           Goal for June 2011

Champions of Note!

 Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

The Home Away from Home Campaign      $400,000.  

Travelers  

The Travelers
Early Childhood Learning Center                $250,000.  

Village Board of Directors        

Unrestricted Gifts                                    $361,210.

A Donor Profile:

Mr. Barry Lastra and Alison Coolbrith - A Team of Champions

Our gift to The Village is the largest campaign contribution we have ever made to an organization. It comes from the both of us having shared similar roots as children; we came from poor, working class families who persistently worked hard and who always strove to be successful. When we see the children who are helped by the Village, it really brings home to us the difficulties that many children and their families must confront when they face societal, economic, and high risk peer pressures. Especially when children have to deal with these hardships in combination with other physical or mental disabilities, hope must be kept alive.

 The Village represents all that is right about the intersection of public and private resources, the creative and frugal use of funds, and in it's having a dedicated and passionate group of staff and volunteers. Both of us regularly marvel at the Village's myriad accomplishments, which often go understated or unknown in our Hartford community.

 To say that our gift to the Champions for Children Bicentennial Campaign gives us pleasure is an understatement as well. We are very proud to be working with everyone who is so involved and committed toward providing and innovating effective services for children - services that will have long lasting and measurable results. In our hearts, both Alison and I know that all of our lifetime of work has paid off in our ability to help those who are less fortunate. We consider it an honor to be recognized as a Champion Team in this Village publication.

 Alison Coolbrith and Barry Lastra

About the Champions for Children Bicentennial Campaign

The three-year Champions for Children Bicentennial Campaign is your opportunity to participate in the creation and implementation of critical programs and infrastructure improvements that will directly benefit the children and families that the Village serves.  Campaign Priorities are the Home Away from Home Program, the Academy for Successful Families, the Home Room program, and the Home for Good program.

The social and economic challenges these residents face are immense, and your gift to the Campaign will help the Village continue to transform the lives of Hartford's most vulnerable children and families.

For information on ways to give, campaign naming opportunities, or of the impact your gift will have on the children and families we serve, please contact our Development Office at (860) 297-0544. Click here for information on the web site.

Isn't it Your Turn To Be a Champion For Children?