Hartford Foundation Awards More Than $800,000 to Greater Hartford Summer Programs

More than 7,600 school-age children and youth will participate in summer learning programs 

While summer is often seen as a carefree time, for parents and other caregivers with young children, it can be anything but. Once school is out in June, many families struggle to secure reliable care for their children while they work. For low-income families, finding an affordable option may feel impossible.

Fortunately, more than 7,600 school-age children and youth across Greater Hartford will participate in summer learning programs this year, thanks to $824,350 in grants from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. The grants will support 36 programs, including reduced fee camperships as well as enrichment, tutorial and counselor-in-training programs. Many of these opportunities run from four to eight weeks, with shorter sessions available. The Hartford Foundation targets summer program funding to support Hartford youth, those with disabilities from throughout the Greater Hartford region, with opportunities that come at low or no cost to families. Following two summers of remote or hybrid activities, this year these programs are planning to be fully in person – providing young people the chance to step away from their screens to enjoy summer outside.

The Hartford Foundation has a long history of supporting summer programs, with grants dating back to the 1930s. More than $5 million has been awarded for these programs just in the last six years.

“Support for summer learning programs provides thousands of Hartford families with the opportunity to ensure that their children have a safe and enriching summer experience, while allowing parents and caregivers to continue working,” said Hartford Foundation Director of Community Impact Grantmaking Megan Burke. “Providing Hartford youth with the opportunity to participate in counselor-in-training programs also offers young people their first employment opportunity and financial support for themselves and their families.”

Foundation support for summer programs advances the Foundation’s interest in increasing employment opportunities for Black and Latinx residents, both through increased career exposure and employment skills for Hartford youth and by removing a barrier to employment for families through quality, reliable childcare. Summer programming for people with disabilities includes programming for youth and adults. In both cases, Foundation funding offers people with disabilities from low-income families an enriching experience that would otherwise not be affordable and provides respite to family caregivers who often juggle employment and full-time care for their loved ones.

In addition, older youth benefit from access to quality summer programming to mitigate summer learning loss, improve academic engagement, overall positive out-of-school/summertime structured activity. The Foundation summer program grants contribute to a range of programs to enhance their academic, social and emotional well-being. Partnerships with the 4-H Center at Auerfarm, Connecticut Science Center, Hartford Public Library and Goodwin University have made additional enrichment options accessible to the participants.

To assist families in applying for summer program opportunities, the Foundation awarded a grant to the Connecticut Afterschool Network to support the development of an updated 2022 Summer Program Directory, which can be found at www.ctyouthdirectory.org.

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for Hartford and 28 surrounding towns. Through partnerships, the Foundation seeks to strengthen communities in Greater Hartford by putting philanthropy in action to dismantle structural racism and achieve equity in social and economic mobility. Made possible by the gifts of generous individuals, families and organizations, the Foundation has awarded grants of more than $894 million since its founding in 1925. For more information, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.

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