Monthly Archives: July 2015

Community Foundation of Middlesex County Supports Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries

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Volunteers set up for food distribution at the SSKP Old Saybrook pantry hosted by First Church of Christ in Saybrook, Congregational.

Volunteers set up for food distribution at the SSKP Old Saybrook pantry hosted by First Church of Christ in Saybrook.

The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries (SSKP) has received a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County through the River View Cemetery Fund.  This funding will purchase fresh and non-perishable food to be distributed to needy families and individuals on the shoreline.

“SSKP is so grateful for this generous support through the Community Foundation of Middlesex County. This donation helps assure that all our neighbors will have a place to turn to for food and fellowship.  With these funds specifically we will be able to purchase enough food for over 12,800 meals.” said Patty Dowling, executive director of SSKP.

“Access to food is such a basic necessity, and no one should have to worry about where to get food for their families,” stated Cynthia Clegg, President & CEO of the Community Foundation of Middlesex County. “Together, we are impacting our communities by addressing basic services and needs. It takes a community to make a difference, and we are grateful to have so many individuals who care and choose to work with and through the Community Foundation to make a difference, such as helping to purchase food for Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries. That is community philanthropy at work in Middlesex County.”

The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries provides food and fellowship to people in need and educates the community about hunger and poverty, serving 11 Connecticut shoreline towns. Last year with a small staff and over 900 dedicated volunteers, SSKP distributed enough food for almost 950,000 meals to over 8,200 shoreline neighbors in need.

For information about how to receive help, or how to support SSKP’s mission, visit www.shorelinesoupkitchens.org, or call (860) 388-1988.

The Community Foundation of Middlesex County is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for the people of the County, now and in the future, by developing endowments, making grants that have impact and assisting donors in meeting their philanthropic objectives. Since its founding in 1997, the Community Foundation has awarded 1,295 grants totaling more than $4 million for the arts, cultural and heritage programs, educational activities, environmental improvements and for health and human services.

For more information, contact the Community Foundation at 860.347.0025 or info@MiddlesexCountyCF.org.

Weiss’s ‘Painting the Figure’ Exhibit on Show at Cooley Gallery

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An opening reception for “Painting the Figure,” an exhibition and sale of figure paintings by Jerry Weiss, will be held at The Cooley Gallery this afternoon, Wednesday, July 15, from 4 to 6 p.m. The public is welcome.

Weiss comes from a family of artists — his father was a celebrated cartoonist and his mother a painter.  While Weiss often paints landscapes, he always returns to rendering the human figure. As a young artist and with his parents support he dedicated six years to the study of the human form.

Weiss explains, “My goal was to create a visual diary that would be a pictorial of family and friends. Then, as now, I am intrigued by the portrait as a most sacred subject.” Through rich paint application and both intuitive and intellectual editing, Weiss’s subjects pulse with vitality.

Capturing a moment or a mood with laser-like insight, Weiss’s subjects present themselves to the viewer with a singular clarity. He comments, “I work from life. I like to paint fairly large and rapidly.”

Though known to many as an accomplished painter of portraits, Weiss is also a published writer, wordsmith and teacher, admired for his clarity, insight and wit.

Weiss has had numerous solo exhibitions in museums and galleries. He teaches figure drawing and painting year-round at the Art Students League of New York and leads intensive workshops around the country. He was an instructor at Lyme Academy College for 15 years and is a Contributing Editor to The Artist’s Magazine, for which he writes features and the ‘Master Class’ column.

This exhibition of a dozen figure paintings and drawings will be on view at The Cooley Gallery, 25 Lyme St., through Aug. 15.

Weiss will also be teaching a class at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts of the University of New Haven this summer.  For more information, visit www.lymeacademy.edu.

Founded in 1981 and located in the heart of historic Old Lyme, the Cooley Gallery specializes in fine American paintings from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, including the Hudson River School, American Impressionism, and select contemporary artists. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (860) 434-8807or email info@cooleygallery.com f

White Elephant Sale Opens at 8am Today, Final Day of Deep Discounts

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And they're off! When the church bell rings at 9 a.m. on July 12, this will again be the scene.

And they’re off! When the church bell rings at 8 a.m. today, this will again be the scene.

The final day of the annual White Elephant Sale (WES) hosted by the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme is today from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and most prices are discounted by 50 percent.

The sale opened yesterday at 9 a.m. precisely — but you can be sure that wasn’t be the same time that the first customers arrive!  People were standing in pole positions around the roped-off lawn outside the church much earlier vying for positions to snap up potential bargains spotted from a distance.

This is the 78th successive year that the sale has been held and it is firmly established as one of the main events on both the town and church calendars.

Garage and rummage sales are regular events, but few can match the size and color of this one.  The sale items are organized into some 20 departments that fill the church buildings and every available space on the lawn.

The sale is sponsored by the Ladies Benevolent Society (LBS) of the church and raises money for missions and good works both locally and through out the world.  Beneficiaries run the gamut from food pantries, health organizations, family support centers, children’s programs, world relief, housing and many many more.

Now so large, the sale has not only become a community event but also one that many visitors plan their vacations around so as to attend or work the WES.  In fact, many donations and a number of workers are from non-church members.  All 200 or so volunteers pitch in for two weeks collecting, sorting, pricing and organizing items awaiting the big day on Friday when the crowds anxiously gather outside the ropes surrounding the church.

When the clock in the bell tower strikes nine, the ropes come down and the shoppers run for their favorite departments looking for those hidden treasures.  There is lunch and soda to refresh the shoppers so they can repeat the same process again on Saturday morning, but then the sale starts at 8 a.m. and runs through noon, and most prices are discounted 50 percent.

Click to view a video of a recent sale on Youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgdr_mumBxo

For further information, call the church office at 860-434-8686, option 5.

Literacy Volunteers Valley Shore Host Annual Meeting, July 21

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Literacy Volunteers Valley Shore (LVVS) will hold its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, July 21, at 6 p.m. at the Old Saybrook Point Pavilion, 150 College St., Old Saybrook.

This year’s Annual Meeting will feature speaker Mark O’Brien, author of the children’s book “Martin the Marlin” and our newest board member.

In addition, the presentation of the Annual Barrie Potter Tutor of the Year Award, the Vi Brache Student of the Year Award and the Volunteer of the Year award will take place.

For more information, contact the LVVS office by calling 860-399-0280, emailing info@vsliteracy.org, or stopping by the office at 61 Goodspeed Dr., Westbrook, CT.

CIRMA Recognizes Estuary Transit District for Promoting Risk Management as an Organizational Priority

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town_transit_busThe Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency (CIRMA) presented a 2015 Risk Management Achievement Award to the Estuary Transit District for making risk management an organizational priority. Their efforts, led by the District’s Director Joseph Commerford, created a culture focused on the safety of its employees and passengers.

The District established broad-based programs to reduce loss costs, including creating a formal Return-to-Work program, performing facility assessments, reviewing incident reports to identify root causes, and revising procedures.

The achievement award was presented to the Estuary Transit District at CIRMA’s May 22 awards ceremony. CIRMA, the state’s leading municipal insurer, is a member-owned and governed organization that works to empower municipalities, public schools, and local public agencies to better manage risk.

David Demchak, Senior Vice President of CIRMA, said to the audience of almost 100 municipal and school leaders, “Our awards program acknowledges the organizational and the personal commitment our members have made to protect their fellow employees from injury, protect property, and to keep Connecticut’s communities safe.”

CIRMA’s mission is to reduce losses and their costs by improving its members’ understanding of risk and the ways to manage it. CIRMA’s Risk Management Achievement Awards program was begun in 1981 to recognize the risk management and safety initiatives that prevent accidents and make positive improvements in Connecticut communities.

The program has expanded over the years, recognizing achievements in such areas as property management and sustained results. The program provides CIRMA members a forum in which they can share ideas and learn new methods to reduce losses.

CIRMA, owned and governed by its members, operates two risk-sharing pools: the Workers’ Compensation Pool and the Liability-Automobile-Property Pool. It also provides risk management services to self- insured municipalities and local public agencies. Today, CIRMA’s membership includes over 85 percent of the state’s municipalities and has Premiums of $90 million and Assets under management of over $360 million.

For more information about CIRMA’s Risk Management Achievement Award Program, contact George Tammaro, CIRMA Risk Management Supervisor, at gtammaro@ccm-ct.org, or visit www.CIRMA.org.