WECA MAKES COMMUNITY GRANTS

Through its philanthropy program, the West End Civic Association has awarded the following grants for worthy projects in the West End:

• Restoration of the West End Nature Trail. Knox Parks will restore the trail along the Park River from Lorraine Street to the Connecticut Historical Society. AmeriCorps’ Green Crew members will visit the trail six times in the summer, raking woodchips into the low spots, installing logs along the weak edges and upslopes, clearing overgrowth and installing signage to recognize notable trees.

• Development and publication of a Neighborhood Blue-Green Map, led by Mary Rickel Pelletier. In this project, Mary will produce an interactive online reference blue-green map to highlight neighborhood environmental characteristics such as community gardens, tree canopy, geology, watershed and information on migratory song birds. The process will include information gathering and meetings with stakeholders. Map will go on WECA website.

•  The Brightest and Best performance, sponsored by the United Methodist Church of Hartford and supported by Noah Webster. This will be the third annual afternoon of music and story celebrating life in the West End, held in December.

• Support for the Rago Coco Little League, a West End baseball league serving youth from five to 13 years old. It offers T-Ball, Coach Pitch and Little League teams. The proposal was submitted by Ted Cannon on behalf of the league

• Writing and printing the Betty Journals, led by Catherine Blinder of Regent Street. Ten to twelve West End children will attend a writing workshop once a week for six weeks to develop skills that will enable them to understand the relationship between the oral tradition of story-telling and the art of writing those stories down on paper. As a tangible goal, they will produce a book, The Betty Journals, which will be provided to their families and friends. The book will be a collection of their stories. There will be a public book-signing and reading at the end of the project for the participating children, their families and friends, and the community.

• A choral after-school program at Noah Webster, led the Choir School of Hartford. The program will provide 20 students in grades 3 to 6 choral training after school in the fall for 13 weeks, twice a week. The West End Children’s Choir will learn beginning and intermediate music and choral signing and participate in the 2011 Brightest and Best concert.

If you wish to volunteer with any of these programs or obtain additional information, please let David Barrett know and he will put you in touch with the organizers. He can be reached at (860) 509-9519 or dbarrett@hartsem.edu.