Board of Christian Service

The Board of Christian Service (BCS) is charged with the responsibility of distributing and monitoring the outreach funds of Asylum Hill Congregational Church. The BCS is also charged with the responsibility of distributing and monitoring funds entrusted to AHCC for specific missions.

The Board of Christian Service continued its objective of making larger awards to organizations that best meet our criteria. Our intent is to help these organizations improve and expand the services they provide to the Asylum Hill neighborhood. BCS also determined that first priority needed to be given to outreach organizations created/sponsored by Asylum Hill Congregational Church. To accomplish this objective, BCS made the difficult decision not to award grants to a number of organizations it had, mainly out of tradition, made awards to in the past.

In 2007 BCS awarded grants to 35 programs and organizations for a total of $268,500. The 2008 grants will be approximately the same amount, but will be awarded to fewer programs and organizations.

Some of the criteria for giving are:

              1. Will the grant address the need for food, housing, education and social services?

              2. Will the grant focus primarily on the Asylum Hill neighborhood?

              3. Will the grant make a difference?

              4. Is this organization one in which AHCC members are active and interested?

Some of the programs and organizations that will receive 2008 grants are:

AHCC Senior High Missions; Boys & Girls Club; ConnectiKids: Covenant to Care; Crisis Food Support Program; Foodshare; Loaves & Fishes; School for Young Children on Asylum Hill; Hartford Interval House;          South Park Inn; Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity.

I thank the Board of Christian Service members Patti Beckett, Meg Casey, Marie Dalton-Meyer, Ron Georgeff, Jim Goodridge, Alan Green, Beverly Hughes, Russ Jones, Christian Schrader, Marie Spivey, Josh Sullivan, Jan Tracey and Kink Terry for their continued support and excellent results.

Special thank you to Fredd Ward for his support and guidance.

Respectfully submitted,

Ed Barlow, chair