Jorge Casasnovas of Avon has been named chair of the steering committee for the Latino Endowment Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the community foundation serving the 29-town Greater Hartford region. Casasnovas is the principal of Casasnovas Consulting, LLC, an independent retirement consulting firm that provides support to plan sponsors, recordkeeping companies, third party administrators and financial advisors.

With road races halted for the pandemic, HMF created new ways to encourage runners in 2020. The Foundation will continue to rally support for community charities and provide opportunities for runners and walkers to enjoy mental and physical benefits of exercise. Looking optimistically toward the possibility of in-person races in 2021, HMF releases the race calendar and opens limited field registration for the annual Eversource Hartford Marathon & Half Marathon (October 9, 2021).

The Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority (CHESLA) has reduced the interest rate it will charge student loan refinance borrowers on future loans. The lower rates will make the refinance program more impactful for our applicants.

(Middletown, CT. Jan. 19, 2021.) David W. Glidden, President and CEO of Liberty Bank and President of the Liberty Bank Foundation, today announced the Liberty Bank team has awarded a $10,000 grant to the Middlesex County NAACP to support two much-needed and timely programming initiatives for children and adults.The $10,000 grant, through the Liberty Bank Foundation, will support two critical programs offered by the Middlesex County NAACP: “Young Reader’s Pilot Reading Program for African American and Latino Boys” and “Protecting our Health from the Impacts of Race, Racism, and COVID-19.”

Despite the challenges of 2020, the third cohort of Upward’s innovation program continued in-person over the last six months, bringing live use cases to Hartford properties and healthcare partners. The ten companies’ virtual presentations on Tuesday, February 16th, 2021, will address how their technologies alleviated critical health and operational issues amplified by COVID-19, such as social isolation for seniors, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency in buildings.

A three-year, $2.7 million federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) will facilitate and expand family-based addiction treatment and other services for pregnant and postpartum women with histories of substance use disorders. Wheeler received $337,500 annually for three years and is partnering with DMHAS on a pilot program entitled, “PROUD: Parents Recovering from Opioid Use Disorders.” Wheeler will serve individuals in New Britain, Bristol, and surrounding communities.