Hartford Foundation’s Latino Endowment Fund supports secondary education and career advancement
The newly renamed Greater Hartford Gives Foundation has approved $50,000 in grants to support Greater Hartford students pursuing a post-secondary education.
HARTFORD, Conn. — Members of the Latino Endowment Fund, or LEF, at the newly renamed Greater Hartford Gives Foundation have approved approximately $50,000 in grants to help local students pursuing post-secondary education and career advancement opportunities.
The community foundation, which was known as the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving until Thursday, issued a release this week detailing how the funding will be distributed.
The UConn School of Social Work, or SSW, earned a $37,000 grant to support its Connecticut ¡Adelante! Program, while Future Forward CT was awarded $12,000.
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Jacqueline Santiago Nazario, the LEF steering committee chair, said her team is proud to invest in programs that eliminate barriers and broaden pathways to post-secondary education and career advancement for Latino learners across Greater Hartford.
“Both the ¡Adelante! program and Future Forward CT exemplify the transformative power of culturally responsive, accessible education,” she said. “These grants reflect our collective commitment to strengthening bilingual talent, supporting adult and first-generation students and building a more equitable future for our community through education and opportunity.”
The Connecticut ¡Adelante! Curriculum is structured for bilingual Spanish-speaking social work students and aims to strengthen students’ linguistic and socio-cultural competencies. Students are prepared to meet the behavioral health needs of the Latin community.
LEF members hope that providing equitable access to social work education for bilingual students will advance social and economic justice for Latino communities that are both underserved and underrepresented.
The program will be administered in a non-discriminatory manner and be open to all UConn students who have met its qualifications.
According to the release, Connecticut ¡Adelante! offers four specialized English/Spanish bilingual courses in the SSW’s Individuals, Groups and Families concentration.
Students also engage in two 480-hour practicums in community agencies, schools or state agencies working with diverse Latin people. The program’s courses are included as part of the overall social work curriculum with no additional cost for participating.
Students who are admitted to the program are named Connecticut ¡Adelante! Scholars.
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Program participants learn to strengthen their linguistic and socio-cultural competencies, gain practical experience serving Spanish-speaking populations and prepare for a career serving the mental health needs of Spanish-speaking people across the state.
Milagros Marrero-Johnson, UConn SSW’s senior director of Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement, said that the university is deeply grateful to receive support from the foundation’s LEF to provide scholarships to bilingual students participating in the program.
“This funding comes at a critical moment, as our current source of support is nearing its end,” Marrero-Johnson said. “These scholarships will help offset educational costs and ease the financial burden on our students.”
Future Forward CT will use the grant money to further pursue its mission of making a college degree accessible for adult learners. The grant supports the program’s ability to lessen financial barriers for passionate adult learners and fund opportunities enabling them to build upon their skills, credentials and networking to expand their careers.
By partnering with Southern New Hampshire University, Future Forward CT provides flexible, self-paced, competency-based online degree programs meant for modern adult learners.
Students are supported by a dedicated coach, who motivates them, guides them and holds them accountable to keep them on track and moving forward.
The model is supported by engagement in ongoing virtual and in-person events associated with academic, career and personal success and comprehensive support.
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Felicia Edwards-Smith, the founding executive director of Future Forward CT, said the grant money directly strengthens the program’s ability to remove financial barriers that too often force adult learners to pause or abandon their education.
“By reducing out-of-pocket tuition costs and supporting real-world, career-connected learning opportunities, this funding helps our students persist, complete their degrees and move toward the economic mobility that supports long-term stability and growth,” Edwards-Smith said.
The LEF was founded in 2003 by Latino leaders in the Greater Hartford area to increase philanthropy locally while strengthening nonprofits working to improve the quality of life for Latino residents.
Members of the LEF analyze issues that impact the Latino community and recommend grants from the fund to mend them.
Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at [email protected].
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