Christine E. Moser – A Life in Service to Her Community
In October of 1992 Christine established the Christine E. Moser Foundation so that after her death (December 18, 1992) she could still enrich her beloved community and the organizations that she felt so passionately about. Among these were the Friends of the Cora J. Belden Library, the Rocky Hill Historical Society, Friends of Dinosaur State Park, Goodspeed Opera House, New Britain Museum of American Art, the Center Stage Players and the Rocky Hill Garden Club. She was also an employee and volunteer at the Connecticut Public Radio and Connecticut Public Television. The Foundation’s trustees continue to carry out Christine’s wishes to fund arts, theater and literacy organizations as well as the organizations she supported during her life.
“There’s something out there for everyone. You don’t have to be a part of organized volunteerism. You can help someone that needs help. The seed of volunteerism can be taking out an elderly lady’s trash can. It can start on a very individual basis — doing whatever you can do.”
The pandemic has given all of us challenges over the past year and nonprofit organizations are no exception. Arts, education and literacy nonprofits have needed to find creative ways to continue providing programs and services to their clients, patrons and audiences. Performances, educational activities and outreach have changed dramatically. The Christine Moser Foundation has made grants this year to CT nonprofits to help them provide innovative programs.
During the past year the foundation has provided funding for the following organizations:
Connecticut Public Television – $5,000 for their web-based Thinkalong program which uses curated public media journalism to build media literacy, critical thinking and civil discourse skills among middle and high school aged learners.
Literacy Volunteers of Central Connecticut – $7, 500 to support their work with immigrants who are at the lowest levels of literacy as well as other adults who lack basic skills in literacy and numeracy many of whom have not completed high school. During the pandemic many of their students have lost jobs or are having difficulty finding work. LVCC programs improve the quality of their lives.
Goodspeed Opera House – $6,000 for their Virtual Arts Education Collaboration (AEC). In a virtual setting it provides underserved Connecticut students with arts based curriculum and workshops in conjunction with viewing an archival recording of a recent Goodspeed production
Vista Life Innovations – $5,000 for their 2022 program “A Shared Stage”. In collaboration with the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center the program gives people with disabilities with mentoring from the local community theater the opportunity to put on a show at The Kate.
Friends of the Westbrook Public Library – $2,500 to support the launch of Hoopla Digital for Libraries and Make and Take activities for children. Hoopla Digital is an online catalog of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and video that library patrons can access from anywhere the internet is available.
Rocky HIll Historical Society – $1,500 to assist with renovating and upgrading their library and make more resources available online.
Friends of Dinosaur State Park – $1,500 to develop special gardens of prehistoric plants that people can walk through without going in the building.
Friends of the Cora J. Belden Library – $1,500 for improved signage to give library patrons better access to their collections.
