West Hartford, CT – (May 10, 2019) – NBC Connecticut/WVIT, Telemundo Connecticut/WRDM and the NBCUniversal Foundation today announced that six local non-profit organizations will receive a total of $225,000 in Project Innovation grants. The winning organizations were selected by the stations to help boost programs that are addressing local community issues through innovative solutions in the areas of storytelling, culture of inclusion, youth education and community engagement. This is the second year in a row that NBC Connecticut and Telemundo Connecticut recognize local area non-profit organizations with Project Innovation grants.
"Making an impact through local engagement and empowerment is well aligned with our company's mission at NBC Connecticut and Telemundo Connecticut," said Diane Hannes, President and General Manager, NBC Connecticut and Telemundo Connecticut. "It's hugely rewarding to support these local programs that strengthen our communities and make them a better place to live, work and thrive."
Project Innovation is presented by the NBCUniversal Foundation and NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, a division of NBCUniversal. NBC and Telemundo owned stations located in 11 markets, including Connecticut, kicked off the challenge earlier this year to identify local organizations that are using innovation to develop real-life solutions for their communities. The stations created and convened community panels to review the grant applications and select final grant recipients. This year, nearly $2.5 million in Project Innovation grants have been awarded to not-for-profit organizations in participating markets.
Local Project Innovation 2019 grant recipients include:
Art Council, www.newhavenarts.org - $30,000
The Youth Arts Journalism initiative provides training and support for young people in New Haven - giving them practical experience as freelance journalists covering arts and other community issues.
CT Institute for Refugees, www.cirict.org - $30,000
This program is innovative, as it will be utilizing text and YouTube videos to reach the Connecticut immigrant community in new ways, with regular informative messaging.
Gifts of Love, www.giftsoflovect.org - $15,000
Each week during the school year Gifts of Love provides over 300 backpacks to students identified through their school as not having enough food to eat on the weekends.
Hartford Parent University, www.hartfordparentuniversity.org - $50,000
This organization offers a robust variety of offerings aimed at empowering parents to take a more active role in their children's education as well as become advocates and leaders themselves.
Nature Conservancy, www.nature.org - $25,000
The funding request is for a multimedia campaign centered around changing the conversation on climate change using an inspiring message of hope and pragmatic action.
NE Science & Sailing, www.nessf.org - $75,000
The program uses an innovative and impactful approach of combining sailing and STEM, while focusing on inclusiveness, personal growth, community and environmental stewardship.
Project Innovation 2019 grants were presented to eligible non-profit organizations located in select markets serviced by NBC and Telemundo owned stations, including New York (WNBC, WNJU), Southern California (KNBC, KVEA), Chicago (WMAQ, WSNS), Philadelphia (WCAU, WWSI), Dallas-Fort Worth (KXAS, KXTX), Boston (WBTS, WNEU, NECN), Hartford, CT (WVIT, WRDM), Washington, D.C. (WRC-TV, WZDC), Miami-Fort Lauderdale (WTVJ, WSCV), San Francisco Bay Area (KNTV, KSTS), and San Diego (KNSD, KUAN).
About NBC Connecticut
Owned by NBCUniversal, NBC Connecticut / WVIT serves its audience with local news and weather information across multiple platforms, including more than 40 hours of newscasts each week on WVIT and online at NBCConnecticut.com. The station is Connecticut’s leader with Facebook and Instagram followers and provides mobile users on-the-go breaking news updates and weather information through a customized application. NBC Connecticut’s commitment to excellence in journalism has been recognized with numerous Emmy Awards, and the prestigious Peabody Award and Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.
About Telemundo Connecticut
Telemundo Connecticut / WRDM is Telemundo’s local owned television serving Spanish-language viewers in Hartford, New Haven and Springfield, Connecticut. The station delivers its audiences 10 hours of local news as well as Telemundo network’s world-class programming across all platforms. Telemundo Connecticut features Noticiero Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra, the only local Spanish-language weekday newscast that delivers live, local news, real-time weather forecasts, as well as consumer reports and sports information. WRDM is co-located with NBC Connecticut / WVIT in West Hartford. Telemundo Connecticut’s information can be accessed online at TelemundoNuevaInglaterra.com, through the “Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra” mobile app, the station’s social media channels and on local over-the-air channels 19.1 in Hartford and 50.1 in Springfield, Frontier/AT&T channel 13, Cox channel 20, Altice/Optimum/Cablevision channel 16, and Comcast HD channel 1051.
About NBCUniversal Foundation
NBCUniversal Foundation works to advance initiatives at the cross-section of societal needs and Comcast NBCUniversal’s priorities. The Foundation supports programs and organizations that strive to move communities forward. NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is owned by Comcast Corporation.
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