Twice a year, in the spring and the fall, the Westbrook Foundation provides financial support in the form of grants to nonprofit, non-political organizations whose work promotes and enhances the well-being and safety of the residents of Westbrook.

During its fall 2022 grants cycle, the Foundation awarded $100,178.94 to 12 projects serving a range of stakeholders.

“It’s a privilege to be able to work with local community groups and nonprofit organizations to fund projects that have wide impact on Westbrook residents of all ages,” said Foundation Grants Chair An-Ming Truxes. “Every grant cycle, we are excited by the range of projects represented in the applications and we are proud to be able to financially support them.”

The next grant application deadline is April 1. Eligible organizations are invited to apply via the Foundation’s online Grant Portal. For more information, visit www.westbrookfoundation.org/grants.

Fall 2022 grant recipients and their projects include:

Bare Necessities: $4,000 to provide a supplement of diapers and wipes to meet 70 percent of the monthly diaper need for approximately 100 unduplicated Westbrook babies.

Child & Family Agency: $10,000 to support the startup costs of the new Community Bridge Clinic in the Westbrook clinic, which recently moved from Essex. Startup costs include supplies and materials, as well as direct care for clients who do not have insurance or who are underinsured.

Incarnation Center, Bushy Hill Nature Center: $5,000 to provide full or partial scholarships to approximately 10 Westbrook campers, ages 4 to 15, to attend either the Bushy Hill Nature Center or Pequot Sherwood day camps in the summer of 2023.

Junior Achievement of Southwest New England, Inc.: $5,000 to support Junior Achievement providing work readiness programming, résumé workshops, job shadowing, mock interviews, and career panels for about 150 Westbrook High School students.

Middlesex Health: $25,000 to supply the sensory gym and multi-sensory room at the Mayer Center, a new center for children and adolescents with autism and other developmental needs, located in the renovated space at Middlesex Health’s Essex Medical Building.

Town of Westbrook Department of Public Works: $10,735 to support the installation of a wrought iron fence and gate and a bronze plaque for Peter Stannard in the Smallpox Cemetery located on Peter’s Trail Road; $9,406.94 to provide amenities for the recently installed dog park, including benches and chairs, and to fund the installation of a water line into the dog park; and $1,787.50 to support the construction of a timber bridge, replacing a stepping-stone bridge, and the purchase of signage (trail markers, cautionary signs) for the town forest.

Westbrook Congregational Church: $16,200 to fund a functional upgrade—adding air conditioning to Fellowship Hall, which is used year-round by a variety of church and community groups.

Westbrook Garden Club: $4,687.50 to support improvements to the Westbrook Garden Club Meadow Walk Project, a quarter-acre entrance to the Tom ODell Memorial Open Space. Improvements to include defining path entrances with Belgian blocks, installing bird houses, adding perennials and plants to bare areas, and installing signs for the Westbrook Pollinator Pathway.

Westbrook Land Conservation Trust: $3,362 to support the enhancement and promotion of the Land Trust for the next five years, which covers funding for the website, color brochures, signage (with QR codes) for all properties, and equipment to maintain the parcels safely for the public.

Westbrook Music Boosters: $5,000 to support the Westbrook High School band and chorus students going on a four-day trip to Washington, D.C., in March 2023 for musical educational advancement and enrichment.