A Message from Mendi Blue Paca: Download Our 2022 Annual Report
Nov 21, 2022
Dear Friend,
This has been a year of building bridges — bridges that connect today’s Fairfield County to a future where everyone has an equitable opportunity to thrive.
In it, we spotlight the people and organizations that are partnering to advance equity in our community — and show how the Community Foundation is linking our history of working to close opportunity gaps in Fairfield County to a new vision that deepens our commitment to addressing the root causes of inequity.
To realize this ambition, we’re partnering with our community to understand and address the foundation of our region’s disparities, which are undeniably race-based. And we’re rethinking the ways we invest in education, housing, health and workforce development to achieve greater racial equity.
You’ll see this evolving approach on display throughout this report as you explore how we’re amplifying the groundbreaking impact of Bridgeport’s PT Partners; investing in the holistic health of women and girls through the emme coalition; and advocating for change through our partnership with Fairfield County’s Center for Housing Opportunity.
These programs offer glimpses of what we can accomplish for our community when we collectively confront challenges and think differently about what’s possible.
Yet while I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together over the past year, our most important work lies ahead.
We cannot truly deliver on our mission unless we support and encourage efforts to bring our community together in innovative ways. That means working across sectors and town and city borders in pursuit of a shared, aspirational vision for Fairfield County. It means understanding that the barriers to opportunity across housing, health, education and employment are intrinsically linked. It means pursuing systemic ways to remove those barriers in alignment and collaboration.
Because of your generosity, your imagination, and your partnership, we’ve made great progress in positioning the Community Foundation to catalyze even more positive impact — building a bridge between our history and our future.
I hope you will take some time to dig into this new report and join us on the next leg of our journey.
Mendi blue paca
PRESIDENT & CEO
FAIRFIELD COUNTY’S COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Click here to download a copy of the Community Foundation’s 2022 Year in Review.
