GIVING CIRCLE.

Supporting Immigrant & Refugee Women with Safety, Stability & Strength.

Right now, in our own communities, women and families are living in fear and uncertainty. The need is urgent—and deeply human. 

Community Partners tell us stories of:

• Mothers skipping food pantry visits, too afraid to ask for help
• Children missing school—not because of illness, but because of fear
• Survivors staying silent, unsure where it’s safe to turn
• Families navigating complex paperwork and legal aid is stretched thin

This is not happening far away, it’s happening here, in Greater Hartford. This is the power of convening. Which is the heart of Aurora.

We responded with compassion, care, and collective action. Because every woman deserves to be seen, heard, and supported.

Donations ranged from $5 - $5,000 resulting in: $40,000 raised by 70 members.

Grant Awards:

• CT Students for a Dream - $10,000
• Make the Road CT - $10,000
• Hartford Deportation Defense - $10,000
• Angel of Edgewood - $10,000

Reproductive Equity

In 2024 we addressed the inequity in access to reproductive care that disproportionately impacts low-income people and people of color. Newly released data shows that maternal mortality has doubled in the United States. We explored how we can center women’s reproductive health—to benefit women, their families, and our community. Together, we learned how to help increase access to care that will make a difference by allowing women to be healthy, make decisions about their bodies, plan their families and ultimately fully participate in our communities.

Donations Ranged from $30 - $5,000 resulting in:$30,000 raised by 70 members.

Funding Awarded:

• Mutual Aid Hartford - $10,000
• Diaper Bank - $7,500
• Reproductive Equity Now - $7,500
• Planned Parenthood of Southern New England - $5,000

Women in the Workplace: Moving from Covid to Economic Security

The 2023 Aurora Women's Giving Circle focused on the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on working women. Members asked the question: "How can we help women in the workforce coming out of the pandemic?"  The continuing concentration of women, especially women of color, in low-wage service jobs means they struggle to support their families, especially with the rising costs of everyday essentials, as well as expensive and hard-to-find childcare. Large numbers of women left the workforce during the pandemic, and we may lose the hard-earned gains that we’ve been working on in corporate America. This could lead down a path where we see even more inequality in the workplace.

Grant Awards:

• YMCA - Family Childcare Incubator: Awarded $6,000
• Girls for Technology - Building for Equity Program - Awarded $6.000
• Dignity Grows - Awarded: $4,000
• Dress for Success Hartford - Awarded: $4,000

The 2022 Aurora Women's Giving Circle funded programs that addressed the ongoing effects that the pandemic has had on girls, particularly girls of color, their education, access to mentors and role models, and social/emotional intelligence.

The group pooled their resources to raise over $20,000 and made an impact on programs that will reach hundreds of girls in Greater Hartford.

Grants Awarded:

• YMCA - House of Teens Program
• Horizons The Ethel Walker School
• Grace Academy
• Girl Scouts of CT - Strong Program
• Hartford Girls Rock

Our 2021 Women's Giving Circle identified childcare, housing and mental health as the focuses for 2021 funding.

Grants Awarded:

• Child Development Center - Focus on Child Care, $12,000
• My Sister's Place - Focus on Housing, $7,000
• The Bridge Family Center, Mental Health, $4,000 Focus

The 2019 Giving Circle voted to award a $5,500 grant to Strong Girls Camp at the Albany Avenue Branch of the Hartford Public Library. This six-week summer program will serve 25 Hartford girls and offer them lessons in gender inequality, body image, building self-esteem, and intersectionality. The program addresses the social and emotional obstacles young women face and helps them to overcome them and express themselves.

The 2018 Giving Circle voted to award a $6,500 grant to Girls for Technology, a Hartford-based organization whose mission is to inspire and increase girls’ interest in STEM through educational enrichment programs and partnerships with area business leaders. Funds from the Women’s Giving Circle will support a bi-monthly Math and Science Academy serving up to 100 low-income girls from Hartford’s North End.

Interval House: $3,500

Journey Home: $3,500

Malta House of Care: $3,000

The Village for Children & Families: $3,000

Horizons at Ethel Walker School: $2,500

Community Renewal Team: $2,500