State Rep. RobSampson (R-80) voted torestore funding to theMedicare Savings Plan(MSP) during a special ses-sion of the ConnecticutGeneral Assembly onMonday, Jan. 8. In a pressrelease from his office,Sampson outlined the rea-sons for his vote.

“Connecticut’s onlyhope for surviving this fis-cal crisis is prioritization,”he said in the release.“Providing assistance toour most vulnerable resi-dents is always a priorityfor me. Our seniors haveworked long and hard.Their golden years shouldnot be burdened with diffi-cult choices and uncertain-ty regarding their health-care.”

MSP provides financialassistance to nearly 113,000Connecticut seniors anddisabled individuals whorelying on these funds to

pay for Medicare coinsur-ance, deductibles and pre-miums.

The program, adminis-tered to qualified individu-als based on income eligi-bility limits, was set to bereduced to match federaleligibility limits. Prior topassage of the currentbudget, Connecticut wasone of five states thatexceeded federal eligibility.

Had funding not beenrestored, some recipientswould have seen significantreductions in assistancewhile others would havebecome completely ineligi-ble.

Sampson said that theDepartment of SocialServices had pushed theimplementation of the cutsfrom Jan. 1 to March 1, butRepublicans felt thatimmediate action wasneeded.

“I am pleased that wewere able to restore fund-

ing for this crucial programwithout resorting to taxincreases, but rather bymaking sensible cuts to anoversized state govern-ment,” he said in the

release. Sampson said that he

and his colleagues signedletters and petitioned for aspecial session to addressthe funding issues.

The Women and Girls Fund ofthe Main Street CommunityFoundation announced over$50,000 in grant distribution to 14organizations that support thewomen of Bristol, Plainville,Southington, and more townsacross the region. The annualevent took place on Thursday, Jan.18, at the DoubleTree by HiltonHotel.

President and CEO of theMSCF, Susan Sadecki, said thatevents like these allow the MSCFto recognize the non profit organ-izations that are working to helpadvance opportunities for womenand girls.

“It’s a way to highlight the

work that they do,” said Sadecki,“show the partnerships betweenthe community foundation andthe organizations and show howwe work together to make otherpeople’s lives better.”

Newly elected Chair of theAdvisory Board, Julia Weston,explained that this is the 16th year

of the Women and Girls Fund.“We exist to provide support,financial support, to organiza-tions in the communities weserve,” said Weston, “that put onprograms to empower andimprove the lives of women andgirls.”

These organizations helpwomen of all ages, but many willuse their grants to assist a specificage demographic, such as thegrants awarded to BristolPreschool Child Care and ImagineNation Early Learning Museum.These grants will be used to sup-port early learning workshops forparents and children to promoteliteracy, language and physicaldevelopments, and to start newprograms that promote healthylifestyle choices to families and

children. Kendra Morales, president of

For Goodness Sake, a nonprofitthat aides people in their transi-tion to independent living, saidthat by providing the necessitiesto turn a house into a home, suchas appliances and linens, you canhelp people take root. “Whenpeople can root, they can grow,”said Morales.

The grantees and their pro-grams were, the Boys and GirlsClub of Bristol Family Center,Smart Girls initiative; BristolFamily Resource Center,Education and support forLicensed Day Care Providers;Bristol Youth Services, Skills toPay the Bills; ConnecticutWomen’s Education and LegalFund, to increase access to free

legal information, bilingual advo-cacy and referrals to low costattorneys; For Goodness Sake,support for women transitioningto independent living; Girl Scoutsof Connecticut, for scholarshipsto their 2018 summer camp;Imagine Nation, A Museum EarlyLearning Center, for their pro-gram A Healthy ImaginationNation - Creating a HappyHealthy Start; Jane Doe No More,for a safe student initiative atLewis S. Mills High School; John J.Driscoll United Labor Agency,Building Pathways Connecticut;Literacy Volunteers of CentralConnecticut; the Rushford Center,to provide women with alterna-tive therapies; and, The Children’sMuseum, to benefit their Girlsand Science summer program.

4 Friday, January 26, 2018To advertise, call (860) 628-9645 The Step Saver/ The Observer

Community foundation awards local grantsBy TAYLOR MURCHISON-

GALLAGHERSTAFF WRITER

Sampson votes to restore MSP funding