Our grants support organizations that make a difference.

This year Preservation Connecticut awarded $9,000 in partnership with The 1772 Foundation to the Temple Beth Israel Preservation Society in Danielson (Killingly) for replacement of rotted steel structural beams and steel basement windows. Built between 1951 and 1961, Temple Beth Israel is a well-preserved example of a Modern Movement religious Building, with Modernist features including gabled roof with exposed rafters, mixture of stone and wood exterior treatments, and the glass walls on north and south sides of upper floor. It was built primarily by Jewish survivors of the Holocaust and resistance fighters who settled on farms in the surrounding communities, along with local Jewish business people to serve as a place of worship.

The Temple Beth Israel Preservation Society was organized in 2009 by children and grandchildren of the founders to re-dedicate themselves to using their unique perspective as Holocaust survivors and children of survivors to inspire an interfaith approach to community building. Along with its mission of preserving and celebrating the Jewish heritage of Northeastern Connecticut, the Preservation Society hosts a broad range of educational and cultural interfaith programming such as an annual Interfaith Thanksgiving observance, a Community Passover Seder, movies, concerts and talks all celebrating tolerance, good citizenship and social justice. The Preservation Society also provides speakers to local middle and high schools who discuss lessons of the Holocaust and how that history is relevant to contemporary issues surrounding the rise of Anti-Semitism, white supremacy, prejudice and hate crimes.

Grants that aid organizations like this would not be possible without your continued support.