Family and Friendship Forever
Eileen Marie Kelly was a longtime resident and volunteer of Cromwell. There was no act too big nor too small when it came to helping others – family, friends, neighbors, and strangers who were truly just friends waiting to happen. She lived with a traumatic brain injury brought on by an Arterial Venous Malformation. Since her unexpected death two years ago, her cousin, Kasey Harding and her family have been working on how they could honor Eileen’s life and love of Cromwell.
Kasey learned about the Community Foundation of Middlesex County’s Campaign for Bully-Free Communities Buddy Bench initiative when CFMC partnered with CHC and the Middletown Police Department to place a purple bench in Harbor Park last year. Sharing the idea with family and friends, Kasey soon began plans to have a bench placed in Cromwell in celebration of Eileen. Continue Reading »
built by at-risk youth from Rushford Academy in Durham. Thanks to 34 individual donors and the countless contributors to two Funds at the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, the residential teen students are learning positive life skills and giving back to their community. The students at Rushford Academy are building wooden benches for local schools to use as a social inclusion tool. The benches are clearly labeled “Buddy Bench” and strategies for use are provided to school staff and students with each installation.
