HAMDEN, CT, May 19, 2025 — Arts for Learning CT is proud to announce a renewed and increased grant of $10,000 from the Connecticut Community Foundation in support of Express Yourself, a dynamic afterschool arts learning program at F.J. Kingsbury Elementary School in Waterbury. This award represents a meaningful increase from the Foundation’s prior investment of $7,500, and will allow AFLCT to deepen its impact on student engagement, creativity, and social-emotional development.
Express Yourself is designed to provide students with hands-on access to diverse art forms, including music, dance, visual art, and theater, led by professional Teaching Artists. The program helps students build confidence, explore cultural identity, and express themselves in safe and supportive creative spaces.
“We’re thrilled to continue this vital partnership with Kingsbury Elementary and grateful to the Connecticut Community Foundation for increasing their investment in Waterbury youth,” said Jed Kornbluh, Director of Business Development at AFLCT. “Express Yourself helps students develop their voice and sense of belonging, and with this support, we can reach more children, more meaningfully.”
Offered in addition to the school’s participation in AFLCT’s Higher Order Thinking (HOT) Schools program, Express Yourself complements Kingsbury’s whole-school commitment to arts-integrated learning, academic enrichment, and student-centered education. The program is implemented in collaboration with school leaders and aligns with AFLCT’s broader mission to close opportunity gaps through inclusive, culturally responsive arts experiences.
About the Connecticut Community Foundation
Established in 1923, Connecticut Community Foundation was created by and for the people of Greater Waterbury and the Litchfield Hills. While serving this 21-town region, the Foundation works to address the community’s critical issues, funds programs benefiting local residents, supports efforts to improve systems to foster more equitable outcomes for residents, strengthens local organizations through learning and outreach, and works with individuals, families and corporations to steward charitable and scholarship funds.
To learn more about the Connecticut Community Foundation, please go to https://conncf.org/