The Albert J. Solnit Children’s Center provides mental health services and care for youth ages 13 to 17 who are experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties. Managed by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, it is the only state-operated behavioral health care facility of its kind, with campuses in both Middletown and East Windsor. Our mission is to provide the best assessment and treatment possible with the goal of reintegrating and reconnecting youth with their families, community and educational systems.
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the many generous donors who provided our youth with a very special holiday this year. From gift cards, toys, games, clothing, art and fitness supplies, to donations for Solnit’s youth activity fund, the generosity was overwhelming. We would like to publicly thank these donors.
Donations came from businesses, individuals, churches, schools and organizations. We have donors who have been giving for years. One generous family has been giving for over 21 years!
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Some examples of this year’s generosity include:
• Wolters Kluwer’s ELM Solutions, who purchased youth specific gifts and donated sports equipment, gift cards, bicycle helmets and even a bike for one lucky girl!
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• An anonymous donor from Old Lyme purchased soft fleece blankets for each of our kids!
• Zion Lutheran Church, Southington; North Guilford Congregational Church, and Travelers Insurance Co employees, Intelligent Process Automation Division; St. Pius X Church, Middletown; provided youth-specific gifts from the youth’s wish lists and St Pius parishioners donated a bike for one lucky boy.
• St. Pius Church and the CCD class made fleece blankets. They also send gifts throughout the year that are put together in gift baskets for each youth upon admission to ease their transition into a new and strange environment.
• St. Josephine Bahkita RC Church, Rocky Hill: Their combined parishes have been donating youth-specific items for years and once again did so in addition to its confirmation classes creating admission gift baskets.
Additional donations came from: Grace Lutheran Church, Middletown; Brewster School, Durham; David Gontarz, Durham; First Church of Christ, Middletown; Connecticut Valley Hospital toy drive, Middletown; Larry & Cindy Goodrich, Southington; Susan and Keith Lane, Higganum; Middlesex Community College, Middletown; Center Congregational Church, Meriden; St. Mary’s RC Church, Portland; St. James Episcopal Church, Higganum, St. Padre PIO Parish-Westbrook & Old Saybrook; Mercy High School, Middletown; GS Troop 67896, Ivoryton; The Merlini Family, Chester; St George Greek Orthodox Youth, Hartford; First Congregational Church, Wallingford.
And several individual donors continued to provide monetary donations towards Christmas gifts. These individual donors gave generously out of their own pockets.
For youth who don’t have the opportunity to go home or don’t have a home, this is especially meaningful. It is so important for them to have good memories to build on and to see that people care about them. Some donors give all year with funds to fill our welcome baskets, making fleece blankets for admission, or simply donating to the youth activity fund so that they can go to movies, field trips and more.
To inquire about donating, contact Elaine Jackson at 860-704-4386 or elaine.jackson@ct.gov or Margery Reynolds at 860-704-4091 or margery.reynolds@ct.gov.
