Vaeyanna Lettman, a young woman of 16, brought the sold-out audience to their feet, near tears, with her moving words after receiving the 2012 Young Philanthropist award by Aurora Women & Girls Foundation. She is a student leader at the Capital Prep Magnet School in Hartford. Lynn Sullivan, Senior Vice President, TD Bank made the introduction.
“I have dedicated my life to inspiring girls. My message is: don’t give up. You’re worth it. Love yourself. I got my life together after bullying, gained my self esteem back, and started writing poetry. Here I am, standing up here, accepting this award, “said Vaeyanna.
She kept good company with Eileen Kraus, businesswoman, community leader, and West Hartford resident honored earlier in the program as the 2012 Woman Philanthropist. Joseph Gianni, Senior Vice President, Bank of America, shared an entertaining story of being interviewed by Eileen when she headed up Fleet Bank of Connecticut.
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She spoke movingly about philanthropy, along with a humorous reference to the oxytocin giving produces. “Women give life, love and care. I do feel like a giver. It is a privilege to give to others. You simply need to give to feel good.”
The Aurora Women and Girls Foundation is a community-based endowment and grantmaking organization. Created in 2000, Aurora provides funding to nonprofit groups that offer programs serving women and girls in the Greater Hartford area. It is Connecticut’s only free-standing foundation focused exclusively on women and girls. Aurora acts as a convener for conversations and initiatives that support opportunities for women to learn about the power of philanthropy to effect change in their own lives, communities and the world in which they live.
