About the Bishop's Fund for Children
The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut established the Bishop’s Fund for Children in 1994 under the leadership of Bishop Clarence Coleridge. The Bishop’s Fund was created to enhance awareness about the plight of children at risk throughout Connecticut, to give Episcopalians in Connecticut the opportunity to pray for children at risk, and to raise funds to underwrite social service programs that aid these children in our urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods. The service providers are both church and non-church related. The recipients are from varied ethnic and religious backgrounds.
The first fundraising appeal was mailed on St. Nicholas Day on December 6, 1994.
Bishop Andrew D. Smith, our current Diocesan Bishop, now presides over the Bishop’s Fund, which is managed by a volunteer Board of Trustees appointed by the Bishop.
There are about 73,000 Episcopalians in 174 parishes across Connecticut. Many of these parishes sponsor social service programs that are funded by the Bishop’s Fund for Children.
In 2001 a 5K run/walk race was started by Kate Smith and the Rev. Amy Fallon to benefit the Bishop’s Fund for Children. This event, which takes place in West Hartford on the Saturday after Mother’s Day, has raised over $170,000 for the Fund, and involves churches, participants and volunteers from all over the state.
In 2000 the board of trustees decided to organize a “feedback seminar. It provided a time for the grant recipients to gather, learn, network and share, in order to help everyone better serve Connecticut’s children.
In 1995, the first year grants were distributed in CT, over $66,000 was allocated to 12 applicants.
As of 2008 The Bishop’s Fund for Children has distributed over 2.5 million dollars in grants.
Applications are received in March, and grants are awarded in late spring.
Our main fund-raiser of the year is the United Healthcare Bishop's 5K for Kid's, which takes place in May, the Saturday after Monther's Day, at Webster Hill Elementary School in West Hartford. Runners and walkers from all over the state come to run, walk, partake in the children's field day or just enjoy a day of fun. United Healthcare has been our title sponsor since the beginning. Find out more at www.bishops5Kforkids.org
To make a donation online click here.
Or mail your donation to: The Bishop's Fund for Children - 1335 Asylum Avenue - Hartford, CT 06105
For more information about the Bishop's Fund for Children contact Leslie Pendleton at or call Diocesan House at: (860) 233-4481 ext. 127.
