Daniels Foundation Modifies the Strategic Grants Program

Since 2007 the Daniels Foundation has maintained a strategic focus on girls, ages 10-14. The impetus for the program came from recognition that girls in this age range are entering puberty and experiencing major changes in their lives. The goal was to develop programs which helped to keep them on track, to better deflect common distractions, and to arrive at high school better prepared to move forward successfully.

Over the years we developed the Investing in Girls Alliance (IIGA), which is now populated by approximately 25 agencies in Worcester County with girl serving programs.

For many years we have annually offered a highly competitive grant for $225,000 over three years. Programs developed through this grant model have been very successfully implemented. But we also noticed that only large agencies and universities seemed to be applying for the grant, and we rarely had an application from other agencies in IIGA.

When we asked why, our IIGA partners responded indicating that most were small and medium sized agencies, that taking a three-year view was challenging, that committing the resources to completing the application when only one would be awarded was problematic, and that staffing a three year effort was not always realistic.

With these (and other) observations in mind the Strategic Grants Committee reoriented the grants process to 5-6 annual grants worth up to $40,000 each. The Committee will consider requests twice yearly: once in time for funding summer programs, and the second in time for funding school year programs.

Our hope is that our small to medium-sized agency partners will find that this opportunity is a better fit for them and expose more varied populations of girls to programs which include the goals and best practices defined by the Foundation. This fall’s application, due October 31 for summer programming, will be the first round under this new model, and we look forward to reading our first batch of grant applications in November (for award at the December quarterly meeting of the Foundation).

Submitted by Fred Daniels, Chair, Strategic Grants Committee

One Halloween Night in 1956

by Bill Pettit

One Halloween Night in 1956 (a mostly factual re-telling…)

I was six years old and decided to be a hobo for Halloween night. Eisenhower was still in the White House, and I was spending time at Bancroft School.

Pretty sure Mother (Dwight:Sally:Billy) told me to be a hobo, but that interaction is for another chapter.  Mother was oft the master of my ship and steered me wherever she felt I should go. Mostly onto the rocks…

Anyway, I was dressed in a torn plaid shirt, dungarees and carried a stick which had some sort of bandana tied on the end to resemble a hobo’s earthly belongings.

To round out the costume Mother felt I needed to have a bit of dirt on my face, so she lit a cork on fire and quickly blew it out then rubbed the ash on my cheeks to give me just the right look of the downtrodden.

Sarah, my sister, was a dressed up Halloweenie as well.  I don’t remember exactly what she wore that October night.  She was more the cowgirl type than Cinderella type so let’s go with cowgirl, or maybe a pirate. (I texted her for confirmation, but she is busy.)

We were instructed to head out and told where we were to go first: Auntie Nell’s.  That would be Eleanor Goddard Daniels (married to Harold Daniels).  They lived at 190 Salisbury St. which was all of 2 blocks from our house.  All the Daniels of the first gen lived within a few blocks. FHD lived on Salisbury next to the Daniels/Goddards, Clarence Daniels lived across Salisbury on Metcalf St. and for a while Dwight lived on Rutland Terrace which connected Salisbury to Metcalf.

So off we went, pretty sure not hand in hand, two kids 6 and 8, dressed in homemade Halloween costumes up Whitman Road, onto Salisbury. Historic weather data reports that October 1956 the weather ranged between 55 degrees and 65 degrees in Worcester, which seems in line with my memory, kind of balmy.

Back in those days, lighting the roadways was not the priority it is today, so take my word for it, the way was dark and gloomy.

Uncle Harold and Auntie Nell’s house, for those of you who haven’t been there yet, is set back on the road and lit by no more than one or maybe two lights on the drive. It was the largest house I had ever seen up to that point in my life.  The entry light was flickering on and off with each gust of wind. The entire house appeared dark, not a room was occupied on the first floor, there were no lights on. And suspiciously there were no other trick or treaters anywhere in sight. Maybe there was one pumpkin on the steps, I don’t recall. But for sure if there was a pumpkin it was not carved.

Hesitantly, one of us rang the bell. It had to have been Sarah, because I recall all I wanted to do was get the hell out of there. Geez, no one knew about serial killers back then or pedophiles or sex traffickers but I’m fairly certain I was what might be called: old school Halloween scared shitless.

After ringing the doorbell again (and what was probably a six-year-olds idea of a half an hour) a light came on. The door handle rattled, and the front door unlocked and swung slowly inwards. Peaking around the door in a flowery flouncy dress, head of grey hair and a look of curiosity was Auntie Nell.  Sarah said, “we are the Pettit’s, Sally’s kids.” I yelled “Trick or Treat”

Auntie Nell giggled a bit, and conjured up something, considering the size of the house I was hoping for full size Milky Way not the usual candy bar cut in quarters. But I don’t remember what it was so I’m guessing (68 years later) it was an apple. Even so we thanked her profoundly, there was a sense that we interrupted her night, and no trick or treaters venture here.

Just as we were about to leave, out of the darkness inside peaked Uncle Harold who had come to see what the fuss was. Dressed in a crisp starched shirt, silk tie and 3-piece suit, he greeted us. Nell said: “Sally’s kids, isn’t that nice!” The curtain was pulled back and we had met the Wizard of Oz. That was the one and only time I talked to my grandfather’s brother. And all a six-year-old could say was “Trick or treat” and “thank you”.

Nothing more needed to be said and I am reminded of what Tony Soprano once said: “Family. They’re the only ones you can depend on.”

A Clarence Family Tree

In our last newsletter, we included a family tree for the Harold Line. Today we enclose one representing the Clarence line: