2016 – 2017 Grants
The Mather Homestead Foundation – $100,000
The Mather Homestead has recently been donated by the Mather-McPherson family to the newly formed Mather Homestead Foundation which will operate it as a museum for the education and
enjoyment of the Darien community. The Homestead, located at 19 Stephen Mather Road, has a rich history. It was built in 1778 during the Revolutionary War and served as a safe house for neighbors to hide valuables from the British. It eventually became the home of Stephen Tyng Mather who is credited with starting the US National Park Service. The newly formed Mather Homestead Foundation received a grant of $100,000 from the Darien Foundation to fund capital projects that will help them ready the Homestead for visiting school groups and other educational endeavors.
Darien Lights Brigade – $25,000
The mission of the Darien Lights Brigade was to raise $750,000.00 for state-of-the-art LED lights at the Darien High School stadium. A deadline of May 1, 2017 was imposed by the Town of Darien to complete this fundraising endeavor. As the date approached, the Lights Brigade reached out to The Darien Foundation, requesting a grant of $25,000 to help them reach their goal on time. The Foundation was delighted to help take the Lights Brigade across the finish line.
Darien STEM Venture Unit #353 – $30,000
The Darien STEM Venture Unit is a co-educational, scouting program which provides high school age youth in Darien the opportunity to develop teaching and leadership skills. These high school students serve as mentors and counselors at after-school and summer camp enrichment programs. The Darien Foundation provided a grant of $30,000 for capital equipment needed to conduct a wide variety of STEM experiments and demonstrations: Chemistry/Biomedical, Computer Coding/Robotics, Aquaponics, Aerospace/Electronic Engineering, Astronomy and Forensics.
The Depot – $8,500
The Depot is a place for Darien teens to gather and socialize as well as develop leadership, planning and decision-making skills. Activities at the Depot include a series of youth programs and a variety of social events as well as fundraisers and volunteer opportunities. A grant of $8,500 will provide funding for 2 iPads (with protective cases) and the NeonCRM software program that will help student leaders with attendance tracking, volunteer time sheets, financial reporting, social fundraising, program analysis, data sharing and management skill building.
Darien Little League – $37,500
Darien’s Little League is one of the largest in the country with 1,190 participants across 3 divisions (Baseball, Softball and Challenger) fielding a total of 110 teams. A grant of $37,500 will help fund new scoreboards that have pitch count displays and scrolling message boards as well as new PA systems and Lightening Detection systems at McGuane and Cherry Lawn Parks.
Darien Police Boat – $65,000
State of the art technology for the Darien Police Department’s new 27’ Defender Series SAFE boat will allow officers to operate the boat under even the most difficult conditions thus providing an exceptional level of service to the Darien boating community. Included in the grant are: FLIR (forward looking infrared) which enables officers to see in the dark, GPS Chartplotter for navigation, Radar for communication, Sirius weather receiver for up-to-date weather warnings, VHF radios and BlueForce radios for communication and SideScan Sonar to quickly locate drowning victims.