The Hal Launders Alice Launders Webb Pay it Forward Scholarship

Apr 9, 2024 | Hal Launders Alice Webb Pay it Forward Scholarship, Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust

March is the best month of the year to remember Harold Launders and his sister, Alice Launders Webb -the brother and sister for whom the Hal Launders Alice Launders Webb Pay it Forward Scholarship at St Lawrence University in Canton, NY was named.

Hal and Alice’s Birthday Cake in 1975

The siblings were both born in March, two years apart, in Greenwich Connecticut in 1908 and 1910 respectively.

They both attended St Lawrence University, Hal with help from the Charles Kelsey Gaines Fund graduating in 1932 and Alice as an older than average student graduating in 1937. Alice had worked several years before matriculating at St Lawrence which she accomplished with the help of her brother Hal. Both Majored in English.

Yearbook Photo of Hal Launders

Alice died at age 68 on May 15, 1978, and on December 29, 1979, just one and a half years after her death, her brother Hal donated the first $10,000 to what was then known as the Hal Launders Alice Launders Webb Student Loan Fund.

Yearbook Photo of Alice Launders Webb

In his letter to Peter Ticconi Jr– then Director of Capital Support Programs at St Lawrence -Hal made this promise,” This is the initial contribution. More will be forthcoming but not on any prearranged schedule. Just when circumstances permit, either from me or from my estate.”

In May 1982, W. Lawrence Gullick, acting from the Office of the President, sent Mr. Launders a letter to inform him that the Scholarship had been wrapped into a newly formed million-dollar financial aid endowment fund.

Hal died in 1996 with the promise of more donations still on the table.

In 2007 Emily Webb -Alice’s granddaughter and Hal’s great niece – decided mid-year that she wanted to transfer from a college in Boston to St Lawrence. David Webb (Emily’s father and my brother, Hal’s nephew and Alice’s son) and I, drove Emily up to St Lawrence University in Canton, NY. There we first met with the Development Office and asked about the already established Hal Launders and Alice Launders Webb Loan Fund for Emily and found out that this fund was now part of a much larger endowed fund with the Launders amount worth $100,000.

Emily Webb graduated in 2012 and by 2013 the Trustees of the Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust were getting ready to make their first round of Board Level Grants. Eugenie Webb Maine (daughter of Alice and niece of Hal) reached out to Tom Pynchon, Director of Principal Gifts at St Lawrence, to inquire about extracting the $100,000 Launders grant from the endowment fund therefore making it possible for the Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust family Trustees to sponsor a grant of a $100,000 to add to the existing $100,000 for a total of $200,000. Tom responded to this query in a letter to the Family Trustees on August 30, 2013, and explained that in the changing field of philanthropy most named grants had disappeared.  He indicated that a great way to keep this named fund was to endow a Pay it Forward Scholarship. To quote Tom Pynchon, “I would like to make the following proposal for the family Trustees to consider: The Pay it Forward Scholarship. I think you will find this scholarship proposal unique and a difference maker for supporting scholarships. Not only does it help deserving students, but it also provides a mechanism to help teach the student recipients about philanthropy and giving back, just as Hal and Ruth Launders did with philanthropy.”

The $100,000 grant was delivered to St Lawrence University by the Launders Trust family Trustees in 2014 and since then five scholarships have been awarded. The recipients include the following: Matt Craighead ’16 – Fairfield, CT, Dillon Fitzpatrick ’18 – Darien, CT, Molly Wood ’18 – Salisbury, CT, Kylie Clancy ’20 – Glastonbury, CT, and Caitlyn Hone ’24 – Greenwich, CT.

The Market value of the Fund according to the latest activity report running from July 2022-June 30, 2023 is $232,437.

Here in Hal’s own words is “information about the only Launders left in our family.” “I was born March 18, 1908, in Greenwich Connecticut to Michael J and Alice Johnston Launders. My father came from Thurles in Tipperary and my mother from Prince Edward Island, Canada. I was the first child of that union (sister Alice was born two years later on 3/13/1910 ) but the 10th in the union of 2 families; my mother was a widow with 7 living children and my father a widower with 2 children when they merged.

My father was a building contractor who built residences and office buildings in the area, the most prominent perhaps is the Greenwich Town Hall which still stands today. My mother died when I was 11 years old and my sister Alice was 9. We were brought up by my oldest sister Mary, a school teacher who taught in Greenwich for 44 years. Mary broke her engagement to be married when her mother died to take care of Alice and myself and never married.”

Hal and Alice as children in the summer of 1920 after their mother died.

Both Hal and Alice graduated St Mary’s Catholic High School in Greenwich and then went on to St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. Hal was the class Valedictorian of his High School Class and went on to St Lawrence with merit scholarship support and then stayed on in the “north country” after graduation doing a variety of jobs, including wresting promoter, working for the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid and stringer for the New York Times to name a few in order to raise funds for his younger sister Alice to attend St Lawrence ; which she did living off campus and working on some of her brother’s projects while matriculating in three years.

Although the siblings experience at St. Lawrence was very different; Hal belonged to a Fraternity and was very active in student life while Alice kept her nose to the grindstone in order to finish in three years not really participating much in campus life; they both had very fond memories of St. Lawrence and maintained lifelong friendships from their time there.

In 1994 two years before he died Hal Launders donated $4,000,000 to establish the J Harold Launders Science Library and Computing Center.

 Science Library and Computing Center at St Lawrence University

In the years following his death The Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust has made several more donations to fund projects at St. Lawrence in Ruth and Hal Launders’ name.

 

 

 

 

 

Blog content provided by Eugenie Webb Maine

Eugenie Webb Maine

Eugenie is the niece of Harold Launders who set up the Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust before his death in 1996. She has been a Launders Trustee since that time.  Hal Launders is the brother of her mother Alice Launders Webb. 

 

Beautiful Day Youth Program Works!

Jun 11, 2023 | Beautiful Day, Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust, Youth Programs

Beautiful Day is a non-profit with a mission to work  together with refugees  supporting , orienting and educating  them as they  integrate into  American life. As part of the Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust Discretionary grants program, one of our Trustees has begun to award some $20,000 multi year (two year grants). To make the process as streamlined as possible this grantee was asked to resubmit the same application as the first year and instead  to spend that time and write a Blog post about the program to post it  on our grants site.

Trainees showcase some products.

Beautiful Day is a Providence-based nonprofit that provides paid, transitional job training for refugee adult and youth recently resettled in Rhode Island. Our trainees produce and package gourmet granolas, coffees and hummus and sell them at farmers markets, developing the skills, confidence and contacts they need to succeed in permanent jobs. This year, the Launders Family Charitable Trust provided a generous grant that we used to help support our youth program. We are grateful.

Our Refugee Youth Job Training Program serves 20 high-school-aged youth each year and consists of a 3-hour/week job readiness class and an 8-hour/week work experience component – an impressive time commitment. Classes and work take place after school and each youth receives a stipend of $4,680 for attending. The program is led by a gifted ESL teacher with the help of mentors, a case manager and a group of dedicated volunteers. Our most recent cohort began meeting last October and just ended with a celebratory graduation ceremony.

This program has proven life-changing for the youth who participate. Our graduates are now enrolled in colleges such as URI, Holy Cross, and Johnson & Wales. They are majoring in subjects like mathematics, computer science, and (believe it or not) neuroscience! We interview graduates one year after completing the program and the following quote is typical of what they tell us: “I’m at Rhode Island College studying graphic design. And I’m working part-time at Burlington Coat Factory in customer service. I would not have this job without Beautiful Day. I was a shy kid. I stuttered and my hands got sweaty and anxious. But when I went to the farmers markets I got to talk and I improved my communication skills and I’m not shy anymore. Now I’m talking to customers, like “How’s your day?”

Our graduates talk about the many ways our youth program helped them grow in confidence and become more aware of what’s possible for them. Young people who couldn’t make eye contact are studying to be police officers. Teens who were afraid to speak up are waiting tables at busy restaurants. Most of our trainees grew up in refugee camps and found the transition to life in America to be difficult. Refugee youth typically struggle to fit in academically and socially. Often subject to bullying, they are vulnerable to gang involvement. Most have little knowledge of American work culture and are not prepared to succeed at a job. Like all refugees, these young people will be eligible for citizenship 5 years after arrival. They will have opportunities to go to college, pursue careers, buy homes, and contribute to their communities as fully-integrated American citizens. They are eager to work and learn, but they need extra support, which our program provides.

Word has spread that our program works and we have a waiting list of youth who want to participate. We plan to expand to accommodate more refugee teens. Many thanks to the Launders Family Charitable Trust for supporting a program that is truly changing lives.

Blog content provided by Rebecca Garland, Associate Director at Beautiful Day

rebecca garland

Rebecca Garland

Rebecca is responsible for fund development and community education at Beautiful Day. Before joining Beautiful Day’s team in 2018, she taught literacy and ESOL to undereducated adults for over 20 years. She possesses a Doctorate in Human Development & Psychology from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and has taken an active role in helping to develop the educational programs for refugee youth and adults at Beautiful Day. As the daughter of a refugee herself, she knows how hard it is to rebuild after losing one’s home.

 

Themes in Food Security

Jul 10, 2022 | food security, Hope's Harvest, Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust

The most important themes in food security work today are understanding that, first, the root cause of food insecurity is poverty, driven by systemic racism, and second, it’s important to respect the reality of organizations addressing these issues on the ground and “decolonize philanthropy” by giving in ways that acknowledge complex and ingrained power dynamics and the skills, knowledge, and capacity of local actors.

Ultimately, we know how to solve the problem of hunger in our communities, and there are in fact many solutions in terms of strategies, technologies, and infrastructure. Food insecurity is fundamentally a resource distribution issue – some people don’t have money to buy food because of systemic inequality and racism. The organizations that are trying to address this require consistent access to resources over the long term. Funding should be directed to organizations that are providing basic needs, without requiring “innovation” or shiny new programs. Food sovereignty – wherein communities are in control of their own resources and able to meet their own needs – is essential to fundamentally addressing our unequal food system.

We have to look holistically at how to make our communities more resilient, not only in terms of food, but in relationship to all of our collective systems that support well being. For further reading and ideas about next steps, an article that does an excellent job encompassing some of these issues and positing very pragmatic, solutions based strategies can be found here: Why We Need a Public Food Sector

 

Blog Content provided by Eva Agudelo (she/her/hers)

Eva has worked with beginning farmers, restaurants, retailers, farmers markets, nonprofits, and hunger relief agencies to improve community food security and bring about a food system that works for everyone. Eva started the National Incubator Farm Training Initiative through the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project; served as a FINI (now GusNIP) program officer at Wholesome Wave, supporting incentive programs at farmers markets across the US; and most recently was the Assistant Director of Programs at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, administering federal nutrition programs and supporting Rhode Island’s statewide network of food pantries and meal sites. She holds an M.S. from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, is a former member of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council (RIFPC) and sits on the board of Osamequin Farm.
In 2018, Eva founded the nonprofit Hope’s Harvest RI, which improves the livelihoods of local farmers, increases food security for our most vulnerable residents, and gets everyone engaged in strengthening the food system by eliminating on-farm food waste. As Rhode Island’s first statewide farm-based food rescue program dedicated to securing the supply chain of fresh local produce to hunger relief agencies, Hope’s Harvest coordinates a strong network of volunteers, farmers, and food pantries to recover local produce and distribute it to neighbors in need.

 

Nurturing Artists and Audiences, Alike

Jul 1, 2022 | Blessed Unrest, Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust

Blessed Unrest, now in our 20th year, is a subversive physical theater ensemble that transforms new and classic plays into channels for unexpected alchemy, energetic discomfort, and complex articulation.  Through a dedicated and diverse ensemble, international collaborations, and a rigorous training and devising process, we are fueled by the innate human desire to collaborate, the thrill of the impossible challenge, and the instinctual need to rebel.

We are an unusual organization in that we are a large company of creators who have been working, training, and honing our crafts together for anywhere between two and 20 years.  This allows us to go deeper every time we engage with the work.  It allows us to play hard.

We believe that complex, smart, physically driven theatre with strong narratives and a sense of humor can move and inspire a wide audience, and ours includes both fans of the avant garde and mainstream theatergoers.  The diversity of our ensemble broadens the scope of our work and attracts diverse audiences.

Blessed Unrest is honored to have been funded by the Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust since 2018.  Particularly in the wake of the past two years, their contribution has helped to assuage the uncertainty of not only how to survive, but of how to continue making vital work as an arts organization.

COMPASSION THROUGH LIVE PERFORMANCE

Throughout the course of the pandemic, while live theatre was on respite Blessed Unrest continued to make work safely, recognizing the increased need for community and the presence of art in our lives.  We developed a process of prerecording all elements of sound involved in a production in order to eliminate the dangers of live speaking and vocal projection.  A rich tapestry of music and pre-recorded speech was developed to create soundtracks with which movement was interwoven.

TOUCH performers at Madison Square Park. Photo by Maria Baranova.

Working both remotely, and outside in masks, TOUCH was born, a pandemic meditation on skin-hunger and longing to connect.  Inspired by our growing understanding of the function of mirror neurons and driven by the need to provide a refuge from the isolation and fear, the piece invited audiences to partake in the warmth of creative intimacy, with the safety of distance.  The research on mirror neurons and the emotional brain suggests that a witnessing of the authentic corporeal experiences of others can stimulate the very same visceral response in our own brains, as though the experience were ours.  It’s a forging of literal compassion through neural growth.  TOUCH was performed outdoors in Madison Square Park as part of the NYC Open Culture Program. The success of TOUCH led to the creation of a very different piece of theatre, but developed in a similar way.  Commissioned by The Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival, we took on Williams’ very first full-length play, Battle of Angels.  When it opened for a brief run in Boston in 1940, Battle of Angels was referred to as, “Indecent and improper…lascivious and immoral,” “Low and common,” and, “Putrid.”  Dramaturgy surrounding the play suggests that Williams intended to cast a black man in the lead role but that the idea was rejected by his producers.  That is how Blessed Unrest chose to present it, turning an otherwise innocuous story into a racially-charged illustration of the bigotry of the American south.  Battle of Angels opened at the New Ohio Theatre in New York City and went on the headline at The Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival in MA.

A scene from Battle of Angels. Photo by Maria Baranova.

CREATIVE EQUITY

Blessed Unrest’s latest undertaking, The Untitled Othello Project (untitledothello.com), is an exercise in creative justice that pays a living wage to all artists, and employs ensemble-based creative practices to engage in deep and sustained exploration of Shakespeare’s text.  We seek to evolve a script that provides humanity and dimension to the title character, and all of the characters that people this widely produced, but to so many, toxic and re-traumatizing play through a series of residencies at academic institutions.

Our work begins with extreme and in-depth text analysis, and conversation about all that we encounter, particularly in the realms of race and misogyny.  We maintain an open forum for all responses, and engage both students and faculty in the discussions.  With the information that we gather, we’re then cutting, and reordering to build a streamlined version of the story that allows room for the actors to truly express the humanity of the characters, all without actually rewriting Shakespeare’s words.  Next steps for the project include additional ensemble-building, and physical exploration of status and hierarchy in the play through movement work.  Our initial two-week residency at Sacred Heart University was hugely successful, and we’re seeking other collaborators of that caliber with whom to continue this important work.

Blessed Unrest is honored to be partnering with Keith Hamilton Cobb (American Moor), Midnight Oil Collective (a creator-led arts investment, development and production group), and the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Participants from The Untitled Othello Project meet in an open forum.

A BRIEF HISTORY

In our 20 years, Blessed Unrest has staged 35 productions (21 world premieres) at New York Theatre Workshop, New Ohio Theatre, PS122, Public Theater, Baruch Performing Arts Center, Interart Theatre, NYU, Columbia, Manhattan School of Music, and Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival. We have toured Western Europe and the Balkans three times with original bilingual (English/Albanian) plays created with Teatri Oda of Kosovo. We have held developmental and production residencies at New Victory Theater, Baruch Performing Arts Center, New Ohio Theatre, IRT, and Interart Theatre, and teach our methods of theatre-making at universities around the country and internationally.

We were honored with a commendation for distinguished leadership from the Kennedy Center ACTF National Awards Committee, First Prize at the 2016 Secondo Theatre Festival (Switzerland), and the 2014 Cino Award for Sustained Excellence from the NY Innovative Theatre Awards, from whom we’ve received five other awards among 17 nominations (including Outstanding Production and Choreography/Movement).  Artistic Director Jessica Burr received the 2011 LPTW Lucille Lortel Award for her work as a director and the body of work we have created under her leadership.

 

 

Jessica Burr

Jessica Burr

Blog content provided by Jessica Burr. Jessica is the Artistic Director and a founding company member of Blessed Unrest. She has been honored with the 2019 Kennedy Center ACTF Commendation for Distinguished Leadership

Launders Charitable Trust Continues Its Support of the Community Hospice House of Richmond VA

Oct 11, 2021 | Community Hospice House of Richmond, Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust

Jeff Fairfield and Jerry Lonnes  present a check to Kyle Clark of the Community Hospice House of Richmond

RHLCT Co-Trustee Jerry Lonnes and RHLCT Executive Director Jeff Fairfield present a check for $10,000 to Kyle Clark, MSN, RN, Head Nurse at the Community Hospice House of Richmond.  This grant was approved and funded by the RHLCT Board of Trustees this summer to support the on-going capital campaign to expand the capacity of the Richmond Community Hospice House.  A facility operated by Bon Secours Mercy Health Foundation, the 16-bed facility in suburban Richmond provides compassionate, end-of-life care to terminally ill residents and their families.  Since 2015, The Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust has awarded grants totaling $162,500 to the Community Hospice House of Richmond.

Launders’ Gift to Reduce Sexual Violence in Rural Uganda Exceeds Expectations

Apr 9, 2021 | Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust, Solar Electric Light Fund

The Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust is the first funder to support the Solar Electric Light Fund’s (SELF) pilot project in Bukyerimba, Uganda.  It is aimed at reducing sexual violence against women and girls who are stalked by predators while collecting water and firewood for their families in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa.  By installing solar-powered streetlights and a solar-powered water station, as well as introducing solar cookers for food preparation, the project will significantly decrease the need for females to venture into isolated areas.

Based on the success of the project, SELF and its Ugandan partner, Rape Hurts Foundation (RHF), believe the pilot can be replicated throughout Sub-Saharan Africa where the need is greatest.  In central and eastern Africa alone, the prevalence of sexual violence against women can be as high as 37%. 

Ugandan women carrying water to their village.

SELF has installed a three-story water tower that connects to a distribution network in the village so that no one will have to walk far to get water.    It is no longer necessary for women and girls to spend several hours every day seeking water—with the threat of a brutal attack always on their minds.  Another advantage resulting from the system’s clean water is that water-borne diseases are no longer a threat, especially to young children. 

Solar streetlights now illuminate the project area at night—but not just to increase security.  Students in Bukyerimba and nearby villages congregate at the streetlights to do their homework, and neighbors can now safely gather at night.    Businesses are staying open longer because customers are no longer afraid to be outside after dark.  With businesses staying open, the local economy is starting to improve. 

In 2021, SELF plans to launch a program that will introduce the community to a new kind of cooking that depends upon solar thermal energy from the sun for heat; thus, it drastically reduces the need for collecting firewood.  When wood fires are no longer used for cooking, life-threatening pulmonary conditions from inhaling smoke and ash will no longer be a danger to the women.  The program includes launching a women-run, solar cookstove business. A 10 kW micro-grid will provide light in the RHF safe house, children’s center, and administrative office.  It will also serve several solar-powered appliances—a cell phone charging station, grain mill, and refrigerator (for cold drinks).  The appliances will generate revenue to assure the project’s sustainability and provide an opportunity for the women to learn entrepreneurship.

Hellen Tanyinga surrounded by children from the village.

Even though the project’s entire installation is not yet complete, evidence of success is seen around the community—not just for the women and girls, but everyone.  Hellen Tanyinga, Executive Director of RHF, says that the Kamuli Police Department (where Bukyerimba is located) reports that, since the opening of the water station and the installation of new streetlights, the number of sexual assaults has already dropped by 30%. Add to that statistic that 100% of the people in Bukyerimba have had their lives significantly improved because of their access to clean water and lights.  What started as funding from the Launders Trust to reduce sexual assault has delivered multiple returns on its philanthropic investment.

Contributed by Karen Allen. Karen is the Development Director for the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) based in Washington D.C.  Her work at SELF brings her full circle to her early career when she spent time in the bush in Central and South America, where she witnessed first-hand the consequences of energy poverty.