At Hall Neighborhood House we do all things with integrity; it’s one of our core values.As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we hold ourselves to the highest standards—especially when it comes to finances and programming.
Integrity is important because it builds trust—and we need our community’s trust to function effectively and carry out our mission.
With our core value of integrity in mind, here’s what we do each and every day:
We speak honestly.
We regularly ask our neighbors, staff, volunteers, and leadership to share their honest feedback—including compliments, complaints, questions, and suggestions. And when people speak honestly to us, we respond with honesty, too—including asking for help when we need it.
When our community tells us what it needs, we match our services to fit their needs. We aim to address problems as soon as they crop up, and we’re sensitive to how community members’ needs may change over time. We are lucky to have community and staff members who speak up when they need something new or notice an issue.
We built a community health center because our residents asked for it. We were able to meet this need because we were honest with ourselves about our strengths, our capacity, and where we needed additional support. Though we had sufficient space for the health center, we needed help with staffing—and that’s where Optimus Health came in.
We were honest about what we could and couldn’t provide, and we reached out to Optimus Health for support. Today, Optimus Health practitioners are on-site five days a week to provide excellent care to Bridgeport residents.
We provide high-quality services.
We take our responsibility to Bridgeport very seriously. Our internal standards are high, and we also seek outside accreditation as a second, impartial measure of our commitment to excellence and safety.
Hall Neighborhood House’s childcare programs are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and meet all criteria set forth by the Office of Early Childhood in the Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards. We are also fully licensed by the State of Connecticut Office of Early Childhood. We use the Connecticut Documentation for Observation and Teaching System Assessment tool, the Brigance screening tool, and the Ages and Stages Screening Tool to assess the educational and developmental progress of our students.
We are also an approved Program Operator of the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program, providing nutritious meals and snacks to children and students.
We commit to transparency.
At Hall Neighborhood House, we are committed to being responsible stewards of the money we receive from grants and generous donors.
For example, this year we were proud to receive the Core Mission Grant from Impact Fairfield County. Our proposal and mission were thoroughly reviewed during the selection process—throughout which we demonstrated our commitment to our community, our fiscal responsibility, and our integrity.
Our financials are independently audited every year by Hope & Hernandez PC. Information about revenue and expenses can be found on our website, with audit reports and the most recent 990s available upon request. We also have a 97/100 Encompass Rating on Charity Navigator.
At Hall Neighborhood House, our integrity is everything to us. We don’t take the faith our community has in us lightly, and we’re thankful for the opportunity to demonstrate our trustworthiness to them every single day. Help us continue to provide Bridgeport residents with critical services by making a gift today. You’re contributing to a community legacy of integrity, honesty, and transparency.
At Hall Neighborhood House, our values help us create a welcoming atmosphere where everyone feels like family. In our community, we treat one another with respect, no matter what. We honor that we come from many different backgrounds, and we celebrate these differences as strengths.
By prioritizing a culture of respect, we create a diverse, vibrant, and interconnected community. Here’s how we ensure every person feels valued at Hall Neighborhood House:
We invest in our physical space.
Building community is central to our mission, and it starts with our physical location. As a staff, we show respect to our community members by ensuring that our space is clean, well-maintained, and safe, especially with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Our building houses incredible programs—including the community health center, accredited early childhood programs, and support for seniors—but it’s also a safe space where our neighbors can just be. Our campus is a place where all of our neighbors can feel valued and secure. It’s a place where people of all ages access educational opportunities alongside chances to play. It’s a place to find resources and build meaningful relationships.
We also show respect to our community by connecting Bridgeport residents to the best resources we have available. We ensure our educational programs are nationally and locally accredited, and we hire highly trained childcare and development professionals to run them. Our facility brings best-in-class opportunities and equipment to the community, and we connect with partners like Beats by Girlz to help our youth develop new skills.
As Hector Burgos, our Early Learning Program Director says, “We are their community center and we are here to help in many different ways.”
We welcome everyone.
Our diversity is our strength. As we develop programs, we commit to the most holistic model possible so that Hall Neighborhood House continues to be a place that meets the needs of families, youth, adults, and seniors in our community. We’re here for people of all ages.
This year, we’re celebrating 135 years in Bridgeport. We respect our neighbors by making a long-standing commitment to them and adapting as we grow. Because we’re in this for the long haul, we pursue growth that is sustainable and meaningful to the people who walk through our doors every day, week, or month.
“With our programs,” shares board member Stuart Zarich, “we’re making sure kids, youth, adults, and seniors have a chance to be healthy, learn, and grow.”
We know each other’s names.
It might seem small, but welcoming everyone starts with learning the name of each person who walks through our doors. Conversations are better when we start on common terms. We can’t control every aspect of life for our staff and neighbors, but we can control how we treat each other in our space.
We affirm our neighbors.
Every single member of our community has value. Full stop. We believe that all people deserve access to education, nutritious meals, and community. That’s what we provide for Bridgeport residents, no matter their age, race, or income level.
Our foundation of respect begins with our youngest participants (babies just six months old) and extends to our oldest. In our early education programs, we teach social skills and encourage meaningful friendships. Older kids can attend summer camps and after-school programs where they develop new skills and plan for the future. We help them see what’s possible and achieve their goals. We believe learning is a lifelong process, so our programs include opportunities for adults and seniors to take classes and share their hobbies, too.
At Hall Neighborhood House we invest in good things and take pride in the quality of our services and facilities. Help us continue to provide meaningful support to our community by making a gift today. With your support, we can continue to offer high-quality programs and services to all of our neighbors.
Our core values drive everything we do at Hall Neighborhood House. They keep us focused, drive our decisions, and help us serve our community. As a team, we’re constantly setting and reaching ambitious goals—because we aim to keep getting better.
We always look for ways to improve our programs and our neighborhood, starting with ourselves and our relationships. Our commitment to lifelong learning is something we take very seriously.
Here’s how we pursue meaningful growth:
We use purposeful metrics.
Our values are our guiding light. They shape what we do and why we do it. But we believe measurable impact matters, too. At Hall Neighborhood House, we keep track of our progress so that we can keep getting better.
Each year at Hall Neighborhood House we serve:
Over 250 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers
Over 500 youth (through after school programs, summer camp, activities with local schools, sports, music programs, and more)
During the pandemic, we also delivered over 2,000 bags of groceries and over 400 meals delivered to senior citizens.
Measuring impact means more than numbers. We want to ensure that no matter the number of neighbors we’re serving, we’re offering the highest quality programs possible. That’s why our childcare programs are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and meet all criteria set by the Office of Early Childhood in the Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS).
“Hall’s model is responsive to our community’s needs and incredibly effective,” Board Chair Carol Donnelly shared.
We keep measuring, keep listening, and keep growing the way our neighbors need us to.
We commit to lifelong learning.
Our unique intergenerational model allows us to emphasize learning at all ages. We all have something to teach one another—and we learn just as much from the vibrant youth in our programs as we do from the decades of experience our seniors share with us. We stay open to new opportunities—because you never know who might have the next great idea.
At Hall Neighborhood House, we encourage lifelong learning by making sure everyone has a safe place to learn and grow. We build a social, emotional, and academic foundation for young children and students to equip them to follow their dreams as they grow up, and we provide opportunities for adults to keep learning, too.
Our team commits to the same principle of lifelong learning. Supporting personal and professional development for our staff is a key part of our goal to keep getting better. We encourage our staff to invest in themselves and our community through training, networking, and continuing education. Our Board of Directors upholds the same values. They are experienced, excited members of our community who are passionate about Hall Neighborhood House’s potential.
We invest in community partnerships.
We know that we can go further together—and investing in community partnerships allows us to provide more services at a manageable scale.
For example, our community health center, Community Health at Hall, is staffed with practitioners five days a week thanks to our partnership with Optimus Health. Soon, we’ll expand our offerings to include behavioral health services and dental treatment, thanks to additional community partners.
Board Member Andrea Canuel is part of the team that is leading us into an expansive new season of partnerships. “There’s so much opportunity to expand Hall’s range of partners, and I’m thrilled to drive us forward as we continue to expand our community presence,” she said.
We keep getting better, and together we can make life better.
We are so excited to take advantage of this momentum to keep getting better by pursuing big dreams for Hall Neighborhood House’s future. Be a part of our season of growth by supporting our mission!
At Hall Neighborhood House, all of our programs are driven by a core set of values. These central tenets of our community drive our actions and our relationships—and one of the values that motivates us most is that we Believe in People. At Hall, we look for the best in people, regardless of their circumstances. We operate like a family and believe that everyone has value.
Everyone in our organization shares this mindset—from board members to staff, teachers, leadership, and anyone who works on our behalf. Our goal is for everyone who walks through our doors to feel like family.
Our emphasis on family is also how we build community across generations—children, families, adults, and seniors come together to form the Hall Neighborhood House community, and everyone is welcome here.
Our values guide every decision we make at Hall Neighborhood House. When we say we believe in people, here’s what we mean:
At Hall, We Listen and Adapt
We make it a point to be responsive to the unique needs of our community—whether that’s adding new programs or tweaking old ones.
We opened our health center in response to neighbors’ needs, and we are now one of the only youth, childcare, and senior centers in the area to offer on-site medical care. We have practitioners from Optimus Health on-site five days a week providing physicals, immunizations, and ongoing healthcare. We listened to our community’s concerns and took action–but we’re not stopping here. In the coming months, we will add dental, vision, and behavioral health services to the health center.
We Invest in Programs Proven to Make Life Better
Hall Neighborhood House provides comprehensive, accredited childcare and preschool programs, because all children deserve opportunities to learn using proven techniques. In our classrooms, children learn from child development experts and teaching professionals.
For seniors, we know that nutrition has a huge impact on quality of life, especially for those over age 65, so we provide nutritious meals every day at our Senior Center.
And we’re excited to provide preventative healthcare, like screenings, physicals, and immunizations so our neighbors can spend their energy playing or learning instead of trying to find affordable healthcare.
We Pursue Community Partnerships
There are some things we can’t do alone, so we welcome community involvement—whether that means individual volunteers, groups of classmates, or whole organizations. Volunteers and community partners bring their unique expertise to Hall Neighborhood House, helping us continue to provide varied and high-quality programming for community members of all ages.
For example, our partners at Beats by Girlz encourage girls to try music engineering and producing, using the professional mixing equipment and recording rooms at Hall Neighborhood House. We provide state-of-the-art technology and they provide valuable mentorship and guidance.
Youth basketball programs also use our gyms for league games. This program allows our home team, Kings Kids, to showcase their skills, and introduces more community members to Hall Neighborhood House.
We Model Possibility
Not only do we provide a safe space where kids can be with their friends, we intentionally offer our youth exposure to what’s possible. We seek out staff and leaders with varied personal and professional backgrounds. On our Board, for example, we have members with experience in sales, marketing, banking, healthcare, economics, teaching, and more.
Sandra Greer, Vice Chair of the Board puts it best, saying, “We’re building a sense of self-worth and a mindset so our students can tell themselves, ‘I can. I am somebody.’”
We believe in people. And we help people believe in themselves.
Our values make Hall Neighborhood House a special place. We work every day to be good neighbors and provide high-quality, comprehensive programs for our community. You can be a part of our story and join us in believing in people by supporting our mission today!
Today on National Doctors Day, we are celebrating the incredible medical professionals working at our full-service health center, Community Health at Hall. We are grateful that we are able to serve the East Side of Bridgeport with high-quality medical care, and, with the support of our committed team of medical professionals, we look forward to growing the health services available in our neighborhood.
The East Side of Bridgeport is a vibrant community with diverse needs. In our 135 year history, Hall Neighborhood House has met those needs in both practical and creative ways, and our on-site community health center, in partnership with Optimus Health, is the latest offering designed to bring care and resources to those we serve. We are one of the only youth, childcare, and senior centers to offer on-site medical care in our area.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our community health center has made it possible for us to provide COVID-19 testing and vaccinations on-site. We are grateful for the physicians at Optimus Health and Yale New Haven Health that have helped us serve our community throughout the pandemic.
In addition, we continue to provide accessible, high-quality medical services that contribute to our neighbors’ long-term wellbeing and quality of life. Although medical experts widely agree that primary care forms the cornerstone of individual and public health, primary care visits have dropped across the nation. People with lower incomes, especially, have less access to primary care and tend to wait until something is wrong before visiting a doctor, a trend that results in poorer health outcomes. We know that preventative care is essential for community health, so Community Health at Hall provides physicals, immunizations, and ongoing, preventative medical care. Last year, in partnership with Sacred Heart University College of Nursing, we offered 1,000 medical screenings for senior citizens in our community. We look forward to providing even more primary care through the new community health center.
As one of Hall Neighborhood House’s Physician’s Assistants, Charles Engle, PA-C, described, “At the new community health center, I’m able to offer critical support and healing to families in this neighborhood. Community Health at Hall makes preventative medical care convenient and accessible to those living on the East Side of Bridgeport. Our patients will benefit for years to come from the services Hall Neighborhood House provides just a short distance from their homes.”
And in so many ways we are just getting started.
Your donation today will enable the continued growth of Community Health at Hall’s medical offerings. Soon, we will also provide dental, vision, and psychological services to our neighborhood. In Bridgeport’s low-income communities, 19% of children lack proper dental care, and 5.4% of young adults ages 18-25 self-identified as having a serious mental illness, a significant increase from the survey three years prior. By offering high-quality dental, vision, and behavioral health care, we will address critical community needs and continue Hall Neighborhood House’s mission to provide holistic, high-quality services throughout our neighbors’ lives.
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