Impact Fairfield County (Impact FFC) held its second Impactful Conversation of the 2021-2022 grant year on the topic of “Music Matters: Enriching Ourselves and Our Society,” featuring Impact FFC Grantee INTEMPO.
Members of Impact FFC joined at HAYVN in Darien for a conversation with Angie Durrell, Founder and Executive Director of Stamford-based INTEMPO, and Nathan Mensah, a Board-Certified Music Therapist.
INTEMPO, one of Impact FFC’s two $100,000 Impact Grant winners last year, has a mission “to engage, educate, and enrich the lives of children by making classical and intercultural music relevant, inclusive, and accessible, and to help close the opportunity gap by developing their musical, socioemotional, and interpersonal skills.” INTEMPO is using their grant to engage English language learners at three Stamford and Norwalk Public Schools through a music curriculum that helps them to learn English and to acclimate to their new school environments.
Durrell addressed the audience first, focusing her remarks on the impact of music on children’s literacy, brain development, and social and emotional development. She emphasized the multiple benefits of music education for children, including executive function development, language acquisition for English language learners, emotional resilience, and the ability to foster a deep relationship with a caring adult. She also highlighted the importance of music education being available to all in Fairfield County, urging attendees to advocate for music education, as it is not just an “extra,” but a “survival modality” for children.
Then Mensah, who currently works at St. Vincent’s Medical Center with Hartford Healthcare and Yale New Haven Hospital, spoke with the group via videoconference. His remarks addressed the impact of music on all ages, speaking to the benefits of music on both mental and physical health and wellness.
In his practice, Mensah uses music therapeutically to help patients achieve a variety of goals and objectives, including reducing stress, providing opportunities for healthy self-expression, and promoting coping and resilience with musical wellness. He spoke to the ways we can use music as an emotional support system to destress, to connect with others, and to transform and heal. Mensah then demonstrated the transformative power of music by leading the audience in a short calming meditation, and closing with an uplifting rendition of “Lean on Me.”
Impact FFC is also pleased to announce it has set new membership and grant funding records this year. 257 women – the largest membership since Impact FFC’s inception – have joined, enabling two $100,000 Impact Grants to be awarded to local nonprofits in May 2022, in addition to at least $57,000 in operating grants to Impact Grant finalists.
About Impact FFC: Impact FFC is a collective giving circle whose mission is to empower women to engage in local philanthropy through deeper knowledge and active participation in grantmaking. It unites women by pooling membership funds to provide large, transformational grants to nonprofit organizations across Fairfield County. Since its inception in 2016, Impact FFC has provided over $1.3 million in grant funding to local nonprofits.
For more information or to join Impact FFC, please contact membership@impactffc.org.
