Thames Valley Council for Community Action’s (TVCCA) mission is to address systemic and structural barriers that cause poverty for families and individuals in Eastern CT by focusing community resources, partnerships, and services on the social determinants of health and well-being. They are a well recognized community leader and partner and have been doing this incredible work since 1965.
SVP CT has the privilege of kicking off our partnership with TVCCA alongside CEO Deb Monahan who has been part of the organization for 50 years and will be retiring this year. During her tenure, TVCCA has grown from a $3 million organization to a $34 million champion for the region’s economically and otherwise disadvantaged citizens.
In the past year alone, the organization has secured funding towards the construction of a new childhood education center in Groton and is working with partners to secure a Family Executive Center on the same site. Deb credits much of their success to the dedication of the staff, which has expanded to 375 employees.
“TVCCA is more than our services. We are a workforce that is a phenomenal community of people,” said Deb. “I always tell people to never hesitate to ask for help if you need it. We have so many partnerships that can help, there is always somewhere to turn.”
One of the key services that TVCCA provides is early childhood education . They operate multiple childhood development programs to ensure that children from birth through age 5 receive the education and support they need. They serve nearly 1,000 children in Eastern, CT.
With great results and significant growth under their belt, they are now looking to the future.
“We are in a time of transition with a new CEO taking over and important strategic questions being asked. The timing to partner with SVP couldn’t be better from my perspective…I was so excited when I heard that SVP would be working with us. We just want to get better at what we want to do.”
The SVP CT team is working with TVCCA on leadership development and an early childhood workforce pipeline pilot. This team, led by volunteer partner Gayle Weinstein and staff member Skye Cornell, has already hit the ground running.
“What I have already found with the SVP folks I’ve worked with is that they ask different questions that we may not have thought of before. It gets us working and thinking differently. A fresh perspective in a really positive way,” shared Deb.
For our part, the team feels very grateful to work with such an impactful leader and changemaker in Deb and the organization as a whole. TVCCA is poised to continue to make great strides in our state and we believe that together we will become that much closer to realizing our vision of a thriving CT with racial equity and economic security for ALL.
