business briefs – House of the Good Shepherd awarded $25K

The Utica National Group Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Utica National Insurance Group, has awarded $25,000 to The House of the Good Shepherd (HGS) in Utica to fund an insulation project at the Milton Abelove Children's Center (MACS) on its Champlin Road campus.

The MACS Building experienced significant water damage Jan. 16 due to frozen pipes bursting in the ceiling. To ensure this unfortunate situation did not occur again, HGS needed to insulate the space between the roofline and the ceiling. When the Utica National Group Foundation heard about the damage and need, they approved a $25,000 grant to cover a substantial portion of the project, which will be completed later this summer.

"The ability of The House of the Good Shepherd to carry out their excellent work for children in need was negatively impacted by the bursting pipes this past winter - our funding to help defray the costs of the necessary insulation improvements will prevent this problem from happening in the future," said Bernard Turi, chair of the Foundation's Screening Committee and Utica National's executive vice president, general counsel, general auditor and chief risk officer. "We are pleased that our foundation's grant has enabled the House to make these necessary upgrades so their focus can remain on providing treatment, education and support services to the children and families in need."

The MACS building houses 12 youths in the Raise the Age and Non-Secure Detention programs. These HGS programs provide practical and therapeutic interventions to help address criminogenic behavior, heal family bonds and challenge perceptions of current situations and future outcomes. These young people will continue on their path to success even after they leave the program with a newly formed focus on their purpose.

"We greatly appreciate the Utica National Group Foundation and their ongoing commitment to The House of the Good Shepherd," said HGS Director of Development Lee Bjornland. "They understood this adverse event's impact on our kids that had to relocate to another building while the MACS building was under repair. The generous support from the Utica National Group Foundation ensures this type of situation won't happen again and we are grateful."

The House of Good Shepherd is the leading provider of treatment, education and support programs to the children and families of the communities we serve.

The Utica National Group Foundation was founded in 1987 in advance of Utica Mutual's 75th anniversary.

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