Community Organizations
Boy Scouts / Cub Scouts
Cub Scouts, Pack 465, Roxbury / Bridgewater: Scouting program for boys in the 1st grade through the 5th grade under the age of 11. Pinewood derby, day outings, and monthly pack meetings highlight the program.
Cub Master: Jason McKay, (860) 597-6960
Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/794631473932867
Boy Scouts, Troop 65 Roxbury/Bridgewater: Scouting program for boys in grades 6 -12 or 12-18 years old.
Scout Master: Jason McKay, (860) 597-6960
Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/346405499028113
Bridgewater Food Pantry
The Bridgewater Food Pantry makes its home in the Bridgewater Congregational Church on Clapboard Road. It is available to all residents of Bridgewater. Confidentiality guaranteed. Donations always welcome! Click here for more information.
Bridgewater Grange #153
What is the Grange?
The Grange is an organization that was founded in 1867, after the Civil War. It was meant to help farming families preserve farmland, and also aided in fighting off railroad monopolies. The Grange is one of the first organizations that allowed women and teenagers as members, and also aided in the push for mail delivery. Today, the Grange has diminished due to the drop in American Farmland; however the Granges that still exist work together to rebuild awareness of farming attributes and also have broadened its focuses by serving more to the community.
What does the Bridgewater Grange do?
The Bridgewater Grange meets once a month. We donate our services to those who ask for it, and provide as much as we can to those in need. All of our profits are made either through donations or our roast beef dinners.
Community: The grange does as much as we can for those in our community. We host the annual Christmas tree lighting for any who would like to attend. Homemade cookies and hot cocoa are always provided. Every Easter, the Grange buys Easter Lilies and delivers them to shut-ins, as well as Christmas time with fruit baskets. We also host the annual Community Service Award dinner, awarding a selected person in the community to receive the award and hosting a dinner in their honor with dishes made by our Grangers. Every March or April, we have a "Clean Sweep" of Bridgewater, directing those that attend to different roads in Bridgewater to help rid the trash on our town roads.
Youth: The Grange has recently started hosting an annual Egg hunt for any children that would like to attend. We have eggs and candy for children 1-10, with a jelly bean count contest. Two thousand and nine was our second year running with this event and despite the weather turned out marvelous. We try our hardest to have a scavenger hunt yearly, and also support the Senior Project Fund to the seniors at Shepaug Valley High School. At every opportunity, we let high school students volunteer their time at our events to earn community service hours. We donate dictionaries to the children of Burnham school once a year as well.
Donations: There are organizations that we donate to yearly. We regularly give small gifts to the HVA (Housatonic Valley Association), St. Mark’s Church for their Christmas stockings, VFW Military Assistance Program for phone cards to soldiers overseas, The American Farmland Trust, and The Connecticut Farmland Trust. Over the past year, we have also started donating to AIRC, American Indian Relief Council. We try to send small gifts or donations to any family that has a loss in the family, either to the family themselves or sometimes to the Animal Welfare.
Our Roast Beef Dinners This Year: The second Saturday of May, June, September, and October. First seating at 5:30pm and second seating at 6:30pm.
Contact: info@bridgewatergrange.org
PHONE: 203-910-0115
Bridgewater Historical Society
The Bridgewater Historical Society was organized in 1928 by descendants of the first families to settle in the Town. The purpose of the Society is to make the colorful past of the Town as widely known as possible, and to preserve its historical memorabilia.
Originally, the archives of the Society were displayed in the basement of the Burnham Library. Later, what is known as the Captain's house was acquired as a museum. This house was the boyhood home of Captain William D. Burnham, who went to sea at the age of fourteen and eventually became the Captain of a clipper ship, later founding a major steamship company.
Captain Burnham bequeathed funds to the town of Bridgewater for the establishment of a library and a school, now known as the Burnham Library and the Burnham School. In addition to the Captain's House, the Historical Society has the Elijah Peck House, built in 1820 and purchased by the Town of Bridgewater in 1969. In the Captain’s House there is a post office corner made from the screen-line of the old Bridgewater Post Office and a typical old-time country store. Old farm implements are also on display.
The Elijah Peck House, which is furnished like a home, contains an old iron kitchen stove and many old kitchen and pantry items. The oldest item in the house is a pair of wedding slippers dating back to 1755. There is a Sturdevant spinning wheel, a Victorian parlor set and such items as a melodeon, an early vintage gramophone, old books and costumes, quilts and fine china. A collection of "objets d'art" belonging to the late Van Wyck Brooks (a noted critic and historian of American literature) who lived in Bridgewater in his later years, is also on display.
We are acquiring new items for the collection all the time. Most recently, we have received a sizable donation of items from the Henry Sanford family, a family that claims its roots in Bridgewater back to the late 1700's.
The Historical Society offers two publications for sale:
- Landmarks of Bridgewater: $40
- Barns of Bridgewater: $40
Website: Click here.
Email: Click here.
Contact us for a tour of our collection or for a research request.
President / Treasurer: Alan Michener 860-350-3515
Secretary: Laura Shail
Curator: Marla Blumenstock
Bridgewater Land Trust
P.O. Box 8
Bridgewater, CT 06752
Phone: (203) 628-8855
Email: Click here.
Contact: Julie Stuart, Executive Director
Website: Click here
Bridgewater Scholarship Foundation, Inc.
The Bridgewater Scholarship Foundation funds several scholarships to assist Bridgewater students with college expenses. Money to finance the scholarships comes from interest paid on bequests made to the scholarship fund over the years by interested Bridgewater citizens.
Chairman: Larry Neary
www.bridgewaterscholarshipfoundation.org
bridgewaterscholarship@gmail.com
Burnham School PTO
Phone: (860) 354-5559
Email: burnhamschoolpto@gmail.com
Community Caring in Bridgewater, Inc.
Non-profit corporation with a mission to make it possible for Bridgewater seniors and their families to stay in their homes longer and fully enjoy life here while having access to the care and resources needed as they grow older. CCBI's goals are to (1) coordinate medical referral efforts with the Visiting Nurses Association of New Milford and the New Milford Hospital, (2) coordinate chores/household services referrals, (3) act as a repository for community information, services, and programs, and (4) provide funding to assist in senior services.
Email: info@ccbridgewater.org
Website: Click here.
Connecticut Community Foundation
In 2003, former Bridgewater resident Victor L. Persbacker established a scholarship fund at the Connecticut Community Foundation to help students who have volunteered in town to pay for college. The fund annually provides $2,500 scholarships for four Bridgewater students who have demonstrated outstanding community service. Each student may receive a total of $10,000 from the fund over four years.
Website: Click here.
Friends of the Lake, Inc.
A non-profit corporation founded to improve the conditions on Lake Lillinonah for recreational enjoyment and for the long-term environmental protection of this beautiful section of the Housatonic River. Friends of the Lake, Inc. works closely with Lake Lillinonah Authority, FirstLight Power, the CT Department of Environmental Protection, elected officials, fellow members, local residents and other groups to help Lake Lillinonah.
Contact: (860) 210-8064
Website: Click here.
New Milford Visiting Nurse Association, Inc.
New Milford Visiting Nurse Association, Inc. is a nonprofit health care agency dedicated to providing quality home care, hospice and public health services to the greater New Milford area. It is accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP). Its Hospice Program is Medicare Certified and State of Connecticut licensed. Referrals are accepted from physicians, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, or from patients themselves. Community support from area towns, United Way of Western Connecticut and tax deductible gifts, bequest and memorial contributions help to fund many of NMVNA's community programs.
Website: Click here.
Persbacker Family Fund Scholarship
Eligibility: for students who have resided in Bridgewater for at least six years and have been involved in significant community service in Bridgewater. Applications available online at www.conncf.org Renewable for up to three years.
For More Information: Connecticut Community Foundation at (203) 753-1315
Website: Click here.
Promisek
Centered on the 300-acre Three Rivers Farm in Bridgewater, Connecticut, Promisek is a Catholic educational and environmental association dedicated to facilitating the emergence of an authentic lay spirituality for our time, in dialogue with people of other faiths. Rooted in Benedictine tradition, we cultivate personal relationship with God, with self, with others, and with the earth. Believing that each human being is uniquely called, our work is focused on the ever-deepening discovery of personal mission and release of individual giftedness in service of others.
Website: Click here.
Roxbury-Bridgewater Garden Club
The Roxbury-Bridgewater Garden Club meets the second Thursday of each month at 10:00am in the Parish Hall of St. Mark's Church. The club welcomes area gardeners with interests from floral design to environmental conservation. The club offers an annual scholarship to graduating seniors.
Website: Click here.
Shepaug Baseball and Softball
Each year, 3 million youngsters play Little League Baseball and Softball in over 6,000 leagues spread across the country in thousands of rural and urban communities alike. The Shepaug Baseball & Softball Program is one of those leagues. Our league has a high level of adult support and enthusiasm.
Our tee ball program is for all children between 5 - 6 years old, and has proven to be a natural transition into standard baseball and softball. As such, it provides a steady supply of young players already equipped with the basic skills and an enthusiasm for these sports. The players hit the ball from a batting tee.
Diamond Ball is for age group 6 - 8 year olds, which continues with the fundamentals of hitting and fielding. The game is pitched by coaches.
Baseball Minors (age 8 - 10) and Majors (age 10 - 12) puts the emphasis on the fundamentals with introduction to game strategies. Minors is pitcher play as well as pitched by coaches. Majors are player-pitched.
We also have Softball Minors (age 8 - 10) and Majors (age 10 - 12) for girls. The emphasis is on the fundamentals with an introduction to game strategies. Both minors and majors are player pitched.
Contact: Eric Gsell, (203) 297-3825
Website: Click here.
Shepaug Friends of Music
The Shepaug Friends of Music is a non-profit organization incorporated under section 501 (c) 3 of the Internal Revenue service code. The purpose of the organization is to foster an appreciation of music among elementary, middle and high school students who reside in or attend school within the Shepaug Valley region, through training and performance that goes beyond the opportunities available through existing educational curriculum.
Funding for the Shepaug Friends of Music is through individual donations, endowment gifts, or corporate sponsorships.
Our Organization provides resources for:
- Raising public awareness of music programs within the Shepaug Valley region.
- Providing awards to facilitate accessibility of music programs.
- Bringing professional performances to the Shepaug Valley region.
- Sponsoring workshops and instruction by music professionals.
- Promoting live performances by students of the Shepaug Valley Region.
Sunny Valley Preserve
The Sunny Valley Preserve consists of 1,850 acres of farmland, forests, wetlands, and meadows on 19 parcels of land. Visitors can hike on trails and learn about nature, land management, and environmentally compatible farming at several observation sites.
Hours:
Mon & Tues 9:00am to 5:30pm
Wed - Closed
Thurs 9:00am to 1:00pm
Fri 9:00am to 4:30pm
Contact:
Laura A. Shail, Office Administrator
8 Sunny Valley Lane
New Milford, CT 06776
Office: (860) 355-3716
Website: Sunny Valley Preserve
Women's Auxiliary - Fire Department
The Bridgewater Fire Department Women's Auxiliary welcomes new members. We are always looking for women to join us in our volunteer work. Our main goal is to raise money to support the fire department and ambulance. We do this through several fundraisers including: Fall Townwide Tag Sale, Wine & Beer Tasting and the Bridgewater Fair.
You do not have to be a member or relative of a member of the Bridgewater Fire Department in order to join. Feel free to sit in on one of our meetings at the Bridgewater Firehouse 7:30pm on the third Monday of each month.
Contact: Ann Frattalone (President) at (860) 350-3042, or Lois Carreira (Vice-President).