CFM Foundation Background

The Carmine and Frank Mangini Foundation is a non-profit organization, which provides funding directed at increasing opportunities for under-resourced children. It seeks to accomplish this goal by creating, developing and assisting academic and athletic programs.

The CFM Foundation holds an annual Football Fundamentals Mini Camp at which NFL players and coaches join other professional coaches and staff to teach young people the principles, mechanics, and ethics of high-level competitive football. The counselors, many of whom are sporting heroes of the students, stress the importance of education, hard work, and character development to success on and off the field. Football skills are taught as a mechanism for illustrating the importance of both an individual work ethic and teamwork and also aims to develop self-confidence, trust and a positive self-image.

The CFM Foundation held its inaugural Camp on June 15, 2002 in Hartford, Connecticut in conjunction with the Tebucky Jones Youth Foundation. Several NFL players and coaches acted as volunteer instructors as did coaches from regional universities. The Connecticut Association of High School Referees provided referees and the Hartford Police Department provided volunteer officers for security. A further fifty volunteers managed registration, catering and general organization. Approximately 250 students participated in the Camp in 2002.

In June 2007, more than 800 students participated in the sixth annual Football Camp. More than 120 NFL players and NFL and college coaches, alongside more than 200 volunteers, helped make the one-day camp a success.

Foundation Programs

Computer Scholarships

Each year a number of students are selected as CFM Foundation's MVPs. These students are chosen based on academic and extracurricular achievement, as well as a strong commitment to community service. They must demonstrate a high level of character and a strong determination to succeed. The MVPs are selected by the Board and the award and winners are given the choice of a new desktop computer or laptop computer to start college with. Since 2003, CFM has recognized more than 50 MVPs.

Capital Improvement Projects

The CFM Foundation will continue to contribute to the success of under resourced children by giving them the tools to both participate and succeed. This past year the foundation provided the Bulkeley High School football team with more than two thousand dollars worth of equipment. This equipment replaced items that were either unusable or had been lost to theft. As a result of this donation over 20 children who, had been waiting for equipment, were able to participate on the team.

Mini-Grant Program

The Mini-Grant Program was established to provide teachers, advisors and coaches with much needed funds to pursue projects that may be beyond their current budget. The Board will select grant recipients based on an application process. Applications are considered with reference to the Foundation's objective to support academic and athletic programs for under-resourced children. The CFM Foundation will award a grant of up to five hundred dollars per request.