Local Organizations

William Appleby, Post Commander

The Post has been chartered in Old Lyme since 1919. All veterans are welcome to attend meetings on the fourth Tuesday of each month from September to June at 7:30 pm in the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall. The Post sends a monthly newsletter to members and prospective members. Youth programs sponsored by the Post include the annual Memorial Day Essay Contest for students in grades 5 and 6 and the "Drugs Destroy Dreams" poster contest for students in grades K through 4. The Post sends a student candidate to Boys' State, a mock government conference, and participates in Veterans' and Memorial Day ceremonies. American Legion Post Number 41 has participated for 8 years in a state program that assists veterans who are homeless or in need. Call 860-434-9812 for membership information or application.

Peter Sielman, Chairperson

The Old Lyme Area Cable Advisory Council represents the interests of area citizens and subscribers in advising Comcast on the operation of its cable television franchise. The Council meets bimonthly in one of the towns within the franchise area (Lyme, Old Lyme, East Haddam, and Salem). Minutes are available at each town hall.

View High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Inc. Website

To a child or adult with a physical, developmental or emotional disability, life can look a lot brighter on horseback. The power and warmth of the horse strengthens and tones muscles, improves balance, head control and coordination, builds self-esteem, and offers a sense of freedom and equality.

High Hopes is a 501(c) 3 non-profit, established in 1974. Our mission is to improve the lives of people with cognitive, physical and emotional disabilities through the benefits of therapeutic horseback riding and other equine-assisted activities while serving the therapeutic riding profession through training and education. We are based in Old Lyme Connecticut, but our participants come from across Connecticut; including from some of the most under-served communities in our State. 96% of our workforce are volunteers (650 a year), and 80% of our operating budget comes from donations. High Hopes welcomes participants, volunteers, supporters and donors, from the shoreline and beyond, to visit and get involved.

For information about volunteering at High Hopes please click here.

For more information about Therapeutic Riding, Driving and Equine Assisted Learning Programs at High Hopes, click here.

For more information about Community Programs for children and adults, including Summer Camp for ages 3 upwards please click here.

At High Hopes, everyone is welcome. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion or religious creed, disability, sex, gender, gender identity and/or expression (including a transgender identity), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, genetic information, income, or any other characteristic. Horses do not judge, and nor do we.

Send mail addressed to:
High Hopes Therapeutic Riding, Inc.
36 Town Woods Road
Old Lyme, CT 06371

Phone: 860-434-1974

Fax: 860-434-3723

Email High Hopes Therapuetic Riding Inc.

View MacCurdy Salisbury Educational Foundation, Inc. Website

The MacCurdy Salisbury Foundation Awarded 98 scholarships to Lyme and Old Lyme high school graduates this year. Total amount awarded was $143,450, which was an average of $1,464 per student. A breakdown of the number of scholarships per class is Class of 1997, 27 scholarships; Class of 1998, 20 scholarships; Class of 1999, 29 scholarships; and Class of 2000, 22 scholarships.

The Foundation is making plans to change from a Private Foundation to a Public Foundation. This change will not alter our purpose, supporting educational opportunities for Lyme and Old Lyme students. It will make it more attractive for donors to give the Foundation gifts other than cash. Currently gifts of securities or property only afford the giver a charitable contribution equal to the current market value of the gift, which is often far above the original cost.

We are undertaking this change because we feel the need to increase the size of our endowment. The awards we are able to give have not kept pace with the ever-increasing cost of college tuition. We hope the change in our status coupled with the generosity of local residents will enable the Foundation to grow, allowing us to provide more meaningful contributions to Lyme and Old Lyme students.

View Old Lyme Land Trust, Inc. Website

The Old Lyme Conservation Trust is a non-profit organization founded in 1966, and dedicated to the preservation of Old Lyme's rural character and quality of life. Our primary concern is the preservation of Old Lyme's natural resources through the purchase of open space, conservation easements, and the receipt of land donations for conservation. OLCT presently owns, manages, and preserves over 70 parcels in Old Lyme.

View Old Lyme Volunteer Ambulance Association Website

P.O. Box 111
South Lyme, CT 06376

Phone: 860-434-0089

The Old Lyme South End Volunteer Ambulance Association, Inc. is an independent organization that exists to provide emergency medical services to the Town of Old Lyme and mutual aid emergency medical services to other area towns when requested. We operate two ambulances - a primary unit from the Cross Lane station and a secondary from the Boughton Road station. A paid technician is on duty from 6 am to 6 p. m. Monday through Friday to respond to calls during the period when the fewest volunteer personnel are available. In the past year the Association responded to approximately 600 fire and medical emergency calls.

The Catchment Area Council (CAC) Number 10 of the Region II Mental Health Board (RMHB) (Advocacy for the Mentally Ill) has concluded another anxious year due to the Governor's politically popular tax cuts. The new state budget has resulted in budget cuts and restructuring of the Mental Health and Addiction Services Department. This has resulted in decreasing rather than increasing various programs designed to assist recovering patients back into the mainstream of life.

The year was spent in many meetings and focus groups and testifying at the state level. Hundreds of letters have been written and phone calls made to State Legislators to advocate for the budget of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), the parity bill (to require insurance companies to treat mental illness an a parity with cancer, diabetes, AIDS, etc.), housing issues, police training, etc.

We held statewide Behavioral Health Day to help educate the public on mental illness; it was a resounding success.

Region II CAC and RHMB work has expanded to include contact and dialogue with the region action councils, substance abuse providers, and the CEO of Cedarcrest Hospital as well as our traditional relationships with the Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) and the Connecticut Valley Hospital. We have talked to private providers, department of social services, managed care companies, all sorts of consultants, and many more people in recovery (consumers) who use the current service system and sometimes those who do not have good access to the system.

RMHB is changing; we have forged new alliances. Planning and advocacy work are done creatively, ad hoc, with other groups. Review and evaluation is also changing. We push the DMHAS for data the are usable and learn from their long-range studies question-and-answer activities. We are working more and more with the other regional boards and groups like the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, the Mental Health Coalition, and the Mental Health Association to coordinate advocacy with the DMHAS, the State Board, and the Legislature.

Our members hold key positions on important local and statewide advisory groups from the DMHAS managed care work groups to the Connecticut Valley Hospital Oversight Council grappling with the Middletown injunction to limit real estate locations the will be available for mental health support.

We are optimistic as we face transitions, and our economic status is stable and more diversified with additional individual town support.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars organization is made up of men and women who have served our country honorably overseas in time of war. That spirit of service continues to exist as the Lyme/Old Lyme Post membership works to fulfill projects aimed at our community and schools. In addition to updating all veterans on current health screening and benefits, the goal of the Post is to provide patriotic, historical, and educational events to maintain the institution of our American freedom.

The Post can be proud of its ninety members, thirty of whom actively participate in scheduled town events. Private donations and money-earning projects enable the organization to proceed with meaningful programs through the year.

Our Lymes' Post sponsors the elementary school "Freedom is Not Free" Veteran's Day poster coloring contest, the middle School "My American Hero" youth essay contest, and the senior high school "Voice of Democracy" program. Among the community service projects completed were presentation of a flag pole for the new Gloria Maddox baseball field, building a stone barbeque pit for the Lymes' Senior Center, and distribution of 10,000 tubes of toothpaste to the New England area VA hospitals, shelters, and social agencies.

The November VFW "Buddy Poppy" Program, which is conducted for our Post Relief Fund, again helped several needy town veterans and their families. We continue to thank all residents of Lyme and Old Lyme for their contributions to this annual appeal.

Lymes' Post schedules its dinner meetings the fourth Monday of the month at the Lymes' Senior Center at 5 pm. For membership information and the opportunity to join in the Veterans of Foreign Wars comradeship and service, call 860-434-4207.

Veterans' Service Contact Person: Email Anthony Vallombroso