Rodney and Janice Reynolds | Encouraging personal and charitable contribution
Rodney and Janice Reynolds hold a special place in their hearts for individuals, particularly children, suffering from emotional and physical disabilities. The Reynolds have committed their lives to calling attention to the need to battle these disorders and in encouraging support from individuals and organizations to help fund ongoing treatment and research.
It is what compelled them 10 years ago to establish a therapeutic horseback riding program, called Equistrides, in North Granby for people with cognitive and emotional disorders. The program served many individuals, including patients from the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, who, together, comprised a group with more than 100 different physical and emotional disabilities. It’s why they founded the Rodney and Janice Reynolds Fund for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry which helps in the research and treatment of childhood depression, a disorder that studies demonstrate affect 15 to 20 percent of children and teenagers.
In 2009, the Reynolds contributed a major gift to Hartford Hospital’s Institute of Living to help launch the institute’s Depression Initiative.
“Our hope is to create awareness, enhance clinical services to treat today’s problems and have an impact on research to discover new treatments for the future,” said Rod Reynolds.
“We live in a society where people don’t hesitate to mention that their child has a physical ailment and goes to the hospital for treatment. On the other hand, they’re reluctant to mention that their child is suffering from and being treated for depression,” Janice Reynolds said.
The Reynolds’ gift and the work through the fund for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is helping to bridge the knowledge gap in pediatric depression by integrating the expert clinical services already offered at the Institute of Living through its neuroscience research infrastructure.
“Our focus has always been on children and youth,” Janice Reynolds said. “What attracted our support are the many mental health issues with young people today, so many on medications, so many with emotional problems, and so many being diagnosed. These issues seem to be starting at a much earlier age than people realize.”
The Reynolds’ work continues through their ongoing support of the University of Connecticut Health Center, where a chair they founded enables research into endocrinology and neurobiology, and through their ongoing support of several organizations including FAVARH, The Bridge Family Center, VNA Health Care, The Discovery Center and Jewish Family Services, to name a few.
“The needs are great,” Rod Reynolds said. “But we all can have a positive impact in the lives of others by giving what we can and by looking for ways to become personally involved. Can there be any greater way to find meaning in one’s life than by offering a part of it to another?”
Type of service: Philanthropy
Home: Granby
Principals: Rodney and Janice Reynolds
Winning category: Philanthropists of the year
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