NCFC History

The Norton Children’s Fund was established when Chester D. Norton, an Andover farmer who died in 1891, specified in his will that $3,000 was to be left for the poor children of Andover. Local legend has it that when Chester was a child his poor family could not afford the eyeglasses he needed and a kindly gentleman provided the family with funds for Chester’s eyeglasses. Many years later when making his will Chester remembered that act of kindness and left an act of kindness of his own that continues giving to this very day.

The Norton Children’s Fund Commission was established in 1937 at a Town Meeting and has continued to this day distributing the interest income from Chester’s will plus donations from generous citizens to help the children of Andover. The Irene Mooney Fund was established in 2005 to be administered by the Norton Children’s Fund Commission. Like Chester D. Norton’s will, only the interest from this fund is available for distribution.

In 2002 the family of F. Kendall Brown and Frank H. Brown set up a scholarship in memory of their father and brother. The Norton Children’s Fund Commission has been given responsibility for managing the scholarship selection.

Over the years the Commission has relied on donations to increase the principal from the original $3,000 to nearly $9,000 today. Only the interest income and private donations are expended each year. Funds are used during the year for assistance with back-to-school items, holiday time assistance, and an annual scholarship. Each year since 1960 the Commission has presented a small scholarship to an Andover high school or home-schooled senior who will be continuing their education.

The Norton Commission consists of 5 members and meets twice a year, once in the spring and again in late fall. At the spring meeting the scholarship recipient is chosen and funds to help families with Back-to-School supplies are distributed. At the fall meeting funds are distributed to help families with holiday gifts. Throughout the year the Commission is also available to assist families that have a need. The Norton Commission scholarship is available to any and all high school students and is not based on financial need. 

The digital scholarship application form is available at this link, the Norton Children's Fund Commission Facebook page and at the RHAM High School Guidance Counselor Scholarship Information  webpage. The link to the scholarship form can also be requested by email from the Norton Commission’s Chair (Deardianne@comcast.net). Please refer to the scholarship application for the deadline (Beginning of May).  The digital application takes about 5-8 minutes to complete.

Each year, the Norton Commission members meet in early June to select the recipient of the current year’s scholarship(s), as well as the allocation of funds for next year’s back-to-school needs. The biggest challenge for the Commission is letting residents in-need know services are available. The Commission members conducted the 'Guess the Norton Number' at the Andover Elementary School in April, 2021 as well as the Norton Fun Jar awareness project at the Andover Elementary School where children were encouraged to guess the number of items in a jar in February 2021. Entry forms included the Commission’s mission statement and history. Winners' photos were published in the Rivereast newspaper, the Commission's facebook page and the town website. Commission members also participated in the Senior Fundraiser in February to bring attention to our mission.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Norton Children’s Fund may send a check to: Norton Commission, c/o Andover Town Office Building, 17 School Road, Andover, CT 06232.