ConnCORP

Your greatest investment is your health. Join us for Health is Wealth on Wednesday, August 19, from 6:00–8:00 PM at The Lab at ConnCORP (GPS: 265 Morse Street) for an evening of conversation on what it takes to thrive both personally and professionally. Hear from experts in lifestyle medicine, mental health, leadership, and wellness as they share practical strategies to prevent burnout, build sustainable habits, and create balance while pursuing your goals. Whether you're an entrepreneur, professional, or community member, you'll leave with actionable insights to help you lead, create, and make an even greater impact. 🎟️ Space is limited! Register today to reserve your spot: https://heyor.ca/8dgkdP #HealthIsWealth #ConnCORP #TheLabAtConnCORP #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Wellness #Community

“Our job is to fight with folks who are continuing to fight for themselves.” Thank you to P.R. Lockhart from CT Mirror for taking the time to sit down with our Founding CEO, Erik Clemons, to talk about our work, the vision behind First HAVEN, and what’s ahead as Erik steps down from ConnCAT and turns his full attention to ConnCORP. As ConnCORP enters this next phase, we’re eager to deepen the work building community wealth, supporting entrepreneurs, and creating opportunities rooted in and for our community. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/e7NDznun

There’s nothing quite like seeing hundreds of students head into a new school year with the tools they need to succeed! Thank you to everyone who joined us for ConnCORP's 5th Annual Backpack Giveaway. Because of our incredible volunteers, sponsors, partners, and community members, families from across Greater New Haven enjoyed an afternoon filled with backpacks, school supplies, free haircuts, face painting, bounce houses, hula hoops, fire trucks, games, and so much more. To everyone who helped make this event possible: thank you for helping show our young people that an entire community is behind them! We can't wait to do it again next year! 🎒📚💙 #CommunityImpact #BackToSchool #NewHaven #Education #CommunityFirst

Dear ConnCAT & ConnCORP Family, 💙💚 Today we're sharing some big news, and a personal letter from our Founding CEO, Erik Clemons. For a season, Erik carried both organizations at once, leading ConnCORP's growth while steering ConnCAT back to full strength. Now, as ConnCAT stands strong on its own, Erik is turning his full attention back to ConnCORP and the next phase of First HAVEN, the housing, retail, and anchor this part of the city has waited for. Malcolm Ellis will serve as interim CEO, carrying the mission forward without compromise and without interruption. As Erik shares in his letter: "Opportunity does not pause for transition. Neither do we." 🌱 This work has always been rooted in people, recognizing potential, removing barriers, and supporting individuals as they shape their own futures. That belief doesn't change. It's what carries both organizations into this next chapter.

🎨 MEET OUR TENANT-PRENEURS: Linda Mickens We had a chance to sit down with sculptor Ms. Linda Mickens, one of our talented studio tenants, during our open house! Linda is a sculptor, art activist, and keeper of stories, working with reclaimed wood, paper, metal, washboards, and other found materials to create layered pieces that honor memory, resilience, and collective healing. A primarily self-taught artist, she turned to her practice full-time after a 30-year career as a neonatal ICU nurse, and that same care and precision shows up in every piece she makes. Her work has been exhibited nationally, from City Gallery in New Haven to the Black Girl Art Show in Brooklyn and is held in the permanent collection of the River Road African American Museum in Louisiana. She's also a 2024 Bitsie Clark Fund and Mellon Foundation grantee and a 2025 MOCA Fellowship recipient. Be sure to stop by the 3rd floor to see one of Linda's original pieces on display, a must-see when you're in the building!

🍽️ Come take a seat at the ConnCORP Community Table! Our very own Daniel has a personal invite for you, join us Tuesday, August 18th from 3-5PM at The Lab at ConnCORP for a free meal. Open to all individuals and families in need, especially those impacted by recent SNAP benefit reductions. 📍 The Lab at ConnCORP, 265 Morse St, Hamden, CT 06517 🚪 Enter the parking lot and use the door to the left of the loading dock No one should go without a meal. Come as you are, bring a neighbor. 💚

None of this would've been possible without the incredible partners, funders, and community who believed in this vision from day one. We're deeply grateful to Senator Chris Murphy's Office, Senator Richard Blumenthal's Office, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Through a $4 million Congressionally Directed Spending Grant awarded in 2024, they helped us complete the buildout of our third floor and garden level, bringing our building to full operation. 🎉 To the teams who brought this space to life with their skill and heart: 🏗️ FCA Architects 🔨 Milestone Construction 🎨 People, Places & Spaces 🎈 Lux Balloons & Designs 🖌️ Sankofa Creative Interior Designs, proudly founded by a graduate of our very first Entrepreneurship Academy cohort! And to our community, thank you for showing up, celebrating with us, and believing in what this building represents. To the entrepreneurs who now call this space home: welcome. This is your space, built for your growth. And to those still to come , we can't wait to meet you. 🌱 This building isn't just walls and floors. It's a testament to what's possible when community, government, and small business champions come together.

pov: you almost missed this 👀 Networking isn't just a buzzword, it's how businesses grow, big or small. New partnerships, new clients, new friends, all start with one conversation. The Lab at ConnCORP prides itself on creating spaces where that first connection can happen and Summer Sizzle & Sip was exactly that. 🥂☀️ 📍The Lab at ConnCORP x @Connex

The furniture is beautiful. The space is beautiful. But none of that is why we're here. What a journey it's been these past two years, to envision how this place once was to what it is now. Last week's Open House at The Lab was about the entrepreneurs, the dreamers, the risk-takers, the culture preservers, the people bold enough to imagine something different for themselves, their families, and their communities. And every day they step into the marketplace, they're showing the rest of us what's possible. Every piece of this place tells a story: our ancestors, our neighborhoods, our resilience, our creativity. Individually unique, together something so much bigger. Thank you to everyone who walked these halls with us, met our entrepreneurs, heard their stories, and celebrated the work happening within these walls. This isn't a finish line, it's the continuation of work that won't stop.

What a night! Thank you to everyone who came out to The Lab at ConnCORP for our Summer Sizzle & Sip Business After Hours. From great conversations to new connections, this evening was all about bringing together entrepreneurs, professionals, creatives, and community leaders who are shaping New Haven's business and entrepreneurial ecosystem. A huge thank you to Connex for partnering with us on this event and for helping make this gathering possible, your support of local businesses and entrepreneurs continues to move our community forward. 🙌 To everyone who mingled, networked, and shared a plate and glass of the homemade peach sangria (or two 😄) with us, thank you for showing up and showing out. This is what community-building looks like. Stay tuned for our next networking event!