Violette Halden is the co-founder/Executive Director of Advocacy to Legacy. A2L was founded in 1991 and became a non-profit in December 2017, because of a need Violette and her friend identified to educate youth leaders on the procedures and skills they might use to acquire data, assess issues, and advocate for policy and legislation. Students Violette worked with serving meals at the public library were seeking more volunteer and leadership opportunities to participate in and became the first group to work with A2L.
Over 250 youth leaders have been taught in advocacy work and various data collection techniques by Advocacy to Legacy thus far. Opportunities for employment have been provided to over 90 students and 50 adults. Their work on asset mapping allowed them to interact with thousands of community members, and the voices they provided were incorporated into the City of Hartford’s strategic plan for two neighborhoods. Over 800 residents were physically registered for Covid vaccinations during the pandemic. The laws that A2l helped pass in Connecticut, such as Tobacco 21 (which raised the legal age of purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21), CROWN Act, and now Tobacco/Cannabis Proximity, have benefited many residents.