The CVH Sanctuary in Newtown is a memorial to a young girl killed in the Sandy Hook massacre of 2014.
When visiting the sanctuary this summer, I felt anxiety crossing the Newtown border. The town’s historic beauty belied its lingering tragedy. Yet if the sanctuary’s director, Jenny Hubbard, is any indication, residents will not be defined by grief but by extraordinary resilience and compassion.
Jenny is the energetic and optimistic mother of Catherine Violet Hubbard, for whom the sanctuary is named and dedicated. Catherine was six when she was killed. Her older brother, Freddy, now 16, was across the courtyard in his 3rd grade classroom at the time. No one could know at the time that her death would tip off what would become a symbol of community strength and power of collective good.
In the days following December 14, thick with tragedy and confusion, Jenny was tasked with penning her daughter’s obituary. “In lieu of flowers,” she wrote, anxious to get it over with, “the family is requesting donations be made to the Newtown Animal Center.” Catherine always brought milk bones to the dogs in the pound, so Jenny figured they’d raise a few dollars to purchase dog biscuits in her memory.
Serendipitously, she meant to write Newtown Animal Control Shelter. When they contacted the Newtown Animal Center a few months later, they learned it was a group of four women who rescued cats and dogs, all curious as to why they had received $125,000 of donations in Catherine’s memory.
These women had a better idea than endless yarn balls and doggie treats: build an animal sanctuary. A “place of healing” for four-legged creatures and endless bugs.
Jenny loved the idea; Catherine loved all things crawly. She smiled, “My rule was, if you’re going to capture a frog or a worm or a butterfly it’s only for a day. You have to release it. [Catherine] would let it go and whisper to it. I asked what she was saying to them. She said, ‘I’m asking them to tell their friends that I’m kind so they’ll come back more.’
“Sometimes I laugh about it - she wanted more and more bugs around her!
“[The sanctuary idea] really afforded me her wish to care for animals.” Moreover, she felt if kids had a space of “Acceptance and understanding that what’s not accepted as beautiful still serves a purpose, they might look at other people that way.”
After visiting numerous locations, she fell in love with 34 acres of farm land right in the center of Newtown itself. In May 2014 Governor Dan Malloy conveyed this land for the creation of CVH Sanctuary and handed Freddy the deed, to make “an impressive and thoughtful haven for animals and people.”
But it takes more than the ambition of one woman to tame miles of wild land into a dreamscape for flowers, bees, and beyond. It takes architects, landscapers, stonemasons, volunteers, donors, and nice people to help fix things.
PH Architects donated hours of research and renderings for a library and multi-functional space, including a colonnade designed to emulate Catherine’s outstretched arms and pavilion with a terra-cotta roof to represent her bright red hair. Stonemason Gino Vino constructed a large stone retaining wall, gratis, embedded with an image of the sun. For Gino, “the rays of sun are where heaven reaches down to earth and earth reaches up to heaven.” And so many more stories.
With their help, the sanctuary sprang to life. While touring the impressive grounds, Jenny talked about the classes and parties thrown in pre-COVID days and their ambitious plans for the future.
Jenny and her team created educational programming for elementary school kids and Sunday “Mindful for Monarchs” butterfly tagging. October sees a not-so-spooky Halloween party where kids learned the importance of scary things like snakes. Christmas sees an annual gala. Each December 14 they light Catherine’s “giving tree” decorated with popcorn and other treats for wildlife to eat.
Catherine’s Butterfly Party began in 2014 as a pet adoption event with free crafts and make-up for kids. The first year they hosted eight rescue organizations and 1,500 people. By 2019 the number ballooned to 28 organizations and 7,000 attendees.
COVID abruptly ended these gatherings but did not diminish their spirit. Working with the housing authority, social services, and a volunteer corp, they’ve delivered over 90,000 free meals to pets of senior citizens strapped for money (in 2019 they donated 3,500 meals.)
In the next few years, CVH Sanctuary plans to welcome thousands of children and families to witness how kindness enriches the lives of every living thing, from healing animals to growing vegetables to pollinating flowers and thistles.
“I’m so proud to see what her life is able to do,” Jenny says. “I hate how this happened, but I wouldn’t change the outcome for the world.”
Editor’s note: Jenny’s and Catherine’s (and Freddy’s!) story is painful and triumphant. To write everything would fill numerous pages. I wish I could have written it all. Please visit CVHFoundation.org to learn more.