The Connecticut Community Empowerment Foundation’s mottos is “People of All Abilities Working Together". We strive to provide a learner-centered, knowledge-centered, and community-centered environment for children, teenagers, families, adults, and seniors in which individuals are not limited by misperceptions of differences or disabilities, but treated with dignity, respect, and fairness. This vision is one of both idealism and activism reflected in the ReRead & More’s integrated job training programs, a wide range of special-needs-friendly community social events, educational programming for families, educators and employers, readings and workshops by authors and illustrators, and other forms of community outreach.

The Connecticut Community Empowerment Foundation (CCEF), which operates as ReRead Books & More, was founded in May 2020 to address the lack of job training and independent living opportunities for individuals with special needs. The need for job training and independent living opportunities escalated and became critical due to the COVID-19 pandemic since young adults with differences were among the first workers to lose jobs. A group of community members who had experienced this crisis first hand recognized the urgent need for innovative alternatives. ReRead Books & More was founded to bridge that gap by offering a host of job training and mentoring opportunities, as well as serving as a social and educational hub to support confidence and independence for individuals with special needs.

ReRead Books & More opened its doors to the greater Cheshire community in November of 2020. In September 2024, we expanded our operations to the top floor of the Watch Factory, transforming what used to be Be Here Now Yoga into The Reading Room, a beautifully renovated rentable event venue where elegance meets purpose. Every booking feeds back into our empowering of individuals with special needs through job training and community programs.