Charter Oak Cultural Center provides free classes in the arts to nearly 1,000 underserved Hartford young people, presents multi-cultural artistic programming made accessible to the Hartford inner-city community for free or at a very low cost, works extensively with the homeless community, and presents performances and exhibits that address issues of cultural, political and social relevance. Charter Oak's unique programming is housed in an equally unique, beautiful historic property built in 1876 as the first synagogue in Connecticut.