The Annual Meeting of At Home In Darien will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, Dec. 10, with state Attorney General William Tong the featured guest speaker. The meeting will take place in the Community Room at Darien Library. The public is invited to attend virtually and learn more about At Home In Darien and its services. — an announcement from At Home In Darien
As attorney general, Tong’s top priority is to protect Connecticut families, residents and consumers, and to stand up to powerful forces that threaten us.
Darien High School graduate Matthew Gentile will be awarded the Outstanding Eagle Scout Award from the National Eagle Scout Association on Sunday at the Andrew Shaw Memorial Scout Cabin. Gentile is an engineer with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is part of the Mars Rover Mission team. He was a scout in Troop 35 Darien when he became an eagle scout in 2010. — an announcement from Darien Scouts
The award is granted to eagle scouts who have distinguished themselves in their life’s work and have shared their talents with their communities on a voluntary basis. Only a couple of these honors are awarded from each Boy Scouts of America Council.
The Tiny Miracles Foundation, a Darien-based not-for-profit organization set up to help area families with premature babies, has announced Tina Tison as its new executive director. — an announcement from The Tiny Miracles Foundation
Tison joins the foundation from The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, where she was director of marketing since 2016. “I am looking forward to working with our partners and volunteers to guide and support families impacted by prematurity,” Tison said. “The Foundation has an incredibly important mission and has helped so many families since its creation.”
Ashley Dineen, president of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, said, “We’re so pleased to welcome Tina, and know that her skills, experience, energy and vision will lift the organization to new levels.”
Tison will direct the foundation’s efforts to help preemie parents in Fairfield and New Haven counties through critical times, as well as to enhance neonatal intensive care unit services and improve the short- and long-term outcomes for local preterm babies and their families. The Foundation operates in-NICU programs at the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital (YNHCH) Bridgeport and New Haven campuses, St.
The Community Fund of Darien is launching The Volunteer Hub, a complimentary service to Darien residents interested in finding just the right local volunteer opportunity. — an announcement from The Community Fund of Darien
“We’ve heard from Darien residents that they wanted to be more involved in our community and didn’t know how to get started,” explained Janet King, Executive Director of The Community Fund of Darien. Thanks to its community investments in many local nonprofit organizations, The Community Fund has strong ties to those who need volunteer help — a list that’s growing. “Since TCF has such extensive knowledge of local nonprofits, we want to use this expertise to create a personalized matchmaking service for Darien residents to find their dream volunteer position and support these organizations with their skills,” King said. How It Works
Individuals contact TCF’s Volunteer Hub Hosts, and those “volunteers for volunteering” will personally guide participants to the organizations which best match their skill set and areas of interest.
Fall leaf-raking and winter snow-shoveling services are available for Darien seniors again this year, At Home In Darien announced. — an announcement from At Home In Darien
The program matches seniors who are in need of assistance with volunteers. Please note volunteers can only shovel public sidewalks. While both outdoor chores can be good exercise, they can be tiring and sometimes hazardous chores for seniors. Leaf raking, show shoveling and other volunteer services can help seniors remain in their homes in town without worrying about simple things like household chores and maintenance.
It’s time for the annual Walk/Run for Abilis event! For the 16th annual year, Walk/run for Abilis will take place on Sunday, Oct. 17 at Greenwich Point Park. — an announcement from Abilis
Participants can walk or run in-person or participant virtually from anywhere in the world. Participants are encouraged to register in advance at abilis.us/walkrun.
A group of organizations in Darien are coming together around a
common cause: celebrating diversity and promoting an inclusive community. — an announcement from the organizers of Darien United
The YWCA Darien/Norwalk, the Darien YMCA, Darien Library, and Minority Voice have partnered to launch Darien United, a campaign that aims to make sure Darien is a welcoming place, particularly for people of color, LGBTQ individuals, immigrants, and people with mental or physical disabilities. ______________________
Here’s how the Darien United project is described by its organizers:
“Darien United is a grassroots initiative made up of Darien residents and local leaders who commit to creating and supporting a welcoming community that respects and encourages contributions of all people, in all our beautiful variety of race, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, class, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, language, mental and physical ability, military status, and immigration status. “We commit to upholding these values within our town, organizations, and businesses, as both aspirational and operational guideposts in our everyday practices and priorities.” ______________________
The idea was first conceived and inspired by local artist and activist Nobu Miki, who is the founder of Minority Voice, a support group for women of color in Darien.
When Pacific House hosts its 20th Annual Celebration on Thursday, Oct. 21, it will honor five community partners that helped the organization weather the storm throughout the pandemic. — an announcement from Pacific House
The Pacific House 2021 Community Partnership Honorees are: Sam Cingari of The Cingari Family, Grade A – ShopRite; Community Health Center Inc.; First Congregational Church of Greenwich; New Covenant Center/Catholic Charities of Fairfield County; and Robert Morris, founder and managing partner of Olympus Partners. “The unwavering support these individuals and organizations provided throughout the past year is nothing short of heroic,” said Rafael Pagan, Jr., executive director of Pacific House. “The pandemic upended our day-to-day operations, causing us to mobilize quickly to protect the safety of our clients,” Pagan said.
Actors Adria Arjona and Tony Goldwyn will co-host the 2021 Americares Airlift Benefit on Saturday, Oct. 2. The virtual benefit celebrates the organization’s life-changing health programs for people affected by poverty or disaster and the health workers and partners who make the programs possible. — an announcement from Americares
Americares supports more than 4,000 health centers worldwide with transformative health projects and donations of medicine, improving the health of millions of people in need every year. The benefit will stream live from Americares 55,000-square-foot Global Distribution Center in Stamford, and will take supporters on a unique virtual journey to see the organization’s work in Colombia, Ghana, Honduras, the Philippines and the United States, as well as meet families overcoming the challenges of disaster, climate change, poverty and inequity.
After four years as executive director of the Museum of Darien, Maggie McIntire has announced she will be leaving the job in October. A new director is expected to be named in January and start work early next year, the museum announced. The museum’s former name is the Darien Historical Society. “We are eternally grateful for all of the amazing work that Maggie has done for our organization and the community at large,” said Board President Robert J. Pascal Jr., adding that the non-profit’s board is putting a transition plan in motion and is expected to name a new leader in the coming months. Before taking on the leadership role at the Museum in 2017, McIntire directed adult programs at the Mark Twain Library in Redding and previously worked in communications at The Ferguson Library in Stamford.
Americares has medicines and relief supplies on the way to Haiti for survivors of Saturday morning’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake. — an announcement from Americares
A shipment carrying 9 tons of intravenous fluids is headed to earthquake-damaged Les Cayes, and Americares relief workers in Haiti and the United States are preparing additional shipments in the coming days to supply health workers treating the injured with antibiotics, wound care supplies and urgently needed medical supplies. Americares relief workers on the ground in Haiti are assisting the local response, and the health-focused relief organization plans to deploy additional staff in the coming days to support the relief efforts. The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 7.2-mangitude earthquake at 8:29 a.m. local time in the southwestern part of the country, 78 miles west of Port-au-Prince—slightly stronger than the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake that devastated the country. Aftershocks as strong as 5.2 continued throughout the day and early reports from the region indicated major destruction in Jeremie and Les Cayes.
The Board of Directors of the Darien Nature Center has named Alex Domeyko as the organization’s new executive director. — an announcement from the Darien Nature Center
Domeyko succeeds Leila Wetmore, who oversaw the organization’s strategic planning process in advance of the Darien Nature Center’s 40th anniversary. “Al’s deep commitment to the environment and his experience in nature-based programming will be tremendous assets as we launch our strategic plan,” said Board President Alicia Sable. “He shares our vision and we are confident that he will help the Darien Nature Center build upon its strengths and provide even more programs and resources for nature lovers of all ages,” Sable said. Domeyko has devoted his educational and professional career to the natural sciences, working in environmental research and outreach for more than a decade.
Kids and teenagers of any skill level are invited to play in the Knights for Aces tennis tournament, coming Sunday afternoon, Aug. 22. — an announcement from Grassroots Tennis & Education
The competition, from 1 to 6 p.m., features round robin doubles tennis matches, starting on the courts of four clubs in Darien — Middlesex, Tokeneke, Wee Burn and Woodway. Participants are asked to arrive by 12:45 p.m.
After matches are played, the winning doubles team in each division will play in the finals at Grassroots tennis courts in Norwalk. Players and spectators are invited to enjoy pizza and refreshments, and winners will take home trophies and t-shirts.
Finals and food will be at the William Rippe Tennis Center at Springwood Park, 11 Ingalls Ave.
STAR, Inc., Lighting the Way received a $20,000 grant from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation to support local individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) find first jobs through their My First Jobs Program. — an announcement from STAR Inc., Lighting the Way
STAR’s My First Jobs Program provides support to workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities in entering the workforce. Current research indicates that only 15% of people with IDD are employed. However, with the right supports, many people with IDD can build a career alongside their typical peers. STAR is recognized as a leading agency in Connecticut in job placements, coaching, and hours worked competitively by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
How many of us have dreamed of having our own home? How many want that home located in our home town, where we know people, we know the shopkeepers and the street signs, and where people know our name? — an announcement from STAR, Inc., Lighting the Way
For many adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), that’s not only their dream, it’s their reality, thanks to a program from the state Department of Developmental Disabilities called Individualized Home Supports. Here’s how several people in Darien and nearby communities were helped by the program:
Charlie, at Whole Foods in Darien
There is hardly a customer at Whole Foods in Darien who is an unfamiliar face to Charlie, who has worked there for over six years. In a job that makes him beam with pride, he says: “Everybody knows me […] I get to be outside on my own helping and greeting people, not a lot of bosses, and I just do what I gotta do!”
To get to work each day, Charlie walks from his apartment in his hometown of Norwalk to the East Norwalk Metro North station, where he boards the local train to Darien.
