It was a gorgeous evening on the lawn of a beautiful home overlooking Long Island Sound. More than $20,000 was raised for Carver, which is a giving record for this wonderful gathering of friends.

We are deeply grateful to our hosts and to the entire Rowayton Connections committee who devoted so much time, energy and resources to making the party such a success. The committee members were: Mike Barbis, Alex Baudouin, Jamie Behr, Mollie Boyle, Joan de Regt, Ann Eydt, Ruth Freeman, Sarah French, Karin Howells, John Igneri, Cathy Konstantin, Cecilia McCall, Tracey and Russ Stidolph, Wendy Winnick Baskin and Claudia Zeller.

The generosity of our in-kind donors providing fine food and drink made it possible for 100% of all gifts to serve the needs of Carver youth.

Atria of Darien catered the event as if we were entertaining heads of state. The menu on display was something to win five Michelin stars. Special thanks  to Atria’s Executive Director, Wendy Winnick-Baskin, pictured below, a faithful and generous supporter of Carver for years. Carrington Parker, the Atria Food Service Director and Linda Beckles, the Atria dining room manager, and their teams made the evening perfectly heavenly.

Brendan McGee of Brendan’s 101 provided the sound system. Mark Ancona of Fountainhead Wines of Norwalk met every guest request with the very finest of wines and other beverages.

Richard Baudouin, Carver Board treasurer, gave an overview of how Carver continues to expand and change lives throughout Norwalk Public Schools as well as in the Carver community center.  Dick Whitcomb, Chairman of Carver’s Strategic Planning Group and Special Advisor to the Carver Board, spoke about the power of philanthropy and how Carver leverages every dollar to achieve the greatest impact. Dr. Susan Marks, Norwalk Public Schools Superintendent, praised Carver for the difference it is making. Novelette Peterkin, Carver’s Executive Director, spoke of Carver’s special strategies and capacity to maximize opportunities for the benefit of Norwalk youth. Novelette introduced Carver students who both spoke and performed with song.

The investment the Rowayton community makes into the success of our youth will produce countless benefits in the years and even generations to come.

THANK YOU, ROWAYTON!

L-R (back row): Novelette Peterkin, Bebz Eydt, Wendy Winnick Baskin, Alex Baudouin, Ann Eydt, Sarah French, Cathy Konstantin, Ruth Freeman.  L-R (front row): Lorena  Jiminez, Cecilia McCall,  Joan de Regt
Committee members not shown: Mike Barbis, Jamie Behr, Mollie Boyle, Karin Howells, John Igneri, Tracey and Russ Stidolph, and Claudia Zeller.

Richard Baudouin, Carver Board Treasurer

Carver youth with committee member Alex Baudouin sitting in the middle and Brian Alert, Carver’s Deputy Executive Director, standing.

NORWALK, Conn. – The TMT 15-and-under boys basketball team, based out of the Carver Center in Norwalk, won two tournaments in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts in recent competition.

The Norwalk-based team won the Penn/Jersey tournament in Philadelphia in early May, and last weekend won the Hall of Fame tournament in Springfield, Mass.

Team members include Davante Thomas, Ray Featherston, Jeremy Linton, Justice Page, A.J. Jerome, Roy Kane, Timothy Hinton, Matt Shifrin and Charlie Hoffman. The team is coached by Mike McElveen.

Photo credit: Tom Renner
The TMT 15-and-under team won two recent titles in AAU basketball tournaments. Team members include (front, left to right) Davante Thomas, Ray Featherston and Jeremy Linton and (back, left to right) Justice Page, A.J. Jerome, Roy Kane, Timothy Hinton, Matt Shifrin, Charlie Hoffman and coach Mike McElveen.

A television crew from the Korean Broadcasting System just visited Carver for the day to interview Carver principals and youth for a piece they are producing on education in America. How this all happened still remains a relative mystery, but they found us and then found us worthy to be profiled as an example of what works.

KBS is Korea’s leading public services broadcaster and the most influential media organization in Korea. KBS operates three TV, seven radio and four mobile TV channels. KBS began the country’s first radio broadcasting service in 1927 and commenced Korea’s first television broadcasting in 1961. For the audiences in Asia and other parts of the world, KBS has gained international recognition for the quality and range of its programs. KBS World TV, the international satellite channel, was launched in 2003. Their programs are transmitted to Europe, Middle East, North Africa, America and to most of Asian regions. KBS World Radio, with 56 years of history, offers 11 different language services to listeners worldwide.

We will update this post once we learn the scheduling for the show that will feature Carver, probably in late June.

When the hundreds of kids, many of them at risk for various social problems, walk through the doors to have fun and learn at the inner-city Carver Center in Norwalk, they’ll be doors donated by Ring’s End Lumber of Darien.

So will the windows they look out of, many of the ceilings they play and study under, and the paint on the walls (inside and out) at the center, which aims to give kids not only a safe environment to have some fun and improve their studies, but also an inspirational one to keep them doing well in school and out of trouble.

Officials with the nonprofit say that Ring’s End has played such a crucial role in a campaign to refurbish the worn, 48-year-old George Washington Carver Center building that David Campbell, president and CEO of the company, will be given this year’s “Community-Builder Award” at the center’s annual fundraiser this June in Darien.

“He deserves it,” said Dick Whitcomb, a former headmaster of St. Luke’s School in New Canaan and now an active volunteer with the Carver Center. Whitcomb started a fundraising campaign for the organization to improve the building.

]]> http://carverheroes.org/2012/05/18/campbell-awarded-for-at-risk-youth-support-darien-ct-patch/feed/ 0 jamesmschaffer a13baead546a1cf2ba32e6e07c73c8dd http://carverheroes.org/2012/05/17/what-we-mean-by-youth-voice/ http://carverheroes.org/2012/05/17/what-we-mean-by-youth-voice/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 12:15:51 +0000 James Schaffer http://carverheroes.org/?p=2078 ]]> Carver was founded by community leaders in 1938. Known for most of the ensuing decades for its community center, Caver’s growth  in recent years has mostly been realized as an afterschool provider in Norwalk’s four middle and two high schools.

Yet, Carver remains a community, whether at its community center or in the schools. And that community is more and more designed with vital input from our youth.

Various channels are provided to make our young people’s thoughts, intentions and ambitions known. Surveys. Youth-led councils. Youth on Carver’s staff. Youth leader liaisons to the Board of Directors. Annual citywide events showcasing their talents and accomplishments in celebration of Norwalk being named (twice) by the America’s Promise Alliance as one the “100 Best Communities for Young people.” Special events such as dances, competitions of all kinds, movie nights and the like that the youth produce from scratch to completion in the Carver community center. Big production Youth Forums in the Brien McMahon High School auditorium with 500 people in the audience, media personalities moderating and community leaders and policymakers constituting the “Listening Panel” that listens attentively and responsively to what the members of the Youth Panel have to say about the issues and concerns that impact their lives in and out of school. Carver’s Local Voices column in the Norwalk Patch.com serves as a regular outlet for our youth’s written messages, pronouncements and challenges to the community, and for their descriptions of their personal experiences.

Carver is a community called to birth in 1938, and it is still living out its mission. Carver grows, deepens, evolves with time, but all is not planned beforehand. As young people and their families join the Carver community they have their say in its development. They bring their insights and inspirations. Events modify the way things are done going forward. We learn. Little by little a common vision is renewed and forged – decade after decade.

If Carver is to be congratulated for its growth and successes, the youth that embody and continually inform Carver’s growth are the true Carver Heroes.

Gala website is here.

Keynote Speaker

Joe Scarborough, Host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Lawyer, Author, former Congressman

Child of America Honoree

Alberto M. Carvalho, Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools

Community Builder Award

David Campbell, CEO, Ring’s End

Special Guest

Mika Brzezinski, Co-host of MSNBC’s weekday morning program Morning Joe

Chair

Janine Smith

Special Advisor

Richard Whitcomb

Cocktails | Auction | Dinner

Please RSVP by Friday, June 6|Seating is Limited

For more information please contact Jim Schaffer, Director of Development, 203-912-2802/mobile or jim@carvercenterct.org

Our 7th graders and 8th graders both placed 3rd and they also qualify to compete for a national title.

In the coming weeks we will be asking for your support to ensure these deserving young people get the opportunity to compete in Orlando, FL and Las Vegas, NV.

Carver’s 5th Grade Champs!