Carver students attend FCSC's annual Sports Night!

The Fairfield County Sports Commission gifted Carver students (members of our Girl’s Development Program) with a table at its annual Sports Night gala at the Stamford Marriott last Monday evening.

The focus of the Fairfield County Sports Commission is creating and supporting programs for fitness awareness education, primarily geared toward combating childhood obesity that threatens school age youngsters in the 16 communities the Commission serves. Giving time, effort and money back to the county residents is the main role of the Commission, and one of the Commission’s primary beneficiaries is the Carver Foundation of Norwalk, home to the Chelsea Cohen Fitness Academy and a recent recipient of a generous grant to support Carver’s Girl’s Development Program at the Carver Community Center.

See the entire article about Sports Night in the New Haven Register here.

Monday night at the Stamford Marriott, Mleczko Griswold was among six honorees being inducted into the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame.

“It is hard to put into words what something like this means. Especially 20 years after winning a gold medal because 20 years goes by in a flash,” Mleczko Griswold said. “We did so many amazing things as a team and we got asked to speak to so many groups. I cherish that time but it was chaos. Now, to have a moment like this, to celebrate my roots in Fairfield County and what that meant to my hockey career is something pretty special.”

Mleckzo Griswold was being inducted into the Jackie Robinson Professional wing of the Hall of Fame along with former middleweight boxing champion Travis Simms.

Other Hall of Fame inductees were John and Paul Kuczo into the J. Walter Kennedy Service Wing and Rashamel Jones and Claire Beth Tomasiewicz Nogay into the James O’Rourke Amateur Wing.

Also honored were Ryan Boyle who was named the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award Winner as well as John Nash of GametimeCT and the Norwalk Hour, who was given the Bill Gonillo Local Media Award.

Recipients from 16 local towns were also honored as Sportspersons of the Year from their individual towns. Carver is so grateful to the generous support and caring of the Commission and its longtime leader, Tom Chiappetta. Thank You!

Carver's Fifth Annual Golf Classic!

Event committee members, Michael Gregorich and Carol Howe

See all the photos here in our Facebook album. See the event program journal here!

Our Fifth Annual Golf Classic at Shorehaven Golf Club was postponed to October 15th, after the original date was rained out. The skies threatened but ultimately did not rain on what turned out to be a balmy and fun day of golf!

Our golf event committee (Rich Baudouin, Allen Church, Bill Gallagher, Michael Gregorich, Carol Howe, Janine and Michael Smith, Oscar Villalonga, Jonathan Whitcomb and Richard Whitcomb) joined their colleagues for a great day of good fellowship!

Mike Laganza, Head Golf Professional since 2011, a member of the PGA of America and a Certified Flightscope Professional, provided encouragement and support throughout the day. Master chef, Sergio Reyes, prepared the fine dining throughout the day and evening.

The day began with Putting & the Driving Range, followed by a Grill Lunch. Everyone began their day of golf from their assigned tees, and the day concluded with a Cocktail Reception, Dinner, Prizes, and a Silent Auction.

We are grateful to Moffly Media for serving as our exclusive media sponsor. Here is the event program journal highlighting all our sponsors.

Established in 1924, Shorehaven represents the vision of a dedicated group of local citizens who sought to bring superior golf to the Norwalk area. Shorehaven is a preeminent club in Fairfield County, hosting such events as the Connecticut Open and a 1940 charity golf match with Babe Ruth, Gene Tunney, Gene Sarazen and Masters Champion Jimmy Demaret.  In addition, Ralph Greenwood, one of Connecticut’s legendary golfers served as the club’s lead golf professional for 37 years, furthering enhancing Shorehaven’s reputation as a premiere golf destination. Now, almost a century later, Shorehaven continues to fulfill its founders’ vision.  Shorehaven Golf Club stands as one of the finest golf facilities and private country clubs on the Connecticut coast.

Thank you, EVERYONE!

Carver to be honored by the Norwalk Branch NAACP on Friday, October 19th! Join Carver in helping the NAACP Celebrate 109 Years of Achievement for Civil Rights!

Join us for the Halloween Party this evening! Donated costumes!

This year Community Costumes, a charitable organization, will be bringing 100 free costumes to distribute at our party. Community Costumes will have representatives available at the party to help your children pick out the perfect Halloween costume. ALSO, Greens Farms Academy donated costumes that will also be given away this evening to Carver kids! Join us for the fun and especially for the Haunted House upstairs!

Join LiveGirl in celebrating International Day of the Girl

The Carver community can join longtime program partner LiveGirl to Celebrate the International Day of the Girl at their Facebook Live: Raising A Confident Girl, Thursday, October 11th @ 11 am, featuring Catherine Bailey, Founder of Think or Blue. Bailey is an expert on gender norms, who will provide resources to help children be confident, kind, and proud to be themselves! CLICK HERE & join LiveGirl LIVE tomorrow to ask your questions!

This year’s International Day of the Girl is themed “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force”. Join the UN in standing with girls everywhere as they inspire, innovate and take charge of their own future.

The 1.1 billion girls of today’s world are challenging the status quo. They’re redefining girlhood, and they’re doing so against the odds.

Across the world, girls face adversities that hinder their education, training and entry into the workforce. They have less access to information, communication technology and resources, such as the internet where the global gender gap is growing.

A quarter of young people, most of them girls, are neither employed nor getting an education or training.

This year alone, 12 million girls under 18 will be married, and 21 million girls aged 15 to 19 years will become pregnant in developing regions.

And yet, they persist, they succeed. They are innovating technology to solve global challenges, they are standing up for the environment, they are raising their voices against violence and they are preparing to run for office.

The case for Carver and all after school programs

Fairfield County Sports Commission renews its financial support of Carver's Girls' Development Program

(L-R), Carver leaders Shannon Bates and Novelette Peterkin; Carver students Carsyn Langhorn, Siera Elmore, Amelie Scott, Jakara Murray, Sanaa Boyd, Ashley Wilson; and Tom Chiappetta, FCSC Executive Director

For the second consecutive year, the Fairfield County Sports Commission (FCSC) is partnering with Carver to provide a Girls’ Development Program led by Shannon Bates, Carver’s Director of Recreation Programs, and Career Coach Eve St. Surin.

FCSC also sponsors the Chelsea Cohen Fitness Academy at Carver.

The successful Girls’ Development Program will serve up to 25 female athletes ages 13-18 from Norwalk Public Schools. Activities will range from fitness and strength training to discussions about injury prevention and college sports scholarships, yoga and Zumba, to nutrition coaching and preparing meals together, as well as guest presentations from college-level athletes, coaches and scouts. The Girls’ Development Program will offer a supportive environment that celebrates teamwork, leadership and personal goals.   

Students will learn the importance of balancing academics with a competitive mindset during the week and weekends after games and or practices. The student-athletes learn the value of teamwork while learning about and building self-esteem, nutrition, wellness, and self-confidence. The program instills lifelong lessons in Norwalk students through sports and fitness. Students embrace the program’s vision to be committed to excellence in sports as well as in academics.

The Girls’ Development Program provides many supports, including: tutoring; Ladies Night (recreation, activities and educational programs); mentors; nutrition education; academic support; SAT, ACT, and PSAT PREP support; community service opportunities; college preparation (college tours, FASFA, college essays), and assistance with and with obtaining financial aid; field trips and team building activities; and so much more! The Carver community is deeply grateful for the many years of support given to our youth by the Fairfield County Sports Commission.

Carver kids go on a chartered fishing a trip in Long Island Sound!

Brian Alert, Carver’s Chief Program Officer, with four Carver students and the boat captain admiring the catch of the day!

Wondering what’s biting in Long Island Sound? Just ask Carver students!

A donor sponsored a charter fishing boat on Friday afternoon to give Carver kids an opportunity to discover nature up-close and personally.

Based out of Norwalk, Connecticut, Pelagic Beast Fishing Charters offer unforgettable fishing adventures, using tried and tested fishing techniques that worked for our students. 

The Pelagic Beast is a 32 ft Downeast style boat that offers a secure ride in almost any weather conditions. Cruising at 20 knots, this boat gave the Carver kids more time fishing and less time traveling. The boat comfortably accommodates six anglers plus three crew members. She is fitted with top of the range gear, with electronics by Raymarine to find fish. High-quality fishing equipment is also supplied on board, with rods by Seeker and St Croix, reels by Avet and hooks by Owner Hooks. 

Pelagic Beast Fishing Charters uses a range of fishing techniques on their trips, from trolling, bottom fishing, or jigging or popping with lures.

Connecticut offers some of the best saltwater fishing that few places can rival. With over 100 species of fish found in Long Island Sound, anglers can enjoy some of the very best striped bass, bluefish, summer flounder, scup, hickory shad, black sea bass and tautog fishing along the entire coast. The State of Connecticut offers anglers many fishing opportunities with excellent boat launches along the coast and great shore fishing locations at coastal state and city parks, and charter boat fishing.   

See this video of the joy of the Carver Day celebration!

Hanna is a junior and an honors student at Greenwich Academy who volunteered over the summer capturing the stories of carver campers (see her Carver summer blog here). Hanna created this video a few days ago of Carver kids celebrating Carver Day. Hanna is continuing to volunteer her time after school at the Carver Community Center this school year, so we can all look forward to the much joy that Hanna will continue to create and share at Carver!

New York Hall of Science Invites Carver Families to Enjoy Maker Faire!

On September 22, Sixty-nine Carver after school students and their parents from Tracey and Brookside Elementary Schools and from West Rocks Middle School just attended Maker Faire at the New York Hall of Science in NYC! It’s the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement!

Thanks to a donation of tickets by the New York Hall of Science, Carver families participated in the East Coast's largest celebration of invention, creativity, and curiosity, the very best of the global Maker Movement. The event featured more than 600 projects and 8 stages focused on making for social good, health, technology, electronics, 3D printing & fabrication, food, robotics, art and more!

Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. All of these “makers” come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and to share what they have learne

The launch of Maker Faire in the Bay Area in 2006 demonstrated the popularity of making and interest among legions of aspiring makers to participate in hands-on activities and learn new skills at the event. 200,000 people annually attend the two flagship Maker Faires in the Bay Area and New York, with an average of 44% of attendees first timers at the Bay Area event, and 61% in New York. A family-friendly event, 50% attend the event with children. In 2017, over 190 independently-produced “Mini Maker Faires” plus over 30 larger-scale Featured Maker Faires will have taken place around the world, including Tokyo, Rome, Shenzhen, Taipei, Seoul, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, Detroit, San Diego, Milwaukee, and Kansas City.

Maker Faire is primarily designed to be forward-looking, showcasing makers who are exploring new forms and new technologies. But it’s not just for the novel in technical fields; Maker Faire features innovation and experimentation across the spectrum of science, engineering, art, performance and craft.

Maker Faire is a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. It’s a venue for makers to show examples of their work and interact with others about it. Many makers say they have no other place to share what they do. DIY (Do-It-Yourself) is often invisible in our communities, taking place in shops, garages and on kitchen tables. It’s typically out of the spotlight of traditional art or science or craft events. Maker Faire makes visible these projects and ideas that we don’t encounter every day.

Maker Faire is brought to you by Maker Media.  Maker Media publishes Make: magazine, produces Maker Faire, and offers DIY electronics, tools, kits, and books through its online and pop-up Maker Shed stores.