Pat O’Toole (right) standing with Carver CEO Novelette Peterkin, each holding a bag for girls and boys full of holiday cheer — and warmth!
Bridgeport Rescue Mission brings Thanksgiving feasts to 150 Carver families
St. Luke’s School student volunteers
The Bridgeport Rescue Mission blessed the Carver community this Thanksgiving with 150 turkeys and all the trimmings for our families.
To help us offload the humungous truck was a team of students from St. Luke’s School, a close Carver partner for decades. Carver’s Chief Program Officer Brian Alert and Director of Elementary School Based Programs Tricia Massucco guided the day’s efforts.
As joyous as this project was, and as deeply grateful as the Carver community is for this profound demonstration of generosity, we are still saddened by the unacceptable reality of hunger in our midst. Each of the 150 families receiving these gifts were identified by Carver part-time staff (most of whom are daytime teachers) working in the 17 Norwalk K-12 public schools and Side By Side Charter School in which Carver operates its before- and after-school programs. The Thanksgiving dinners will be given to each family discretely.
Carver’s Brian Alert (middle) standing with Bridgeport Rescue Mission staff
Nearly 30 million children in the United States qualified for free or reduced-cost lunches at school in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated food insecurity among children, as the estimated number of food-insecure kids could jump from 11 million to an estimated 18 million, according to Feeding America.
COVID has of course made this year’s Thanksgiving Day strange and stressful for most everyone. For example, not snow, not rain, not gusting winds or the Great Depression have caused the cancellation of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in its 96-year history. The parade still seems poised to power through the pandemic tomorrow, albeit a parade that will be one block long, not the usual two miles. Those high school bands from around the country will not be marching, and instead of some 2,000 balloon handlers to coordinate, there will only be about 130.
Many of you may have had a difficult year this year with illness, loss, uncertain employment, and isolation due to COVID-19. We are so grateful for all the sacrifices that our many donors and volunteers have made this year to support and serve others and the Carver community. May this Thanksgiving be a time for you to rest and reflect on all that you have achieved for others. Wishing you a joyful and blessed day and better days ahead!
THANK YOU!
The Carver community is grateful this Thanksgiving, and our gratitude has been running deep all this year.
For all of you who’ve worked to maintain some predictability and consistency for our students in a year when nothing seems like it should be.
For our daytime teachers and other professionals who manage our after-school and summer programs, thank you for taking risks, trying new things, and moving out of your comfort zone in order to reach and inspire and support our students. You’ve gone the extra mile to give our students what they most need, whether it’s tech access, academic support, or some extra TLC.
For our school leaders who have doubled down on their support of teachers to make projects work in so many changing scenarios.
For all our perfectly wonderful donors who keep our wonderful world going.
Your courage and tenacity are an inspiration. What you’ve managed to do this year is incredible. And we’re so grateful for your commitment to our students.
Rowayton Fire Department to host annual toy drive in support of Carver kids!
Volunteer Rowayton firefighter Silvia Doyle, alongside co-founders of the Rowayton Fire Department Toy Drive Joan DeRegt and Mike Barbis
As they do each year, thankfully, the Rowayton Fire Department will collect toys and other gifts for Carver kids on Sunday, November 29th, from 1 to 3 p.m.
The volunteer fire department has been bringing joy and wonder to Norwalk’s children for nearly 20 years. Gifts include toys, books and gift cards.
The volunteer members request that residents bring new, unwrapped toys or other gifts appropriate for children age four to 13 to the Fire House at 136 Rowayton Ave. Gift cards to Walmart, Best Buy, PC Richards and Dicks Sports are especially appreciated.
Carver will wrap each gift for our children.
The donations will be delivered to the Carver Community Center and given to the children at Carver’s annual holiday party on Friday, December 11, 2020.
Thanks so much for your wonderful support!
Carver's Annual Meeting is this evening at 6:30PM. Please join us!
Click on this image to go to our Zoom Annual Meeting at 6:30 PM this evening.
"Sometimes all we need to know is that what we want to achieve is possible."
"Together Wherever We Go"
TOGETHER WHEREVER WE GO
“Together Wherever We Go” is sung by members of the Young People’s Choir. In this track, the choristers show how strong New York City and all us are and can be if we all work together to get through hard times.
Carver alumna Caira Ward’s wondrous journey into social work
Caira Ward is a graduate student studying social work at New York University. Talking with Caira about her daring and caring journey to date is like being out on the open road with all four windows down. You can feel the wind in your hair. No matter what cruel realities she might face in her studies and internships that seek to ease the pain of those who are suffering, she still feels the magnetic pull and joy of Carver memories and values.
Caira received a B.A. in Human Development and Family Studies from UConn in 2019. But that is simply the headline for what was a brave, driven and original undergraduate experience.
Caira was an honors student at UConn with a minor in Urban and Community Studies. She received the 2018 Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts Research Experience Award; as part of the award she worked on a study designed to analyze the positive and negative experiences of African American women cancer survivors located in urban cities in Connecticut. As a student she volunteered at many service organizations, particularly those serving the poor and homeless, and was awarded the 2019 Cohen Student Leadership Scholarship Award for demonstrating an active commitment to eliminating bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination and the fostering of tolerance and understanding among the campus community.
Caira served as President of the Nu Mu Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority (and received one of their scholarships). She was a member of the Storrs Church of Christ. She traveled to Detroit for the Urban Development, Education and Civic Development Alternative Break to learn about civic engagement through indirect and direct service with the community. She traveled to Boston to participate in the Understanding Homelessness Alternative Break. Caira was a Peer Mentor in UConn Connects and First Year Experience, and she served as a tutor for America Reads in Hartford. She served as secretary for Sisters Inspiring Sisters, an on-campus organization that provides a safe and engaging space for women of color on campus.
Meanwhile, she worked as a student research assistant for two years on a study and had the opportunity to design a research study of her own on the social influence of HIV testing among Black students as part of her honors thesis project. Caira also worked for two years as a receptionist for the UConn Foundation of Alumni Relations.
Today, Caira is on track to receive her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree in Spring 2021.
She worked for seven months (until the pandemic hit) as an intern at Fudan International School in Shanghai, China. This is the only MSW program of an American university in China. Caira provided elementary students and the Fudan International School staff with counseling, workshops, and policy on Social and Emotional Learning as well as Child Protection. Along the way she conducted field work in the deepest way, reflecting on cultural, social, political, and economic similarities and differences.
Caira with her colleagues in the NYU Silver’s MSW Program at Shanghai
Presently, Caira is an intern at the Rowan Center in Stamford, an organization that provides counseling and support services to primary and secondary victims of sexual violence and strives to eliminate sexual violence through community-wide education programs. Her MSW program educates professionals for the pursuit of social justice with an emphasis on direct social work practice that aims to improve bio-psycho-social functioning through helping relationships.
Carver role models helped Caira choose and sustain her career path. “I thought about some of the positive influences and individuals who've helped me along the way. Carver played a huge role in how I grew as an individual and student. I’m especially grateful for the support and friendship of Sarah Molinelli, China Garcia, Benson Casimir, and Mo Tomlin.”
“I was a Carver after-school student for three years in high school. I was a Carver camp counselor and then supervisor over five summers. I attended Carver’s spring college tour in 2014, an experience which really inspired my path to college and choosing my undergraduate majors in the social science and the humanities. I was also a Carver college scholarship recipient for four consecutive years. With these Carver experiences in mind, I was inspired to serve communities and help individuals the same way Carver helped me.”
“I then decided to choose a focus in macro social work, where I'd work at the governmental and organizational levels with non-profits, and do work framed around programming, policy, and social justice - specifically for women of color.” Caira is a member of the Theta Alpha Sigma Graduate Chapter of the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority.
Caira encourages Carver kids today to "be the author of your own story," and "if you can't enjoy the process, you should still definitely respect it." Her advice opens windows and finds the light switches.
“There are so many ups and downs in this journey called life, and I've had my fair share of obstacles, but that's to be expected. However, the last thing we should do is lose faith in ourselves. It's important to practice self-care and empowerment. Speak up in those scary moments, continue to brainstorm and create - even when you're feeling lazy, and embrace the art of ‘failing forward’ - believe me, it'll teach you a lot.”
Nothing can dim the incandescence of Caira’s example and career goals. She shares with us thoughts and experiences worth knowing. Her studies and work are of a piece — closely observed, not seeking recognition, and with the wellbeing of people always as her focus. The Carver community could not be any prouder of Caira as she continues to be such a bright light in our world.
The Carver community honors all our veterans who have served our country
Lucille Bridges, mother of activist Ruby Bridges, dies at 86
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Lucille Bridges, the mother of civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, who walked with her then-6-year-old daughter past crowds screaming racist slurs as she became the first Black student at her all-white New Orleans elementary school, has died at the age of 86.
On her Instagram account Tuesday evening, Ruby Bridges said, “Today our country lost a hero. Brave, progressive, a champion for change. She helped alter the course of so many lives by setting me out on my path as a six year old little girl. Our nation lost a Mother of the Civil Rights Movement today. And I lost my mom. I love you and am grateful for you. May you Rest In Peace.”
Bridges gave birth to Ruby in Tylertown, Mississippi, in 1954 — the same year as the landmark Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, decision that ended racial segregation in schools.
Her daughter went on to become an icon of the Civil Rights Movement, memorialized in Norman Rockwell’s famous painting “The Problem We All Live With” which depicts a tiny Ruby in a white dress carrying her notebooks and a ruler surrounded by much taller U.S. Marshals. But Ruby Bridges once credited her parents as the forces behind her history-making achievement….