The Carver Community Center

Founded in 1938, the Carver Foundation of Norwalk has continuously operated a community center in Norwalk. The George Washington Carver Community Center opened on Academy Street in 1975, centrally located one street over from Main Street in downtown Norwalk.

New residential housing and commercial buildings, such as the Waypointe apartment buildings, have become neighbors. The community center is convenient to the Norwalk Library, municipal parking lots, and many of Norwalk’s principal commercial sites. The community center serves as a vital community resource.

The building houses Carver’s administrative offices. Its two floors of classrooms accommodate Carver’s after-school and summer programs year-round. The community center is the home of the Fairfield County Sports Commission’s Cohen Fitness Academy and provides crucial space for school district programs. The community center also offers all manner of Athletics and Recreation programs, Career fairs, student recognition events, holiday parties, cultural events, food drives, and so much more. Countless youth and families find confidence and purpose in this building.

The New Teen Center

On April 10, 2024, Carver held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new two-story Teen Center addition that will connect to the existing Carver Community Center via interior glass walls overlooking the Richard Whitcomb Gymnasium.

This new initiative symbolizes a physical space and a beacon of hope and opportunity for Norwalk's teenagers. With its comprehensive facilities and resources, the Teen Center will serve as a hub for educational, recreational, and social activities, nurturing holistic youth development and strengthening community bonds.

The new Teen Center, now under construction, represents one facet of the larger planned renovation of the entire Carver Community Center, signifying a broader commitment to holistic community revitalization. Through initiatives like this, Carver continues to exemplify its mission of providing a safe, inclusive, and enriching environment where youth can learn, grow, and thrive.

The Richard Whitcomb Gymnasium

Dick Whitcomb, St. Luke’s School Headmaster Emeritus, was a stalwart and inspirational Carver volunteer, donor, advocate, and board member for many decades! Without question, Carver’s year-after-year growth and successful programming would not have been possible without Dick’s leadership. As a celebrated athlete throughout his high school and college years and as a coach for many sports at St. Luke’s School, it is most fitting that the Carver Board of Directors named the refurbished Carver Community Center gymnasium after Richard Whitcomb. The most vital space in the community center is the gymnasium, where events ranging from basketball tournaments to career fairs and holiday events have met the many needs of Norwalk youth and families.

Consider the Norwalk High School Bears girls basketball team, the 2019 state champions. The Bears won its first FCIAC championship in 2001 and had an undefeated 2019 season. The team coach was Ricky Fuller, a Carver advocate whose father was Carver’s longtime Executive Director. Evan Kelley, a Carver alumnus who became a standout player for Sacred Heart University’s basketball team, was the Bears assistant coach. The Bears off-season coach was Carver’s Recreation Coordinator, Shannon Singleton-Bates, herself a celebrated Bears champion before playing college basketball. Shannon had worked with the winning Bears girl’s team since each of their freshman years. The girls spend the off-season in the Carver gym preparing for the regular season. Bears team members also participate in Carver’s special after-school program for athletes that Shannon manages during the school year. The longtime Carver sponsor, the Fairfield County Sports Commission, led by Tom Chiappetta, funds this program.  

Carver Technology Center

Carver to create a new technology center on the second floor replete with 24 PCs and eight iMac computers with Retina 5K displays. The tech center includes a 3D printer and 3D scanner to create physical objects based on their 3D design, video conferencing software to support blended learning and a very large interactive flat panel touch display linked to an Apple TV to air presentations from both computer and mobile devices.

Illustrations from famed Westport artist, writer, and civil rights activist Tracy Sugarman line the walls.

The tech center is used throughout each day. Students and adults can also use the community technology center on a BYOD (bring your own personal device) basis, allowing them to work independently with their own computers or tablets, but powered by the collective technological assets that exist in the room.

Summer Run

Mo’s Summer Run operates in the gym and outdoor basketball courts. It is an all-summer co-ed program designed to engage youth through basketball and fun events that began in 2009. Players who honed their skills at the Carver Community Center and then went on to high school, collegiate, and, in some cases, professional careers return to Carver for fellowship.

From 6 to 7 p.m., elementary and middle school players run drills each night and work on their fundamentals with Carver staff and volunteers. High school players on the court after drills on Mondays and Wednesdays until 10 p.m.

The style of play at Carver on the big Friday night games is scrappy. Without a referee, players call their fouls, dispute out-of-bounds calls, and travel among themselves. Younger players thrown into the mix too soon have their weaknesses easily exposed by the older, more robust, more savvy veterans. Most players on the Friday night circuit recall coming as kids and battling against bigger, better guys. It’s something of a rite of passage at Carver.