Carver in the Community
Carver nominated and won for the City of Norwalk America’s Promise Alliance “100 Best Communities for Young People” award for three consecutive years (2010, 2011, 2012) until the national contest was discontinued after 2013. Carver produced citywide youth events inviting all service providers to celebrate this achievement for Norwalk.
Parents, concerned citizens, clergy, and other community leaders came together in 1938 to provide Norwalk youth with extra opportunities to learn, grow and prepare for their careers.
Carver’s namesake, George Washington Carver, inspired their mission and vision. He was still alive when the Carver Foundation of Norwalk was founded. Carver died in 1943.
The Carver grew through the years from a community center to its youth development programs, which are today integrated into every school in Norwalk.
As much as Carver is involved in the community, the community is engaged in Carver.
The Carver Community Center remains at the heart of all we do, and volunteers remain the life force of our mission and vision in all our programs and locations.
Beyond our structured after-school and summer programs, there are many traditional and spontaneous community-based initiatives. From holiday celebrations, awards ceremonies, career fairs, sporting events, and food drives to our immediate responses to community needs, such as the many roles Carver played during the pandemic, Carver and the community are one.
Named the 2013-2014 “Nonprofit of the Year” by the Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, Carver continues in 2024 to close opportunity gaps for children and youth, ensuring they graduate high school on time and ready for college and careers.
Carver Partnerships
In addition to our strong commitment to our students and their families, Carver enjoys a network of partnerships with the school districts, local government such as the Norwalk Health Department, and many community organizations.
There are national and local Giving and Volunteer partners.
Statewide partners include the Connecticut Nonprofit Alliance, Connecticut After School Network, Connecticut State Department of Education, Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, and the CT Regional Educational Service Centers.
Carver has established commitments from and data-sharing agreements with Norwalk Public Schools, Side By Side Charter School, and the Classical Studies Magnet Academy in Bridgeport. Each school district’s leadership, school principals, and many others partner with us to help advance our mutual missions.
Carver programming involves the participation of many local providers, such as the Maritime Aquarium, on whose board Carver’s CEO serves, and the local collective impact network Norwalk ACTS.
The City of Norwalk named Academy Street after Carver longtime Executive Director, Richard Fuller.
Norwalk ACTS
Carver is a longtime member of Norwalk ACTS, a support network of many community leaders and organizations that proactively identifies and resolves issues that impede or prevent a child’s ability to grow up healthy, safe, smart, and successful at home, at school, and in the community. Norwalk ACTS works closely with the Strive Together "Cradle to Career" Network, the first to bring the “Collective Impact” framework to cities.
Bringing the College Board to Norwalk Public Schools
Since 2010, Carver raised the financial support necessary to bring the College Board and its PSAT exam into the schools so that all students could have access to and benefit free of charge from this important college-prep tool with the support of their teachers and school administrators during the school day. Until this Carver initiative began, too few students availed themselves of this essential experience privately on weekends for a fee. By 2015, Norwalk Public Schools placed this vital tool in its annual budget. The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is a program that is co-sponsored by both the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The test provides firsthand practice for the SAT and lets teachers know where their students are strong and need help. It also gives students a chance to enter NMSC scholarship programs and gain access to college and career planning tools.
Members of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation and Hall of Fame honorees celebrate the 10th anniversary of FCCF’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence held at the Westport Library. Center: Carver’s Novelette Peterkin standing next to FCCF President and CEO, Juanita James.
Carver Inducted into the Center for Nonprofit Excellence Hall of Fame
Carver was one of the inaugural honorees inducted into the Center for Nonprofit Excellence Hall of Fame in 2019. Fairfield County's Community Foundation, a consistent financial benefactor of Carver’s work, introduced its vision to strengthen, support, train, expand, and fortify the region's nonprofit community with the establishment of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence. Dedicated to capacity-building and professional development, this community resource had in its first 10 years served 3,282 nonprofit leaders, staff, and board members, from 1,142 local nonprofits.
"As we celebrate this 10-year milestone for the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, we are reminded of how much our nonprofit organizations contribute to making Fairfield County a better place for all our communities and residents," stated Juanita James, President and CEO of Fairfield County's Community Foundation.