The Rotary Club of New Canaan celebrated with local non-profits including those detailed below at two annual luncheons where the Club donated the proceeds of last year’s Lobsterfest. This year will be the 40th Anniversary Lobsterfest and club members are preparing now for the two day event on Thursday and Friday, September 25 and 26 from 4 to 8pm. It is being reenvisioned now with a new venue, at Waveny House, live entertainment, an expanded menu including beef tenderloin and kids meals all available for take-out plus festive dine-in opportunities on the Waveny Terrace!
Overseeing the donation of last year’s Lobsterfest proceeds, Grant Allocations chair Charles McCool was joined by 2024-25 Club President Amy Gildea and 2025-26 President Tom Ferguson in awarding 40 grants to support health and education programs to the recipient organizations, each of whom was invited to the podium to say a few words about the purposes for which the grants will be used. Recipients included:
ABC House (Dana Connelly)- provides full support (housing, host families, activities) for eight inner city boys to attend four years at NC High School.
Blossom Hill: Shiva Sarrum: operates 14 schools for refugee children in conflict areas around the globe
Building One Community: Claire Turner thanked Rotary for the grant that will help fund their most sought out program learning the English language for the immigrant community.
Carver Center: Nikki Lafaye described the program in Norwalk to partner with schools and community centers to offer K-12 after school programs. This grant will be applied to the summer programs which will enroll 1400 participants.
Danbury Grassroot Academy: Lynn Radford, the program serves 52 at risk youth 8-18 in Danbury. This grant will go to the Art program.
Domestic Violence Crisis Center: Stella Clarke. They offer free and confidential counseling to over 3,000 women and children in lower Fairfield County.
Future 5: Peg Atchue and Alex Ambroise, since 2009 they have supported over 800 students from Stamford to find their path to college.
Girl Scouts of CT-Morgan St John. Teaching a range of leadership skills to girls including STEAM education; outdoor experiences; and entrepreneurial training
Horizons at NC Country School: Leigh Kennedy A full year program targeting Stamford and Norwalk students with social and financial needs. They serve 400 students each year and through high school.
LIVE Girl. Isabella Madrid. Provides leadership training and support for middle and high school girls in New Canaan.
Malta House: Leslie Lopez. Provides shelter and support to pregnant and homeless women
Mercy Learning: Provides a comprehensive education program for low-income women in the Bridgeport area.
New Canaan Chamber Music: Ben Bilus. Next year is the fifth anniversary of the founding of NCCM by Andy Armstrong a New Canaan raised prodigy.
New Canaan Parent Support Group (Nick de SpoelBerch)-offers weekly parent support group meeting and annual community vigil focused on treating and preventing substance abuse and addiction among young people.
STAR – Stand Together Against Racism: Susan Borst thanked Rotary and invited all to support the Juneteenth celebration Wednesday 6/19 on the lawn at NC Museum. A national holiday since 2021, it recognizes the end of slavery in the United States.
Stepping Stones Museum (Norwalk). Cynthia Brandt. Provides a wide range of interactive learning experiences for children up to age 10,
Town Players of New Canaan. Patricia Spugani, Produces six full length professional quality plays annually at the Powerhouse Theatre.
VOICES (Frank Fetchet)- provides social support and training when tragic events occur; also provides community training in crisis preparedness.
Dignity Grows, Lisa Popper. Dignity Grows is a national organization that provides hygiene support for women and girls. One program, “Hope in a Backpack” is a large-scale direct product support program that strengthens communities by enabling women and girls to attend school, maintain employment, and achieve their goals.
Filling in the Blanks, Jennifer Mason. Their mission is to reduce food insecurity for children. The Norwalk based group distributes ten thousand meals each weekend to children from 2-18 years old. They purchase 99% of the food and the grant will go toward that purpose.
Food Rescue, Laney Lloyd. Volunteers who “rescue food” from bakeries, restaurants, commercial kitchens and more and bring it to social services for distribution. They have over 800 volunteers in Fairfield county.
KEYS, Karen Scott. Kids Empowered by Your Support (KEYS) provides free music education to children in the Bridgeport schools. This past year 650 students took part in their program.
Liberation, Richard Liverano. Liberation programs provide treatment and prevention services for substance use and mental health disorders. Their residential program is the only one in CT that enables a mother to stay with more than one child.
NC YMCA, Margaret Riley. Rotary’s grant will go to supporting the “Live Strong” program. This is a 12-week program for cancer survivors who find themselves in the transitional period between completing their cancer treatment and feeling physically and emotionally strong enough to return to their normal or new “normal” life.
Staying Put, Gina Blum. Helping older residents of New Canaan to “stay put” in town. Rotary funds will go to a dues scholarship fund to ensure any senior will have access to their programs.
Americares, Cornelia Brefka. Americares operates four clinics in Fairfield County clinics provide free, high-quality healthcare to low-income, uninsured residents, offering primary care services, medications, and lab work. Last year the Norwalk clinic served 2,200 patient visits.
Catholic Charities, John Guttman. Rotary’s grant will go to supporting the Meals on Wheels program covering Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport. The are delivering over 400 lunches and dinners 7 days a week.
CT Burns Camp, Dominic Mantuano. They provide a no cost one-week summer camp for children who are burn survivors. It is staffed by volunteer medical professionals from East Coast burn centers and retired and active-duty firemen.
Kids in Crisis, Erica Bates. Kids in Crisis provides a hotline and temporary housing, medical and therapeutic support for children of all ages in Fairfield County. It is CT’s only agency that house children of any gender from newborn to 18.
Little Free Pantry, Irene Hendricks. The pantry operates at the St John Lutheran church in Stamford. They offer 24×7 access to shelf stable food, small laundry detergent jugs, bar soap, shampoo, hand soap, toothpaste, diapers, toilet cleaner, and feminine care products.
New Canaan Cares, Colleen Proster. This is a 45-year-old health and wellbeing not-for-profit organization focused on New Canaan residents. Their focus will shift with the times, today many of the programs is aimed at preventive substance abuse.
Wavney Lifecare, Gabriel Mondesir. Wavney Lifecare provides a range of services to seniors including assisted living, skilled nursing and rehab, home healthcare, memory and dementia care and hospice.
Get About, Bill Post. Get About has provided free transportation (a donation is requested) to NC residents who are no longer driving. This is offered within New Canaan and to surrounding towns for medical appointments. Last year they provided 8,000 rides for 150 residents. Rotary funds will provide residents of the School House apartments free rides for one year.
Inspirica, Rebecca Gatz. They offer the largest homeless shelter in Stamford with 12 facilities for 500 people per night.
Laurel House, Rebecca Gatz. Provides resources for individuals and families with mental health issues. Our grant will be used for a program aimed at the younger clients age 17 and up to have the support and programs that would enable them to complete a degree, earn a certificate or otherwise succeed at completing schooling.
Meals on Wheels, Leslie Crowley. Meals on Wheels counts on volunteers to deliver meals to New Canan residents not able to provide their own. Volunteers are not only vital to delivering the meals but also to provide some social interaction to people otherwise isolated.
Rowan Center, Sharon Epps. For 45 years they have provided lower Fairfield County with sexual violence crisis counseling, support for sexual assault victims, and rape kit counseling. They now also offer appropriate educational material for the K-12 population.
Ram Council Foundation, Andrew Brooks. Founded over 20 years ago to model substance free living. The program provides two groups; high school students and a 7th – 8th grade group an avenue to substance-free activities, healthy alternatives to substance abuse, and an opportunity to build leadership skills through hosting educational forums.
For information about becoming a member of the Rotary Club of New Canaan, becoming a sponsor or attending Lobsterfest 2025, the 40th Anniversary Event, please contact www.newcanaanrotarylobsterfest.org
