Tag Archives: Save the Children

The “Class” Of ’76

Posted on April 26, 2011 | 5 comments

Staples’ Class of 1976 celebrates its 35th reunion this summer.

Shake your booty!

But they want to do more than meet old friends, reminisce about when the drinking age was 18, and listen to KC & the Sunshine Band.

They plan to give something back to the town they grew up in.

The idea is to collect a small amount — say, $10 — from each attendee.  And from those who can’t make it back, but want to help.  If half the class donates, they’ll raise $3,000.

Who will they give it to?  They’re taking a poll.

They’ve got 10 very worthy nominees so far.  Most are local organizations:

  • Staples Tuition Grants
  • Homes With Hope
  • Project Return
  • A Better Chance of Westport
  • Near & Far Aid
  • Save the Children
  • Project Choice
  • Westport Humane Society
  • Scholarship America
  • Hole in the Wall Gang

By June 1, they hope to settle on a “Charity of Choice” for the Class of ’76.

That’s the spirit!

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Posted in Organizations, Staples HS

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1,000 Cranes For Japan

Posted on April 14, 2011 | 7 comments

The Japanese proverb — “He that folds 1,000 origami cranes will be granted a wish” — is well known.

So is the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. It’s the story of a young girl in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb hits.  Later, she begins folding cranes.

She makes 644, before dying of leukemia.  Her classmates fold the rest — and they are buried with her.

Six decades later, Japan once again fights the scourge of radiation.  This time, 4 Staples sophomores are helping.

And they’re doing it by reenacting that crane story, right here in Westport.

Anya Kostenko, Jenna Ellis, Amanda Giannitti and Francesca Lam have already created 1,000 cranes.  This Saturday (April 16, 7-10 p.m.) they’ll be on display at Toquet Hall.

Some of the cranes you'll see at Toquet Hall... (Photo/Jenna Ellis)

There will be musical performances by Staples students Rachel Samuels, Meaghan Elliot and Jacqueline Devine, plus Richard  Granger and Ayrton Ellis.

Refreshments are available, too.

For a donation of $5 ($3 for senior citizens and children under 10), you can take a crane home.  The money goes to Westport-based Save the Children’s Japan fund.

Plenty of Westporters have rushed to help victims of Japan’s triple tragedy.  It’s hard to imagine, though, that anyone — anywhere — has been as creative as these 4 Staples sophomores.

(For more information, contact japancranes1000@hotmail.com)

...and all the cranes.

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Posted in People, Staples HS, Teenagers

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Save The Children Mobilizes To Help Japan

Posted on March 11, 2011 | Comments Off on Save The Children Mobilizes To Help Japan

In response to the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Eiichi Sadamatsu checked in with Westport-based Save the Children from central Tokyo.  Eiichi says:

This is a major natural disaster that has caused large scale damage along Japan’s east coast.  We are extremely concerned for the welfare of children and their families who have been affected by the disaster.  We stand ready to meet the needs of children who are always the most vulnerable in a disaster.

On its website, Save the Children said it is “mobilizing its global resources to respond to the needs of children and families affected by the earthquake and its aftermath, and an international emergency team has been dispatched to assist staff in Japan.”

The agency has operated in Japan for 25 years. In 2004, it was a major responder to the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 225,000 people.

To donate to Save the Children’s Emergency Fund, click here.

“06880” readers  concerned with the whereabouts of anyone in the midst of this disaster should click on Google’s searchable Person Finder database.

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Ronnie Spector Rocks Westport

Posted on March 21, 2010 | Comments Off on Ronnie Spector Rocks Westport

To the long list of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees who have played in Westport — the Animals, Beach Boys, Ray Charles, Cream,  Doors, Rascals, Sly and the Family Stone, Smokey Robinson — add the 1st woman:  Ronnie Spector.

Ronnie Spector

On April 1 the “original bad girl of rock” — the Ronettes’ lead singer on mondo hits like “Be My Baby” and “Walking in the Rain,” as well as a virtual prisoner while married to “Wall of Sound” production genius/murderer Phil Spector — comes to town with Band Together.  The “HeArt & Soul” event — at the Westport Country Playhouse — benefits Save the Children.

Band Together CT unites talented musicians with concerned citizens to raise money for local and national charities, environmental issues and families in need.  The total is over $450,000 — and the Westport show should add significantly to it.

Ronnie Spector is just 1 of the many top musicians set to appear — though definitely the biggest.

Also scheduled:  “Saturday Night Live” band singer Christine Ohlman; soul singers Gisele Jackson and Susan Didrichsen; Elliot Lewis from Hall and Oates (who did not play here); Jeremy Chatzky (Ronnie Spector’s musical director and bassist, who recorded and toured with Bruce Springsteen), and Westport native Tim DeHuff.

Ronnie Spector is well into her Social Security years.  But judging from the photo above — and the stories I’ve heard about her annual Christmas show with Darlene Love at B.B. King’s New York club— she can still bring it on.

(The April 1 benefit also includes a sale of original works donated by local artists to support Haiti relief efforts.  The Westport Downtown Merchants Association is producing the event.  Doors open at 7 p.m.; the show begins at 8.  Tickets, at $36 each, are available at the Playhouse or by calling 203-227-4177.)

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Posted in Entertainment, Looking back, Organizations, People, Westport Country Playhouse

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Haiti Hits Home

Posted on January 30, 2010 | Comments Off on Haiti Hits Home

For many Westporters, the news from Haiti is devastating, despondent — and distant.

For Wilgins Altera, it’s immediate, visceral, and all too real.

Wilgins Altera (Photo by Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com)

Born in Brooklyn to Haitian immigrants, at age 7 he moved with his family to Providence, Rhode Island.  He graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 2007 with a degree in criminal justice, psychology and accounting.

Last February 2 — almost exactly a year ago — he was sworn in as an officer of the Westport Police Department.

Over 30 members of his extended family live in Port-au-Prince, or nearby.  All are accounted for — but 2 died in the earthquake’s rubble.

Many of his fellow officers did not know of Wilgins’ Haitian background.  As soon as they heard, they rushed to help.

“Everyone has been very concerned and supportive,” he said.  “They ask all the time how my family is doing.  They really care.”

A captain discussed the possibility of sending Wilgins to Haiti, to help.

The Police Benevolent Association raised funds for relief.  Many members donated generously.

Of course, help — through organizations like Save the Children and the Red Cross — is still needed.

“Every day there, people still need food and medicine,” Wilgins said.  “It’s great to see so many people involved.  And it’s not just Westport, but around the nation and the world.”

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Kids These Days

Posted on January 25, 2010 | Comments Off on Kids These Days

The plight of Haiti has touched everyone in Westport — young and old.

Kings Highway Elementary School students count the nearly $4,000 they collected.

Last week the Kings Highway Elementary School Caring Council — students who spearhead acts of kindness and spirit during the school year — organized a collection for the devastated land.

All week long, the youngsters collected coins in glass jars.  On Friday they gathered the donations in huge, heavy buckets, jars and cans.  In just 5 days students, staff and families raised $3,997.96.  (What — no one added an extra $2.04 to make it an even 4K?)

On Friday KHS PTA Social Action Committee chair Merideth Haas and her son Henry presented a check to Save the Children — the Westport-based relief organization.

There’s no better lesson in thinking locally, and acting globally.

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Posted in Children, Organizations

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Saying Thanks To Save The Children

Posted on January 20, 2010 | 4 comments

Save the Children — 1 of the world’s premier aid organizations — began working in Haiti in 1978.  With 200 staff members in that country, they are in great position to deliver aid in the wake of the devastating earthquake.

But being a leading agency means the pressures are great too.  Save the Children staffers here in Westport are raising funds, organizing relief, worrying about victims, worrying about their own friends and colleagues there and here, and doing it all around the clock.

“06880” reader Jane Horton is concerned about the devastation in Haiti — and about what it means for the many Save the Children folks right here on Wilton Road.  She says:

To steal a line from Jack Mitchell:  They probably can use a hug right now.

How do we give them encouragement when they’re not even coming up for air?  How do we tell them we are so proud of the work they are doing for so many mothers and babies?  How do we tell them we’re so sorry for their loss?  I feel like they need to know Westport cares about them.

That’s a great question.  “06880” doesn’t have the answer.  But we’re sure “06880” readers will.

Click on the “Comments” link at the top or bottom of this post.  Let the rest of us know what we can do for Save the Children — as they save the children (and adults) of Haiti.

Or just leave a comment that says “thanks.”

Every little bit helps.

(Click here to make a monetary contribution to Save the Children’s Haiti efforts — or text “Save” to the phone number 20222.)

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Help Haiti

Posted on January 16, 2010 | 3 comments

(Photo by Ivanoh Demers/Associated Press)

It usually takes just a minute or 2 to read an “06880” post.

Today, please spend that time donating to Haitian relief efforts.  One of the most well-organized — thanks in part to working in that impoverished country for over 25 years — is Westport-based Save the Children.

Click here to contribute through Save the Children’s secure website.  You can also donate by calling 203-221-4030 or 800-728-3843.

(If you’ve got a few extra seconds, click here to let Pat Robertson know how repugnant his comment was — that the earthquake was divine retribution, as Haiti made a pact with the devil by freeing itself from French rule.  You can also call Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network at 757-226-7000.)

(Ditto Rush Limbaugh:  “We’ve already donated to Haiti.  It’s called the U.S. income tax.”  Call 800-282-2882, or email ElRushbo@eibnet.com.)

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Sunrise Rotary Saves The Children

Posted on November 3, 2009 | 1 comment

Sunrise RotaryWestport’s Sunrise Rotary often joins with organizations around the world to do good work.

The most recent partnership is right down the road.

Sunrise Rotary hooked up with Westport-based Save the Children, on a literacy project in Haiti.

blog - Save the ChildrenThe Haitian office of Save the Children provided planning, organization and logistics to purchase and stock elementary school textbooks for a new lending library in the remote town of Maissade Centre.  Sunrise Rotary helped provide funds.

Over 1,000 language, math and science books were purchased.  Funds also went to physically set up the library, and train administrative staff.

It takes a village to raise a child — or, in this case, our village helping another.

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