NORWALK ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY NOW, Inc.
Retired & Senior Volunteer Program

98 South Main Street
Norwalk, CT  06854-3126
Phone (203) 899-2442
Fax (203) 899-2430
 

 
Darien   Greenwich    New Canaan    Norwalk    Stamford    Weston    Westport    Wilton

NEWS ARCHIVES

United Way

Above left:
A few of the twenty-six volunteers who spent seven days assisting with the mailing for the United Way of Norwalk and Wilton

Above right:
Children in Mr. Nelson’s classroom at the NEON Child Development Program receive hand knitted items crafted by RSVP Volunteers.

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Sharing their skills - RSVP knitters donate their handmade goods

Don Nelson and Dave Tracy hold award presented to the Norwalk Tree Alliance		Mary Giunta helps at the Norwalk Central Library

“It is that time of year…again!”
Volunteers The knitting needles of the RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program) volunteers have been busy all year and plain yarn has been transformed into beautiful creations made with love and dedication.

Over two hundred deserving children at the NEON Child Development Program have received Hats, Mittens, and Scarves knitted by volunteers.

RSVP volunteers knit in group programs at locations which include Kingsway Apartments (Norwalk), Ogden House (Wilton), the Westport Women’s Club, and the Norwalk Chapter of Hadassah. Seniors also create items from their homes.

Other “comfort items” that the volunteers created included blankets, quilts, sweaters and baby sets have been distributed to community programs; including the Liberation Programs, the Domestic Violence Crisis Center, and Christian Community Action. Materials are donated to the program by the Wal-Mart Foundation and individuals in the community.

Anyone interested in knitting for RSVP or other volunteer opportunities reaching children and adults in the community please contact Caterina Sullivan, RSVP outreach coordinator, 899-2443, csullivan@neon-norwalk.org.

Modeling from left to right (above) “Shayla Brayboy, Natalia Roman, Katerin Hernandez, students of Mr. Nelsons Class at Nathaniel Ely School.

Pen Yan Tan, RSVP Volunteer, of Kingsway Apartments puts finishing touches on a scarf she is knitting for children.

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RSVP Volunteers in Action
Wilton Volunteers, Mary Tanner, Hilda Brown and Alexandra Davatzes (right)attend the luncheon sponsored by the Liberation Program in appreciation of donations of handcrafted quilts to the program.

Mary Giunta helps at the Norwalk Central Library during the Norwalk Reads Book Distribution program.

Mary Malagisi and Doris Kling (right) assist at the East Norwalk Library with the Norwalk Reads Book Distribution Program.

Don Nelson and Dave Tracy hold the award of excellence presented to the Norwalk Tree Alliance at the Dedication of the Rosa Parks Arboretum.
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2006 Recognition Luncheon - May 11, 2006
Over 200 volunteers were honored at RSVP’s 32nd annual Recognition Luncheon held recently at Giovanni’s in Darien. This year over 32 thousand hours of service were donated to over 54 organizations in the community.

Mayor Richard Moccia presented a special award to Anna Young (RSVP Volunteer) recognizing her for over one thousand hours of service to the community this year. Anna was also responsible for obtaining the over one hundred prizes which were donated by local organizations and businesses and were raffled to deserving volunteers. Mayor Moccia also presented Certificates of appreciation to nine other volunteers for outstanding contributions of time and dedication this year.

Mayor Richard Moccia, Anna Young, Andrew Mais		Martha McDonald and Mayor Richard Moccia
Lizabeth Doty and Delphine Overby		Mayor Richard Moccia, Mary Malagasi, and Charlotte Malvicini

Delphine Overby, was honored for her over 30 years of service as Outreach Coordinator in Wilton by Lizabeth Doty , Senior Activities Coordinator for the Town of Wilton.

Thanks were expressed to the Corporation for National and Community Service, The City of Norwalk, The CT. Department of Social Services, The United Way of Norwalk and Wilton, The CT. Commission on Culture and Tourism, The Town of Wilton and Fitzpatrick Trust for providing funding. Also Recognized for their Support was Mr. Joseph Mann, Executive Director of Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now, and the NEON Board of Directors. NEON is the sponsoring agency for RSVP.

The awards luncheon was made possible with the help of The Calvary Baptist Church, St. Joseph’s Church. The New Canaan Nature Center, The Norwalk Community College Foundation, George Washington Carver Foundation, The Westport Woman’s Club and the Wilton Woman’s Club.

Chris Coogan, multi-talented jazz and gospel musician entertained the group with his unique renditions of popular requests.

Kathy Smith received the Voluntary Action Center of Mid Fairfield Award honoring volunteers of Norwalk, Westport, Weston and Wilton.  The award was presented Thursday, April 27 2006 at a ceremony at the Norfield Congregational Church (Weston) in recognition of her service to Norwalk Reads. This is a citywide program focused on improving literacy through the distribution of books and encouraging the love reading for the children of Norwalk.

Kathy Smith and Richard Moccia		Teri Klein, Kathy Smith and Sally Cordovano, Norwalk Reads Coordinator

She developed a relationship with the Weston Parent Teachers Organizations which has resulted in the donation of hundreds of new and gently used children’s books for distribution in Norwalk.

In addition, Kathy is currently piloting a new program modeling “shared effective reading” for preschoolers and their teachers at Norwalk School Readiness Programs across the city and is welcomed as “the story lady” by the children.

RSVP donations warm up Norwalk children!

Shykkem Harmon is all set for winter!

Deserving students at the Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now (NEON) Head Start Program are all ready for winter thanks to the more than 1,000 hats, mittens and scarves made by volunteers from the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). Wal-Mart Foundation, NEON Head Start and individuals donated the yarn.

Volunteers donate time in various locations, these include Kingsway Apartments (Norwalk), Ogden House (Wilton) and Marvin House (Norwalk); they knit in a group program at the Westport Woman’s Club and from their homes.

Esneyci Almonte, Madeline Pastrana (Assistant Teacher)  And Chrystal Ortiz		Mr. Ricardo Theodore’s class

Knitters Share Gift of Warmth
Norwalk Hour, January 4, 2006
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Edythe Ritchie and Jewel Broeze receive the 2005 Distinguished Advocates for Culture and Tourism Award

Edythie Ritchie & Jewel Broeze-Darien Welcome Center Volunteers Receive 2005 Distinguished Advocates for Culture and Tourism Award

The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism 2005 Distinguished Advocates for Culture and Tourism Award has been presented to RSVP Volunteers Jewel Broeze of Norwalk, CT and Edythe Ritchie of Fairfield, CT. The Distinguished Advocates Awards recognize the exemplary contributions of community volunteers in history and tourism in communities across the state.

Ms. Broeze and Ms. Ritchie have assisted hundreds of thousands of incoming visitors to Connecticut helping with personalized travel itineraries. They also mentor new volunteers interested in becoming a Connecticut Travel Counselor.

Ms. Broeze and Ms. Ritchie have served as volunteer travel counselors at the Darien Welcome Center since its inception in 1990. Ms. Broeze has contributed a total of 2,340 hours welcoming visitors and “I have loved every minute of it” she states. Ms. Ritchie has served a total of 7,020 hours, takes pride in her state and shares her enthusiasm with the people visiting the Welcome Center. “Tourism is the perfect place for me,” she states.