Around Town

‘A Real Gift’: STAR Inc. Executive Director Katie Banzhaf To Retire After 40 Years

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The head of a decades-old nonprofit organization that has an office in New Canaan is retiring after 40 years of service. Katie Banzhaf, executive director of STAR Inc.—established in 1952 and serving individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families—has aided in the advancement of pediatric therapy services, paid employment opportunities for people with IDD, inclusion in schools and the community, improved accessibility with ADA, residential and supported housing options, assistive technology and smart homes, senior memory care and sending individuals to college. 

“My passion has always been around the employment of people with special needs,” Banzhaf told NewCanaanite.com. “At a very early age, I just realized that life could be better for people with special needs. I wanted to be part of that.” 

The Cincinnati native got her start volunteering at what was formerly known as the Orient State School, an institution for people with mental health and IDD, as a teenager. On Tuesdays, Banzhaf and her peers would visit and take the residents out into the community. 

While working for Marc Gold & Associates as a consultant and providing training on systematic instruction and job placement for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities around the country and worldwide, Banzhaf received a call from STAR and the rest is history. 

“I’ve now had a 40-year history here at STAR and I’ve watched so many of our clients grow up.

Business

STAR Turns to Karl Chevrolet, Bolt To ‘Stay Ahead of the Curve’

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Saying the addition of an electric car will improve their program and save money while helping the environment, officials with a New Canaan nonprofit organization that serves developmentally disabled people recently turned to a venerable local business for assistance. STAR Inc., Lighting the Way received a state grant allowing it to add 10 new vehicles to its fleet, including one hybrid, one electric car and eight additional wheelchair-accessible vans, according to Peter Saverine, the organization’s director of philanthropy. Karl Chevrolet facilitated the purchase of an EV, in the spirit of the Elm Street dealership’s longtime support of local nonprofits. “Karl Chevrolet was super nice and accommodating,” Saverine said. “They even drove over to Norwalk with three car models so we could take them for a spin and determine which was the best for us.”

They ended up with one electric Chevy Bolt EV that will help the organization experiment with leveraging their savings to reduce costs.

Around Town

‘We Are Not Going To Do Anything Irresponsible’: For Now, New Canaan Location of Abilis Tied To Doubtful Viability of The Hub

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The head of a nonprofit organization that serves people with developmental disabilities said his agency will only start operating out of The Hub in downtown New Canaan under the board now in charge of the facility if that group somehow achieves financial viability. New Canaan resident Dennis Perry, president and CEO of Greenwich-based Abilis, said his organization’s first priority is to avoid doing “anything that puts the population we serve at risk.”

“I will not open up and find the facility that we are operating in is not financially viable, and then have to shut down,” Perry said when asked about the prospect of operating out of the lower level of The Hub, as per a Memo of Understanding now in place. “The discontinuity that would create for these individuals who do not transition well—we would be irresponsible to do that.”

The comments come as questions surround The Hub’s ability to make money and self-sustain—a challenge that the building’s former operator, the Outback Teen Center, was unable to overcome, ultimately closing for good last summer. Inchoate plans for a catch-all community center appear to have garnered little support. An online campaign seeking to raise $25,000 in support of The Hub has banked just $2,320 in two weeks—with more than a quarter of that from board members themselves—raising questions about the community’s interest in the broad program that’s been proposed for the facility.