News

NCHS Junior Seeks To Create Toy Closet for Kids at Norwalk Hospital

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New Canaan High School junior Kaylee Paladino has seen first-hand how important it is for kids going through difficult treatments or surgeries at a hospital to have ready access to a toy. A brother had developed Crohn’s Disease, and it helped ease his anxiety at Stamford Hospital when he took advantage of a dedicated toy closet there, called ‘David’s Toy Chest.’

“He thought it was nice to get the toy and that made his experience better,” Kaylee recalled. Now, for her Girl Scouts Gold Award, the teen is seeking to create a similar feature at Norwalk Hospital. Kaylee has set up collection boxes at New Canaan Library and Ring’s End in Lewisboro, N.Y., and soon will have a third box at the high school, and she’s in the midst of converting what was a small bathroom at Norwalk Hospital into a new toy closet. “I need to build shelves, paint it, get the door painted and organize the toys—it’s a big project,” Kaylee said.

Around Town

Boy Scout Project Improves Access to Land Trust Parcel

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By Mark Peiser

A Boy Scout Eagle Project, completed in October, now provides improved access to the New Canaan Land Trust’s Colhoun Parcel. The project includes a safer entrance gate and a designated parking area, making it easier for members of the community to access the parcel. Gifted in 1974 by Dick and Didi Colhoun, the parcel is located on Davenport Ridge Road, just west of Skyview Lane, and is the New Canaan Land Trust’s third largest with 21 acres of undisturbed woodlands and meadows. Chris Schipper, president of the Land Trust, said, “The Colhoun Parcel is a key part of the Land Trust’s ‘Gateways of New Canaan’ Stewardship Program. At the crossroads of New Canaan and Stamford, Colhoun is a lead parcel for our Gateways program.