Saying youth services in New Canaan have evolved since Outback launched 12 years ago, officials with the teen center are eyeing an August re-launch that they say will see the facility and its programs meet the needs of town youth in new ways.
Though details still are being hammered out, Outback while expanding its own programming will seek to become more closely integrated—showcasing especially its roomy, centrally located facility—into New Canaan’s network of youth services providers, including nonprofit organizations, faith groups and town agencies, said Sangeeta Appel, president of the Outback Board of Directors.
Sangeeta Appel is president of the Outback Board of Directors.
“We are like every business that has to constantly reassess and look at our needs,” Appel told NewCanaanite.com. “In 12 years, downtown and Elm Street have changed quite a bit. So we have to see what works and look at revenue models.”
Its original model for self-sustaining depended in part on sources that no longer are available in the numbers they once were, officials say, such as corporate giving. Outback launched with support from New Canaan in the form of its ground lease at an enviably central location, and also gets annual funding ($20,000 in the current fiscal year) from the town.
Since Outback launched, New Canaan has seen a rise in youth programs through organizations such as nonprofits and churches, as well as more year-round sports options.
Appel said an Outback is focused on sustainability and that a task force has been visiting other area teen centers “to see how they work with groups in their communities.”
Christine Simmons, Outback director, inside the facility. Credit: Michael Dinan
Calling Outback’s building a “great, fantastic facility,” Appel said there could be an opportunity—say, with social events that rightly should be held downtown—for other organizations to partner with the teen center and “take away any redundancies.”
According to Appel, Outback now is in conversation New Canaan’s Human Services Department and, once a plan is in hand, will go to the Board of Selectmen.
Meanwhile, Outback is eyeing a website overhaul and may undergo a more substantial branding change that’s connected to the planned August refresh, Appel said.
“Right now, we’re doing the piecework and seeing if it all fits together into a model that’s sustainable,” she said. “We’re taking steps to get to that level and part of our focus is partnering with groups in town where it makes sense.”
NewCanaanite.com will have more details as they become available.