Allyson Mahoney

‘This Is Absolutely Amazing’: Inclusive Together, Library Organize Inaugural Back-To-School Event

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Dozens of local parents, community organizations, service providers and district officials gathered at New Canaan Library on Wednesday afternoon for a first-of-its-kind back-to-school event serving parents with children who are neurodivergent, have disabilities or have learning differences. 

Launched by New Canaan-founded nonprofit Inclusive Together and the library, the inaugural “Back-To-School Together” event featured well-attended workshops and a room full of service providers and local agencies that serve community members raising children who fit under the umbrella of special education. “This is absolutely amazing,” Lauren Tarzia, founder of Inclusive Together, said as attendees chatted with representatives from organizations including the New Canaan YMCA, New Canaan Mounted Troop and New Canaan Police Department. “This is something we’ve been wanting to do for a while,” Tarzia said. “We’ve partnered with the library since they’ve been so supportive of all of our initiatives.”

The co-organizers wanted to bring together families with children who are served by a wide range of services “because really there is no tight-knit community of parents or caregivers like this.”

“And also it’s an opportunity for our resources that are here today, to network and get to know each other and see how they can help one another get the word out about their resources,” she added. “There are therapists here—speech-language therapists, occupational therapists—the New Canaan YMCA is here promoting their inclusive support programs. There are different centers here who provide therapy and testing and other types of educational services.

Allyson Mahoney

Selectmen Approve Contract with New Canaan Company for Fencing Around Toddler Playground at Mead

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As part of a larger Mead Park playground project, officials voted last week to approve a contract with a New Canaan-based company to replace a fence at the site. A joint effort of the town and a nonprofit organization to replace the main playground structure as well as introducing a new rubberized surface is “well underway,” according to Recreation Director Steve Benko. The adjacent toddler playground at Mead also got new equipment, and the committee overseeing the project “has recommended that we replace the old fence with a new fence” there, Benko told members of the Board of Selectmen at their June 4 meeting, held in Town Hall. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectman Kit Devereaux voted 2-0 to approve a request from Benko to enter into a contract with Gannon Rustic Fence for $6,370. Selectman Nick Williams was absent.

Around Town

‘Mead Park Brings Families Together’: Newcomers Give $16,000 Toward New Play Structures, Rubber Surface

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A local moms-led effort to help the town acquire new playground equipment and rubber surfacing for a popular children’s area at Mead Park got a nice boost recently from one of New Canaan’s most established and generous service organizations. The Newcomers Club of New Canaan’s $16,000 grant to the Friends of Mead Park Playground will help the group move toward its fundraising goal of $203,000 (though more help is needed, see below) as a target installation date for this summer quickly approaches. “For so many members of Newcomers, Mead Park is the center of the community,” Newcomers President Claire Foster said in an email when asked about the grant. “Whether it be meeting up for a playdate, watching a child’s baseball game, or setting up for a family picnic, Mead Park brings families together. It is the mission of The Newcomers Club of New Canaan to facilitate and add enjoyment to our newest neighbors’ transitions to town, and we felt that by supporting the restoration of one of our town’s most beloved parks, we are supporting all our neighbors by laying the groundwork for many wonderful memories to be made in a safe and fun environment.”

The funds are deeply appreciated by Allyson Mahoney and Monica Chimera, co-chairs of the Friends of Mead Park Playground.

Around Town

‘It’s Going To Be Huge’: Town Women Found Group To Help Acquire New Playground Structures, Rubber Surfacing for Mead

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New Canaan residents Allyson Mahoney and Monica Chimera say that Mead Park absolutely is the right place for a great playground. On moving to town six-plus years ago, each of the New Canaan moms—Mahoney has two boys, 5 and 7, and Chimera an 8-year-old girl and two boys, 5 and 2—found that the playground beyond the little league outfields at Mead served as a “point of entry” where they met other mothers and their children met other kids. The Apple Cart at Mead Park Lodge serves as an ideal eatery for young families on-the-go, and Chimera said her kids love waving at dad as his Metro-North Railroad train returned from the city, watching as it passed visibly above a wooded hill to the east. Yet the existing, 20-year-old play structure, well past its useful life, is showing its age. Though the town has done “an outstanding job” of patching it up to make it usable, Mahoney said, slides have required replacement, one piece of Plexiglass has popped out more than once (sometimes replaced temporarily by a piece of wood) and the wood chips that surround the area are not ideal.