Around Town

Doing Their Part: New Canaan Volunteers Benefit Norwalk’s Carver Center

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Taking the phrase “love thy neighbor” to heart, several New Canaan residents have volunteered significant time, money and effort to help fund Norwalk’s Carver Center, one of the area’s most important community organizations. “We are now in all four middle schools in Norwalk,” New Canaan resident and ex officio Carver board member Janine Smith told NewCanaanite.com. “We have over 800 kids a day come in for SAT prep, college tours, robotics that GE sponsors, Neilsen, Xerox…they’re all supporting Carver Community Center. The reason is that kids needs a place to go after school where they can see college and envision it.” According to Smith, the driving force behind New Canaan’s charitable contributions to Carver is former St.

Faces of New Canaan

Faces of New Canaan: Fatou Niang

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Since moving to New Canaan a decade ago, France native Fatou Niang has immersed herself in civic work through church and charitable organzations here, learned the nuances of American football— and learned to love it, though she worries about on-field collisions for her son, a New Canaan High School sophomore who plays JV and varsity—and started working as a Realtor, while finding an area nonprofit to which she feels deeply connected. During the 30 minutes or so that we talked at Dunkin Donuts on Elm Street (our interview is transcribed in full below), at least four passersby stopped to greet Niang and say hello. That makes her a wonderful candidate for this debut installment of “Faces of New Canaan.” In the feature, we talk to New Canaanites that—through often quiet or unnoticed work or other ways—make up the fabric of our town. Though they may look familiar to fellow New Canaanites, the individuals we profile in this feature are not known because they’re famous beyond New Canaan or prominent through high-profile jobs or elected office. It’s also a timely interview for Niang with respect to her involvement in a cherished nonprofit, Carver Center.