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Letter: Public Treatment of Outback Board Members ‘Disheartening’

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Dear Editor,

It saddens me to read about the current situation with the former Outback building. What is most disheartening is the poor public treatment of its former board members. The Outback Teen Center Inc. was founded based on the best intentions of committed and dedicated volunteers and donors who supported a concept and a building for the benefit of our children. Hit with an unsustainable financial model as brought to light by the Harvard Community Partners and a number of nonprofit professionals, this nonprofit was forced to fold. With the building now in the hands of town—is it necessary to put into question the integrity of its former board members?

News

Letter: ‘Thank You’ from Outback Teen Center for Successful Fundraiser

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Dear Editor,

The Board of Directors of the Outback Teen Center would like to thank all who made possible our winter fundraising event, ‘All In for the OUTBACK!’ The evening was a success with more than 100 guests in attendance. The event opened with live entertainment from The School of Rock and The Verticals, followed by a well-attended poker tournament, casino games, appetizers and cocktails, and live rock music from Lost & Found. The evening concluded with the raffle drawing—Luke Anderson was the proud winner of the poker tournament’s grand prize, a trip to Las Vegas for two with airfare, hotel and VIP tickets to a show. The lucky winner of the most coveted raffle prize of the evening—a Louis Vuitton handbag—was Gillian DePalo. We would like to thank our organizer Claudia Pagazani de Ferreira for chairing the event and Christine Simmons, Outback Community Director for her tireless effort to ensure its success.

News

Letter: Supporting the Outback and New Canaan’s Evolving Needs

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Dear Editor:

On March 7th, 2015, New Canaan Teen Center (“the Outback”) will hold an important annual winter fundraiser. We hope the community will join us to support the Outback as we look to preserve its presence and continue to evolve the center into a place that meets the current needs of the youth and families in our community. As you may have noticed the Outback has been featured in the news recently regarding its funding. Last year the Town of New Canaan provided a grant of $20,000 to the center and proposed $19,000 grant for next year. This amount falls short of the center’s financial needs and it may be in jeopardy.