Around Town

‘At Home with Other Girls’: Local Nonprofit Organization LiveGirl Marks Five Years

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Lola Duhov, 11, has participated in workshops and camps hosted by a New Canaan nonprofit organization for more than one year. The Stamford resident, a Scofield Magnet Middle School student, said that prior to getting involved with LiveGirl, she had been “a very not self-appreciative person and I’d always put myself down and thought I was never good enough.”

“So my mom signed me up for [LiveGirl] and I became so connected with it and in sync with everyone and it just made me feel like a better person, and I’ve learned to accept myself more and become a much more positive person,” Duhov said Wednesday from outside the New Canaan High School cafeteria, filled with laughing girls, all cheering and working together at a leadership workshop. Duhov is one of dozens of area girls who have benefitted from LiveGirl since New Canaan’s Sheri West founded the organization five years ago. Pronounced ‘Liv Girl’ with a short ‘i’—it’s named after West’s daughter Olivia—the organization’s goal “is to build confident leaders,” according to West. “Everything we do is to build self-esteem and social and emotional intelligence, which are the building blocks of a confident leader,” West said.

Lauren Patterson

New Canaan Community Foundation Awards $586,000 in Grants [CORRECTED]

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A New Canaan organization on Wednesday distributed some $586,000 in grants to 78 local and area nonprofits. Recipients of the New Canaan Community Foundation grants ranged from organizations focused on the arts, culture and community resources, to health, human services, seniors, special needs, and youth organizations. The Community Foundation or ‘NCCF’ “works to mobilize people around issues that they care about,” President and CEO Lauren Patterson told NewCanaanite.com from a bustling auditorium at Norwalk Community College, where NCCF held its Grant Awards Ceremony. “In the fall and winter we focus on raising money, and in the spring our volunteers go out to vet the organizations and award the dollars,” Patterson said. This year, the 1977-established NCCF received a record-breaking 96 applications from nonprofit organizations for grants, which were considered by the foundation through a holistic review process, she said.

Around Town

Q&A with LiveGirl’s Sheri West: ‘The Art of Being a Girl’

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New Canaan-based nonprofit organization LiveGirl on Thursday is launching a new exhibit at the Carriage Barn Arts Center. 

Featuring work from New Orleans-based mixed media artist Ashley Longshore and award-winning artist Michele Voigt, “The Art of Being a Girl” will include work in all media that expresses what organizers call “the essence of female power.”

The exhibit will run through May 26 and features two community events—on May 19, LiveGirl is hosting a benefit with music by Sariah and Hope In Harmony, spoken word by bestselling poet Cheyenne Taylor Jacobs and Voigt completing a piece. Then on May 23, LiveGirl and CWEALF will present “Enough As She Is” with Rachel Simmons, the New York Times bestselling author of “Enough As She Is,” “Odd Girl Out” and “The Curse of the Good Girl.” 

We put some questions to LiveGirl Founder Sheri West about the exhibit and her organization. Here’s our exchange:

New Canaanite: Give me an idea now of how many girls now benefit from your organization’s programs, including Camp LiveGirl. 

Sheri West: This year, we will serve 1,500 middle and high school girls in our free of charge programs statewide. Additionally, we will welcome 150 girls at Camp LiveGirl—to run July 22 to 26 at New Canaan High School—including 60 girls on full scholarship. How will funds raised through “The Art of Being a Girl” support those programs?

LiveGirl

LiveGirl Presents: “Your Voice Matters” Leadership Summit

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Our leadership summits bring together middle school girls from across Fairfield County for a variety of empowering learning experiences that encourage girls to explore their potential and believe in themselves. All summits feature a keynote speaker, mentoring, & fun team-building activities. featuring CWEALF & State Representative Caroline Simmons

Open to grades 5-8 | free of charge | space is limited

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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As per the Board of Selectmen’s decision earlier this month, the Mead Park Brick Barn is to be demolished over three days next week, starting Monday, according to First Selectman Kevin Moynihan. ***

The Building Department on March 22 issued an after-the-fact permit for $29,000 in work at 306 Smith Ridge Road. The work included interior demolitions, dividing a room off of the master bathroom into smaller rooms, building a wall and installing a privacy door as well as additional cabinetry and a closet. The homeowner is paying $765 in fees for the work. “Kindly note that all the above work was done without obtaining the necessary permits,” the permit said.