Around Town

LiveGirl Marks 10 Years

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Maggie Murphy remembers thinking as a fifth-grader that Camp LiveGirl “was just going to be like every other summer camp.”

A New Canaan High School senior set to graduate next week and attend the University of Michigan in the fall, Murphy recalled that she only knew that there would be sports and activities there. “What I definitely did not expect was that she [LiveGirl founder and CEO Sheri West] would bring in so many powerful speakers, so we had exposure to so many different empowering women,” Murphy recalled. “At the very end of every single day, everyone went around and told what their favorite part of the day was,” Murphy recalled. “In the beginning of the week, I was one of the younger kids at the camp and I was very shy. And I remember being very proud of myself that I eventually got up in front of the whole camp and said what my favorite part of the day was.

Board of Education

‘Politics Divide School Communities’: Board of Ed Chair Addresses Partisanship at Final Meeting

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New Canaan’s longtime Board of Education chair during her final meeting last week expressed gratitude to the district’s administration, fellow school board members, municipal officials and the wider community while also calling for an end to partisanship. Katrina Parkhill, a school board member for nearly seven years and its chair for the past four—encompassing the entire COVID-19 pandemic—said she had three messages after reflecting on her time on the elected body, starting with “stay the course.”

“I believe that the foundation of our school system’s success is predicated on how we, and so many before us, work together to lead our district forward, maintain a culture of mutual trust and respect, and put students at the center of everything we do,” Parkhill said a final Board meeting for herself and fellow BOE member Bob Naughton, held Nov. 6 in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School (the eve of Election Day). 

“These are qualities that have defined New Canaan Public Schools for years and we should never take them for granted,” she continued. “As we continue to move through this challenging and transformative period in education and in our nation, we must continue to lean into these qualities and nurture and respect how we got here. Most of our policies and Board practices have been in place for a long time, and they have served us well.

News

‘The Building of a Sisterhood’: Camp LiveGirl Marks 10 Years

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For 10 years, a local camp has been providing girls in grades five through eight the chance to become “confident, inclusive leaders.”

LiveGirl’s summer camp is designed to bring leadership development and mentoring skills to girls of all ages. 

While after-school groups such as “Confidence Club” or “LiveGirl League” give girls and young women opportunities to embrace their individuality, advocate for themselves, and develop resilience in the face of challenges, “Camp LiveGirl” fills a gap in the summer. Camp LiveGirl Program Director Shamare Holmes said, “We wanted to make sure that during the summer we don’t lose sight of what our girls need.”

What they need is increasingly important given rising rates among young girls of multiple mental and emotional health problems, such as depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, experts say. And Camp LiveGirl addresses those issues head-on. In middle school, many girls experience a drop in confidence, their self-esteem reaching all-time lows. For that reason, LiveGirl—founded by New Canaan’s Sheri West, CEO—starts working with them during this period, encouraging them to build resilience and develop their strengths while connecting them with a support system. 

“When you’re in middle school it’s an awkward time so LiveGirl provides that added support to teachers, parents, guidance counselors,” Holmes said.

Around Town

‘Shine On’: New Canaan Mother-Daughter Found Scholarship Program at LiveGirl

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Libby O’Hare, a 2016 New Canaan High School graduate, truly discovered local nonprofit organization LiveGirl through her mother, Claire. 

Owner of her own fine handmade jewelry business based in New Canaan, Claire O’Hare had sponsored one of the organization’s annual “Impact Scholarships” through the business. And even after she sold the company, Claire O’Hare continued to support the scholarship program. Then last year, inspired by the work of LiveGirl and the young women involved in the organization, Claire O’Hare brought her older daughter in to learn more about it. For Libby O’Hare, who lives and works in New York City for Meta, what followed made an indelible impression. She attended a LiveGirl Impact Scholarship awards event with a friend and fellow Bucknell University graduate. 

“And then when my mom left the awards ceremony and she was like, ‘I want to do more and I want to do this together,’ it was just a perfect opportunity to tap into my network and ask if they wanted to be involved,” Libby O’Hare recalled. “And it just shaped really organically.”

What they developed—working with LiveGirl founder, CEO and Chairwoman Sheri West— was the “Shine On Women’s Giving Circle.” Led by an executive committee headed by Libby O’Hare and populated with her own friends from New Canaan and college, the Giving Circle raises funds for scholarships that support talented and historically underrepresented young women.

Alexis Brooks

‘My Cousin’s Life Is in Danger’: Panel Discussion on Women and Girls in Afghanistan Set for Tuesday

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Prompted by her own cousin Sodaba Wakili’s dire situation in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and an ongoing effort to get her out, New Canaan resident Shekaiba Bennett has organized a free panel discussion scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at New Canaan Library (register here). The panel, titled “Women & Girls in Afghanistan: Listen, Learn, Act,” wil be moderated by New Canaan’s Sheri West, founder of LiveGirl, and will include town resident and attorney Alexis Brooks, among others. 

We put some questions to Bennett ahead of the panel. Here’s our exchange. New Canaanite: What is the genesis of Tuesday night’s panel discussion “Women & Girls in Afghanistan: Listen, Learn, Act”? Shekaiba Bennett: New Canaanites are quite worldly and often express concern to me, likely the only Afghan-American living in town, about the status of women and girls in Afghanistan, especially since the 2021 Taliban take over.