Around Town

‘A Real Gift’: STAR Inc. Executive Director Katie Banzhaf To Retire After 40 Years

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The head of a decades-old nonprofit organization that has an office in New Canaan is retiring after 40 years of service. Katie Banzhaf, executive director of STAR Inc.—established in 1952 and serving individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families—has aided in the advancement of pediatric therapy services, paid employment opportunities for people with IDD, inclusion in schools and the community, improved accessibility with ADA, residential and supported housing options, assistive technology and smart homes, senior memory care and sending individuals to college. 

“My passion has always been around the employment of people with special needs,” Banzhaf told NewCanaanite.com. “At a very early age, I just realized that life could be better for people with special needs. I wanted to be part of that.” 

The Cincinnati native got her start volunteering at what was formerly known as the Orient State School, an institution for people with mental health and IDD, as a teenager. On Tuesdays, Banzhaf and her peers would visit and take the residents out into the community. 

While working for Marc Gold & Associates as a consultant and providing training on systematic instruction and job placement for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities around the country and worldwide, Banzhaf received a call from STAR and the rest is history. 

“I’ve now had a 40-year history here at STAR and I’ve watched so many of our clients grow up.

News

Podcast: New Canaan’s Meghan and Molly Cioffi

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This week on 0684-Radi0, our free weekly podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Meghan and Molly Cioffi, a mother-daughter duo from New Canaan, about their involvement with STAR, a local nonprofit organization that serves more than 600 individuals with disabilities and their families. Meghan Cioffi is president of the organization’s board, while Molly Cioffi, a 2018 New Canaan High School graduate, is a lifelong client who is now a college sophomore in Lesley University’s Threshold Program in Cambridge, Mass. Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0:

 

Around Town

New Canaan’s Mysogland Family Honored by STAR Inc.

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New Canaan’s Ernie Mysogland describes his adult special needs daughter Jassinia as “a true sweetheart” who models his wife of 50-plus years, Susie, in her kindness. For more than 20 years, Jassinia through an area nonprofit organization with deep ties to New Canaan has worked as a bagger at the Food Emporium on Elm Street, now Acme. 

Because the Mysoglands had such a large family—11 kids—and Jassinia’s brothers and sisters brought home so many friends, she came to know all kinds of people, according to her dad. “Those people got the idea that if Jassinia was going to work at the grocery store and she was going to bag groceries, they would try to get in her lane,” Ernie Mysogland recalled Monday night, standing near his wife and daughter and addressing more than 100 STAR Inc. staff members, clients and families gathered at the organization’s Norwalk headquarters for its 67th annual meeting. “And they would say, ‘Hi Jassinia,’ and she would say, ‘Hi, how are you?’ And Jassinia, unfortunately, would let a lot of family secrets out. People would say, ‘Jassinia, how are you?

Business

STAR Turns to Karl Chevrolet, Bolt To ‘Stay Ahead of the Curve’

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Saying the addition of an electric car will improve their program and save money while helping the environment, officials with a New Canaan nonprofit organization that serves developmentally disabled people recently turned to a venerable local business for assistance. STAR Inc., Lighting the Way received a state grant allowing it to add 10 new vehicles to its fleet, including one hybrid, one electric car and eight additional wheelchair-accessible vans, according to Peter Saverine, the organization’s director of philanthropy. Karl Chevrolet facilitated the purchase of an EV, in the spirit of the Elm Street dealership’s longtime support of local nonprofits. “Karl Chevrolet was super nice and accommodating,” Saverine said. “They even drove over to Norwalk with three car models so we could take them for a spin and determine which was the best for us.”

They ended up with one electric Chevy Bolt EV that will help the organization experiment with leveraging their savings to reduce costs.