Around Town

Quiet Heroes of New Canaan: Michele Ayoub

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Michele Ayoub has been donating Mother’s Day tulips to Staying Put in New Canaan members since the start of the pandemic, according to the popular nonprofit organization. A mom who appreciated the support she received from neighbors during her pregnancy and baby-rearing, Ayoub began growing the flowers as Mother’s Day gifts for those same neighbors, as well as family and friends, and even threw a “tulip party,” according to Gina Blum, executive director of Staying Put. 

The annual yield is now up to some 3,000 to 4,000 tulips “that she plants every year and during COVID she did not have the party, so she found Staying Put in New Canaan and other organizations who deliver them to seniors, and she continued with us each year,” Blum said by way of nominating Ayoub for the “Quiet Heroes” series. Founded in 2008, Staying Put in New Canaan helps local seniors live independent, active and engaged lives as they grow older. (The organization’s “Summer Soirée” will be held from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 6 at Waveny House—details and tickets here.)

According to Robin Bates-Mason, Staying Put’s manager of events and volunteers, the organization gets calls from its members thankful for the flowers. “They’re so appreciative of it and how pretty and unique they [the tulips] are,” Bates-Mason said.

Staying Put in New Canaan

Staying Put in New Canaan Annual Meeting

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2022 Annual Meeting with Special Guest Speaker: Marie Allen, President & CEO of the Southwestern Connecticut Agency on Aging. “The Same as it Ever Was? A Look at Aging Norms Then and Now”

Members, guests, donors and friends of Staying Put are invited. Wednesday, Oct. 12th 4:30pm – 6:30pm
Lapham Community Center
RSVP by Oct.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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New Canaan Police at about 4:25 p.m. Monday received a report of a larceny at 16 South Ave., according to a call log. That’s the street address of the Mobil gas station. Asked about the incident, police said it involves a juvenile and is being worked out between the business owner and family. 

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A Stamford-based company, Case Study Brands, on Thursday presented a plan for Waveny House to the Board of Selectmen during a regular meeting. The company provided a broad sketch whereby Waveny gets a “luxury brand reflective of both its heritage and crown jewel positioning with the community,” with a new website and promotional materials, larger events and a staff “house director” whose responsibilities would include “concierge services.” The current online information for Waveny House lives in the Recreation Department’s area of the municipal website and “doesn’t feel glamorous” for what a bride is looking for,” officials from the company said. “It’s a little bit lacking in the glamour” compared to competitors such as the Roger Sherman Inn and Philip Johnson Glass House, they said.

Barb Achenbaum

Local Organizations and COVID-19: Staying Put in New Canaan

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For today’s Q&A with a local organization, we hear from Barb Achenbaum, executive director of Staying Put in New Canaan. Here’s our exchange. 

New Canaanite: Staying Put serves many people in New Canaan whose day-to-day lives have been disrupted the most by COVID-19 virus. How are your members faring? Staying Put’s mission is to help older adults in New Canaan live independently and safely in the community. Over the past few months, as restrictions were in place, we’ve had to pivot our traditional support services to a new format.