Parent educator and therapist Cristina Young will present “Managing Difficult Moments with Teens,” a conversation about mental health, substance use, and tactics for deepening communication with teens in an effort to maintain strong connections during turbulent times, on Thursday, March 4th at 10am.  The talk is the third in a series of The Community Fund of Darien’s “Our Darien” events this year designed to educate parents about the dangers of substance use, youth mental health and how they can best support their teens.  Registration for this discussion, sponsored by The Depot Youth Center and YWCA Parent Awareness, is free and required at www.communityfunddarien.org. 

Cristina Young is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in private practice in Greenwich, CT. Cristina has more than 25 years experience providing professional support to children, adolescents, adults, and families in a variety of settings, including schools, hospitals, and residential treatment centers. She has lived and worked in the Fairfield County area for almost 20 years. Prior to opening her private practice, Cristina worked as a parenting educator, school counselor, admissions officer, and teacher. She received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Southern California and her bachelor’s and teaching degrees from Barnard College, Columbia University.

 In the early months of the pandemic, The Community Fund of Darien and the Darien YMCA came together to discuss a community building project and realized that many residents were spending a great deal of time at home with family, doing a lot of cooking, and having meals together.  This was the inspiration for the Darien Cooks! Community Cookbook, a treasury of recipes to feed the soul, local families, and our community.  Original recipe submissions for the cookbook are now being accepted until March 1st at www.communityfunddarien.org.  Darien Cooks! will be available in mid-May; pre-orders are currently being taken on the website for $50 each.  All proceeds will support TCF and YMCA community programs. 

Darien Cooks! will feature custom artwork by Darien's resident artist extraordinaire, Nobu Miki, and her cover art will also be available as a beautiful glass cutting board available for purchase on the website for $35.  Both make wonderful gifts and are sure to become a go-to source for delicious meals and a precious keepsake for years to come!

Submitted recipes must be original and should include the best time of year to serve (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter or Any Season.)  The origin or a great family story about the recipe is welcome!  Full details and guidelines are found on the www.communityfunddarien.org website (click “Darien Cooks!”)

The community may also contribute to the project as an underwriter; participant names will be listed in the back of the cookbook. Individual underwriting options are found by clicking the “Pre-Order Cookbook” tab on the website.  Sponsorship opportunities are available for local businesses; levels and benefits can also be found on the website.

“Everyone has their favorite family recipe and what better way to build and strengthen our community than sharing our love of food.  Through this cookbook and partnership with The Community Fund we’ll not only share our timeless family treasures, but we’ll also support our families, friends and neighbors.” Jennifer Gardner, Darien YMCA

“Sharing a recipe, like sharing a meal is a gift from the heart. We saw the cookbook as a means to capture this moment in time as well as to celebrate this special town. We hope this project brings people together over a common bond of a love for food, and a home cooked meal while supporting our neighbors.” – Janet King, The Community Fund of Darien

The Community Fund of Darien and the Darien YMCA hopes that through this initiative to support local community projects, residents can be a part of local history with their submission and will ultimately enjoy paging through their neighbors’ recipes to create newfound favorites for their own families.

The Community Fund of Darien (TCF) is celebrating the new year with a “Community Dinner for a Cause” on Sunday, January 24th. Proceeds from the dinner, prepared by Nino’s of Darien, will benefit our local nonprofit partners and support programs focusing on youth success in our community.  Orders must be placed by 5pm on Wednesday, January 20th at www.communityfunddarien.org.  

Order a Nino’s family meal, which includes a bottle of wine provided by SipStirs, and The Community Fund of Darien will direct half your purchase to its local nonprofit partners who support youth success.  TCF will provide free contact-less, doorstep delivery of your meal on Sunday, January 24th between 4:15-5:15pm.

The $150/per family (feeds 4-6) meal, includes:

• Nino’s Chicken Parmesan and Chicken Scaloppini
• Penne alla vodka
• Salad with Italian vinaigrette
• Rolls
• Tiramisu for dessert
• Bottle of wine provided by SipStirs

Enjoy a delicious Sunday family dinner while helping our vulnerable neighbors with your purchase.  Together, we can change lives and strengthen our community. 

The "Our Darien" campaign, created by The Community Fund of Darien in partnership with the Thriving Youth Task Force, is encouraging parents to join the conversation about teen substance abuse with its first-ever virtual book group in January and a culminating live discussion via Zoom on February 3rd.  The featured book is the #1 New York Times bestseller Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff.  The book group is the first in a series of events designed to educate parents about youth mental health, the dangers of substance abuse and how they can best support their teens.
 
Each week of the month-long “Our Darien Book Group” will explore several chapters of the memoir, with thought-provoking questions provided by the Darien Library.  The virtual group will launch on Monday, January 11th on the Our Darien Facebook page (www.facebook.com/OurDarien, click “Groups.”)  Participants in the private, moderated forum are encouraged to share their thoughts and formulate questions as they read.  The final live discussion Zoom event on Wednesday, February 3rd at 7:00pm will feature Frank Bartolomeo, Ph.D., LCSW from Silver Hill Hospital, who will offer his perspective on addiction, warning signs and prevention tips.
 
The memoir is available at the Darien Library in print and digitally and can also be purchased at Barrett Bookstore (mention the Our Darien Book Group for a 10% discount) and other booksellers.  It is described by famed author Anne Lamott as “a brilliant, harrowing, heartbreaking, fascinating story, full of beautiful moments and hard-won wisdom. This book will save a lot of lives and heal a lot of hearts.”
 
Publisher’s description: What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted David Sheff’s journey through his son Nic’s addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets. David Sheff traces the first warning signs: the denial, the three a.m. phone calls—is it Nic? the police? the hospital? His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself. But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every treatment that might save his son. And he refused to give up on Nic.
 
Save the date for the next event in the series:  a must-see live Zoom presentation on February 10th featuring former NBA professional basketball player and addiction recovery advocate Chris Herren, who will share his experiences and his road to sobriety. 
 
These programs are made possible with the support of The Community Fund of Darien, Barrett Bookstore, the Darien Depot, the Darien Library, Silver Hill Hospital, Trinity Church and The YWCA of Darien/Norwalk.
  
For the past four years, The Community Fund of Darien in collaboration with the Thriving Youth Task Force (TYTF) has educated Darien teens and adults about the dangers of teen binge drinking through the “Our Darien” social marketing campaign. This public health initiative aims to shine a spotlight on the impact of alcohol on the teen brain and to offer proven tactics towards healthier attitudes and behaviors. A growing body of research shows an ongoing parent-child dialogue about risky behaviors, combined with clear rules and consequences, equips students to make healthy choices in the short and long term. The “Our Darien” campaign is funded by a grant from the state of Connecticut’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS).

Local residents may not be aware that despite its name, only a small percentage of donations raised by The Community Fund of Darien (TCF) actually remain in Darien.  Approximately 95% of the nonprofit organization’s funding in 2019-2020 served agencies in Norwalk and Stamford focused on basic needs, youth success, workforce development and community health.

To better serve its donors, The Community Fund of Darien is launching The Norwalk Fund and The Stamford Fund, which restrict contributions to investments in nonprofits serving their respective towns.  Donations to each fund benefit from TCF’s 70-years of experience, knowledge, relationships, due diligence and the collective impact of donor gifts to nonprofit agencies in Norwalk or Stamford.

Each organization funded by The Community Fund of Darien is thoroughly vetted by its small staff and more than 60 trained community volunteers to ensure that donor contributions are allocated effectively with targeted impact, and recipient organizations are reviewed throughout the year for progress. By investing in effective programs and organizations that promote equity and provide long-term support for all local residents, TCF strengthens the entire community.

The Community Fund of Darien’s numerous, impactful program investments last year in Norwalk and Stamford agencies include:

• The Teen Talk programs at Brien McMahon High School and Norwalk High School to provide an on-site, full-time master's level counselor at each school to provide counseling and preventive education.
• Financial and housing advocacy services for domestic violence victims.
• Mobile crisis intervention services providing vital resources and mental health assessments for Stamford teens and children.
• A healthy breakfast, lunch and snack initiative for young Stamford students that met 80% of children’s daily nutrition requirements.

“For 70 years, The Community Fund of Darien has partnered with our donors to improve the lives of residents in Norwalk, Stamford and Darien,” noted Janet King, executive director of TCF.  “Establishing The Norwalk Fund and The Stamford Fund gives donors the added benefit of designating their gifts to a specific town, making a difference in their very own neighborhood.”

Just one gift to The Community Fund of Darien’s Norwalk Fund or Stamford Fund benefits multiple nonprofit organizations, including STAR, Lighting the Way, the Carver Foundation, Liberation Programs, Norwalk Grassroots Tennis and Education, Family & Children’s Agency and Kids in Crisis in Norwalk and Abilis, Building One Community, Americares, Inspirica, Laurel House and Future Five in Stamford.  

Written by YCF student Margaret Williams