Darien, Connecticut - Philanthropic Groups

Philanthropic Groups

• A Better Chance – for information on the Darien chapter, see Darien High School
• Center for Hope is an organization set up in the early 1980s to provide bereavement and critical illness support for adults and children living with an illness, grieving a loss or coping with a trauma. "All counseling, support and education services are facilitated by specially-trained professionals in an atmosphere of hope and renewal", according to the organization. Founded in the early 1980s, the Center For Hope merged with Family Centers Inc. in 2005.
• Children's Council of Darien is a group set up to provide information and advocacy for the town's children from birth through fifth grade. It describes itself as a nonpartisan group of "parents, educators, doctors and local agency members working together in a non-profit organization to better inform the community about children's needs."
• The Community Fund of Darien, formerly The Darien United Way and Community Council, traces its origins to 1924 and assumed its current name upon withdrawing from the national United Way system in 2006. The Community Fund is a 501(c)(3) Public Charity actively working to meet health and human service needs in the greater community – primarily in Darien, Norwalk and Stamford – through strategic and financial leadership.
• CTE is a nonprofit organization founded in 1967 with a mission of countering "the basic causes of poverty in the Greater Stamford Area", according to the group's Web site. The organization is the federal and state designated Community Action Agency for Stamford, Greenwich and Darien.
• Darien Book Aid Plan is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that distributes free books in response to specific requests from Peace Corps volunteers, libraries and schools worldwide. Books are also donated within the United States to libraries, prisons, and hospitals, along with Native American and Appalachian groups.
• Darien Community Association is a nonprofit group founded more than 83 years ago which provides educational, cultural, recreational and civic programs; raises funds for scholarships and other community philanthropic works (partly through its Darien Thrift Shop); and maintains the Meadowlands mansion as a community resource.
• Darien/Stamford Chapter of the American Red Cross was formed on January 1, 2007 by the merger of the Darien and Stamford chapters of the American Red Cross. The merger created an organization with an annual budget of about $850,000, a staff of six full-time employees and about 600 volunteers.
• Darien Technology & Community Foundation
• Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk, founded in 1923, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. The League focuses its financial and volunteer assets on the issues of positive youth development, child health and welfare and self-sufficiency for women.
• Person-to-Person A 501(c)(3) non-profit agency originally established in 1968 by St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Darien. Its mission is simple: to bring together the needs of people in disadvantaged areas of nearby communities with the resources of people in Darien and the surrounding areas, thereby providing basic emergency services to low-income individuals and families living in lower Fairfield County. A volunteer-driven agency, Person-to-Person is committed to helping clients achieve self-sufficiency through practical help, advocacy, education and problem-solving initiatives. Programs include Emergency Assistance, Campership and Scholarship. In 2007, Person-to-Person helped more than 20,000 people avert crisis and make ends meet. These efforts are made possible by in-kind donations, a force of more than 2,000 volunteers and financial contributions.