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"We are Norwalk ACTS"
Our highly anticipated NEW Memorandum of Agreement is here!
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Sign the NEW MOA and become a member of Norwalk ACTS today!
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Our 1st Membership Orientation is Tuesday, December 10th at
12 Noon
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If you saw my announcement last week, you’ll know that this will be my last ‘welcome’ as CEO of Norwalk ACTS. I started these personalized remarks back during Covid, which seems like another lifetime ago now. I have enjoyed it as a way to share my own brief thoughts and connect with you each month and I loved hearing from you when something I shared resonated. So I’ll leave you with some final thoughts.
Jesse & I were fortunate to spend time a few weeks ago with colleagues around the country at the Power of Place convening hosted by the Harlem Children’s Zone & William Julius Wilson Institute. We had the good fortune of hearing from incredibly inspirational speakers like Governor Wes Moore, Secretary Miguel Cardona, and the unmatched Geoff Canada, who many of you may remember when we hosted him in Norwalk in our early days of Norwalk ACTS.
One key takeaway for me was that regardless of the political landscape, our mission remains steadfast: to serve our communities and create positive change. Our commitment to fostering collaboration, promoting dialogue, and addressing the root cause of system failures remains unwavering. It is more crucial than ever that we continue to work together to build a path for equity and mobility for all children in our community.
It was some of the keynote speeches from that conference that helped solidify my decision to bring my skills and passion to a state level role. I hope to help bring the same spirit of cross-sector collaboration to the state level and further our collective mission from a different seat. And I hope you will renew your commitment to our collective work by signing our new membership MOA and seeking new sectors and opportunities where you can expand our impact too.
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BACKBONE UPDATES
Welcome Marsha to Norwalk ACTS
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Marsha joined the Backbone Staff of Norwalk ACTS in October as our Development Associate. She will be working on major gifts and grants. Marsha has over two decades of experience crafting marketing, creative, and communication strategies, ideas, and content for well-known brands at agencies in Fairfield County and New York City. She has also been an entrepreneur who created a unique cupcake business from a lifelong passion for baking.
A few years ago, she pivoted from creative to strategist at her former employer, taking on new responsibilities and roles including business development, marketing, and PR for one of their research and strategy subsidiaries, then as a brand strategist for their digital agency. However, it was her volunteer work leading DEI communications strategy, planning, and execution that had the greatest impact, rekindling a long-time desire to be a change agent. Read More
Reach Marsha Elbourne
melbourne@norwalkacts.org
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Our partner focus for this month is the City of Norwalk's Community Resource Hub. We want to highlight this resource of the Community Services Department as they were recognized as the winner of the Municipal Excellence Award from the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) 2024 Convention. Congratulations!
Since July 2023, the Community Resource Hub has connected over 1200 Norwalk households to resources in areas of need, such as food, clothing, housing, and employment support.
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Our Civic Engagement Dashboard has been updated with 2024 Presidential voter turnout in Norwalk | |
Some key takeaways from this election:
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From 2020 to 2024, voter turnout in Norwalk decreased by 1.3 percentage points.
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From 2020 to 2024, votes for the democratic candidate in Norwalk decreased by 4.39 percentage points.
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From 2020 to 2024, votes for the republican candidate in Norwalk increased by 4.17 percentage points.
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What does the Department of Education do?
USA FACTS breaks it down here
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Out of School Time Locator
Portal: UPDATE
An updated Norwalk ACTS OST Locator Portal is launching in 2025!
Out of School Time Providers, please submit Year-Round, After-School, and Summer 2025 Programs here!
Questions?
Contact, Senior Data Analyst, Ray Leslie, rleslie@norwalkacts.org.
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2/5 families in EVERY zip code in Connecticut are struggling to keep a roof over their heads, put food on the table and cover the basics for their children. - United Way
Governor Lamont needs to hear from you to ensure a refundable CT Child Tax Credit is included in his next budget proposal.
Tell him why this is critical for YOU.
It's time for action!
3 ways to take action and contact Governor Ned Lamont
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Policy & Advocacy Updates
As state House and Senate leadership convene post-election to appoint committee chairs and meet with newly elected officials, the Connecticut Cradle to Career Coalition’s Policy & Advocacy Subcommittee has also been hard at work. With youth and adult community representatives from Norwalk and two members from Norwalk ACTS partner organizations, the subcommittee has reviewed a draft of the 2025 statewide policy agenda. The goal is to finalize legislative priorities by the second week of December for submission to Coalition leadership. Interested in learning more about the Subcommittee or joining our advocacy efforts, email ctc2c.policy@gmail.com.
In October and November, Norwalk ACTS Youth Community Advocates actively participated in trainings on Civic Engagement and Advocacy during Political Division, an Overview of the Connecticut General Assembly with a legislative advocacy timeline, a Preview of the 2025 Legislative Session with policy goals and tools, and an Overview of Norwalk Government. The students' enthusiasm was evident, with insightful questions and observations and bright eyes when asked about visiting the Capitol. Stay tuned for details about an upcoming Coalition event in Hartford this spring! More from Policy & Advocacy here
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Join the City of Norwalk for an Immigration Community Meeting
Wednesday, December 18th
6:00 PM
Concert Hall at City Hall AND Zoom
| Carol Carrozelli of NPS, Karina Mendez, Jennifer Murray-Mayhew, Ivett Castro, our Community Advocates participated in the Advocacy Academy sponsored by the CT Early Childhood Alliance in Hartford. | |
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Day of Training
We had our 3rd Day of Training in November. Thank you Family & Children's Agency for hosting us at your Ben Franklin location. Over 50 members from the community gained more knowledge from 9 workshops!
Our next Day of Training will be in June 2025.
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Early Childhood Development Initiative General Meetings
Thursday, January 9, 2024
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Refer to our website calendar for location details.
| A big thank you to all of our Early Childhood Community Advocates who have been out in the community connecting with families and children! | |
Norwalk ACTS uses a Collective Impact approach that brings people, organizations, and systems together, in a structured way, around common goals to achieve social change. It is rooted in the belief that no single organization or entity alone can create lasting social change on its own. | | |
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Norwalk ACTS
[www.norwalkacts.org]
Connect with us on Social Media
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