Woog’s Web World

As 2010 ends, TEAM Westport looked back on a year filled with activity and accomplishments.

Westport’s town committee on diversity and multiculturalism honored 3 outstanding Westporters — Dr. Albert Beasley, Claire Gold and Andrew Boas — at the annual Trailblazers award event.

Some of TEAM Westport’s other initiatives included

• Community Conversations on race, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation
• Annual  scholarships to Staples seniors who advance diversity awareness
• Working with Westport schools to enhance the inclusion of diversity within the curriculum
• Working with town departments such as the Police Department (diversity training) and the Fire  Department (recruiting)
• Sponsoring lectures and discussions featuring nationally recognized figures, focusing on diversity.  Next up:  on January 19, as part of Westport Reads, TEAM Westport brings Columbia Provost  Claude Steele here to discuss his book Whistling Vivaldi — a groundbreaking work on stereotyping, and its consequences for everyone.

(For more information on TEAM Westport, click here.)

If you haven’t yet seen “Years in the Making” — Martin West’s magnificent and insightful film honoring Westport’s artists, as well as late-in-life creativity — shame on you.

If you’ve already seen it, you probably want to see it again.

We’ll all get a shot at watching “Years in the Making” on Thursday, Jan. 6.  CPTV (Channel 10) will air the film at 8 p.m.

Ratings have been good for previous broadcasts.

Nationwide distribution may be next.

It’s never too early to make summer plans for your kid.  For sports-minded youngsters, striking a balance between serious competition and fun collaboration is tough. 

Here’s one intriguing option.

From June 26-July 4, Connecticut will host the 2011 World Youth Peace Summit and Institute for International Sport. 

Athletes — ages 15 to 19 — will compete in basketball, soccer, track and field, volleyball and other sports. 

Participants will also have the opportunity to study peace policies through lectures and workshops.  They’ll learn practical ways to successfully develop their own peace initiatives in their home communities.

Athletes will come from over 150 nations.  Keynote speakers will include Desmond Tutu, Colin Powell and Al Gore.

The Peace Summit and Scholar-Athlete Games began in 1993 and have been held in Rhode Island since their inception. Organizers said about 25,000 young people from nearly every nation have participated during the past 17 years.

For more information, click here.

Looking for something to do on New Year’s Eve?

You can go to First Night, of course.

Or, you can work there.

The First Night folks — who do an amazing job putting this event on, with very little help — are now putting out the call for volunteers.

All that’s needed is four hours max — 8 p.m. to midnight  (or less!) — at one venue:  Toquet Hall.  There’s a DJ dance party there, and adults and youths (middle or high school) are needed to check for buttons, supervise students and help where needed.

Dancing is optional.

(If interested, contact Bill Meyer:  203-226-3704; wfmeyer@optonline.net)

With Christmas on a Saturday this year, we’re in for a weird weekend.   Much as we love the holiday, it sounds like we’re in for 2 consecutive Sunday-type days.

So if you’re looking for something to do the day after Christmas — or are already worried about working off that holiday dinner — pencil in the 11th annual Staples Track Alumni Fun Run.

Beginning at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 26, it’s a 2-mile run that starts outside the high school cafeteria.

More importantly, it’s a holiday reunion for generations of Staples runners and their families.  And it’s a fundraiser for the Laddie Lawrence Scholarship fund, which has provided college tuition help to 17 Staples track athletes since its establishment nearly a decade ago.

PS:  About that holiday dinner — coffee, hot chocolate, bagels and “healthy refreshments” are served in the cafeteria after the run.

The rise in autism spectrum disorder diagnoses has been paralleled by a rise in understanding of, and services aimed at, helping students understand learning and communication differences.

Schools are doing their part; so are outside organizations.

One — Inclusion Teaming — is based right here in Westport.

Meeting weekly, groups of students — some in regular education, others in special ed — learn about differences in seeing and handling information.  They work on using concrete language; developing social, listening and problem-solving skills; understanding emotions.

The goal is to help youngsters understand their “communication difference”; learn self-advocacy to better navigate school and keep a job; practice strategies for working on teams, and use their social skills — in a fun learning environment with peers who want to learn.

It’s a way, directors say, of complementing and extending the services offered by public schools.

Some of those directors live and work in Westport.  The local connection also includes Greens Farms Academy students, who volunteer to help with mailings; fundraisers that are being planned with Westport businesses; and and possible collaborations in storytelling and art projects with the Westport Arts Center and Westport Country Playhouse.

Roger Leifer provides free office space to Inclusion Teaming.  That allows them to use their limited funds to reach parents, write grant applications, and get the word out.

It takes a village to raise a child — and it takes many groups to include each child in a village.

Some organizations are on everyone’s radar.  They get lots of help and attention at Christmas.

Other’s aren’t.

A couple who own a B&B in Provincetown are here for the holidays.  They’ve chosen 2 groups to help.

This Monday (Dec.20, 2:30 p.m.) they plan to bring a cargo of towels (used or new) and canned dog and cat food (“the good stuff, please”) to Bridgeport Animal Control.  Items may be dropped off at 7 Easton Road — or picked up personally.

On Tuesday (Dec. 21), they’ll host a holiday party for residents of the Westport Housing Authority at 5 Canal Street.  Many long for fellowship.  The women would like to give a grab bag filled with presents for the 40-plus residents.  For some, it may be their only gift this year.

Westporters are asked to drop off — also at 7  Easton Road, near Daybreak Nursery — a grab bag gift (wrapped or unwrapped), or refreshments such as cookies, cake, cheese, crackers and beverages.

For more information, call Lisa Feistell (203-246-4237) or Doreen Birdsell (203-226-2246).

As the women say:  Think globally, act locally!

They’ve sung at Sugar & Olives.  They’ve performed on the Staples stage.

Now they’re coming to Toquet Hall — and they’re singing for the hungry and homeless.

Fifteen current and former Staples stars — musicians, actors, most of them both — present “Holiday Benefit Concert: Songs for the Homeless” tomorrow (Sat., Dec. 18) at 7 p.m.  They’re an eclectic, fun-loving — and very talented — group.

Tickets cost $10.  All proceeds go to Operation Hope, a charity that assists people in need throughout the state.

Performers volunteering their time for this great cause include Kathrynmary Gau, Chris McNiff, Audrey Twitchell, Alison Manning, Peter Molesworth, Charlotte Weber, Sofia Ribolla, Jamie Yarmoff, Whitney Andrews, Kathryn Durkin, Alexandra Rappaport, Ryan Shea, Tyler Jent, Clay Singer and Grace McDavid-Seidner.