The Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County, a not-for-profit organization established in 1920, is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.
The Junior League's community projects have included the Bridgeport Childcare Project, whose goal is to build a childcare center in Bridgeport to serve low-income families; providing meals for Operation Hope, a Fairfield agency that helps the homeless and operates a homeless shelter at 50 Nichols St.; partnering with the Thomas Hooker School in Bridgeport to help the school and its students; "Done in a Day" initiatives in which the League's Helping Hands Committee addresses immediate short-term needs in its communities, such as clothing and book drives, spruce-up projects and event staffing.
The League also is active in "Kids in the Kitchen," a national Junior League initiative aimed at empowering children to adopt healthy habits in an effort to reverse the trend of childhood obesity. Local leagues educate at grassroots levels by providing information, materials and interactive lessons related to nutrition and healthy eating to parents and children in their communities.
Members of the Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County receive training in advocacy, community research, fundraising, finance, leadership, public relations and personal development.
Prospective members must be at least 21 years old and pay $100 to receive training at classes held in Fairfield Public Library.
The Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County, whose motto is "Women Building Better Communities," is comprised of women from Bridgeport, Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Newtown, Redding, Shelton, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston and Westport.
The Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County's headquarters is on the third floor of Burr Homestead, a town-owned historic structure at 739 Old Post Road.
The Home Builders Association of Fairfield County has been in operation since 1947, helping align builders and clients. This group has information and contacts about anything and everything to do with building, remodeling and home improvement. Builders can join the group for $525 for a one-year membership. The association provides market trends, awards, networking and information on codes to members.
Connecticut Alliance for Music supports the fine art of music for young individuals throughout Fairfield County. The group provides a place where musicians who specialize in classical music can thrive and find appreciation for the art via competitions, concerts and outreach programs. The mission of the Connecticut Alliance for Music is to not only develop the young musicians of Connecticut but also to enrich the town with creativity and enjoyment through concerts.
The Fairfield Theatre Company is a not-for-profit cultural organization that leases a town-owned building at 70 Sanford St. that was formerly home to the town's Parks and Recreation Department, which moved to 75 Mill Plain Road after the town bought part of the former Fairprene Inc. factory property.
The Fairfield Theatre Company, which opened at 70 Sanford St. in 2004, presents musical performances and plays at its Sanford Street facility and also presents musical performances at the Klein Auditorium in Bridgeport.
The Fairfield Theatre Company offers memberships that range from $50 to $1,000.
The $50 membership includes one ticket to each FTC event at the member discount price; the $75 membership includes two tickets to each FTC event at the member discount price; the $100 and $250 memberships include four tickets to each FTC event at the member discount price.
The $500 membership includes six tickets to each FTC event at the member discount price and the $1,000 membership includes eight tickets to each FTC event at the member discount price.
FTC memberships are tax deductible.
The Connecticut Audubon Society Center at Fairfield, established in 1898, is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the environment, environmental education, conservation and advocacy on behalf of the environment.
The Connecticut Audubon Society Center at Fairfield, 2325 Burr St., adjoins its 152-acre Larsen Wildlife Sanctuary, which has more than seven miles of boardwalks and marked trails.
Youth and adult educational classes and activities take place throughout the year at the Burr Street facility.
The Gaelic-American Club, established in 1948, offers a wide range of activities in its 74 Beach Road facility, including Irish music, literature, genealogy, dance and theater.
The members-only club, which accepts people of Irish descent who have been sponsored by a club member, recently expanded its facility, which includes a kitchen, pub area, banquet room, billiards room and library.
Club activities, some of which are held off-site, include a Fairfield Gaelic Pipe & Drum Band; 25 Card Game; Monday Night Musicians, a program of how to play instruments associated with traditional Irish music; an Over 40 Soccer Club; Genealogy Group; Glee Club; Irish Literature Group; lessons in Set Dancing; luncheons and trips with the GAC Seniors; Bowling League; and Family Fun Nights.
The club awards scholarships to graduates of Fairfield high schools who pursue higher education.
The Community Film Institute, a successor to the Community Theatre Foundation, established in 2001, is a non-profit organization that operates a movie theater in downtown Fairfield.
The Community Theatre at 1424 Post Road opened in the early 1920s as a vaudeville house, switched to a film format in 1929, added a second screen in 1979 and was closed in May 2001 by Loews Cineplex, which was unable to compete with the two large cineplexes on Black Rock Turnpike - one in Fairfield, the other next door in Bridgeport.
The Community Theatre Foundation was created to reopen the landmark movie theatre, staff the theatre with volunteers, offer discounted prices on movie tickets and donate proceeds beyond operating and capital expenses to area charities.
The theatre, reopened by the foundation in December 2001, shows second-run films, art and independent films at a cost of $4, and its concession stand also offers discounted prices on popcorn, soda and candy.
The twin-screen movie theatre includes a balcony that dates to 1933 and an indoor box office.
Movie times vary, but the theatre generally shows evening movies Monday through Friday, and matinee and evening movies Saturdays and Sundays.
Parking is available on-street and in a nearby municipal lot near the corner of Reef Road and the Post Road, behind the Sherman Green gazebo.
The Mill River Wetland Committee is a non-profit organization founded in 1967 to strengthen environmental education through the study of river basins.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Mill River Wetland Committee promoted the purchase of open space along the Mill River in Fairfield and took a leading role in the defense of endangered wetlands.
Concern for the town's environmental future prompted the Mill River Wetland Committee to launch River-Lab, a hands-on program of environmental study for grades 3 through 6 in Fairfield public schools, and all elements of the program have been adopted as part of the science curriculum in those grades.
River-Lab, in consultation with teachers and environmental experts, provides classroom materials and activities for students, extensive training for study-trip guides and professional development for teachers. Classroom training is enhanced by study trips to the Mill River and town estuaries.
Each year, 160 River-Lab volunteers guide more than 3,500 children on 650 study trips.
Study trips for students in grades 3, 4 and 5 are at the Perry's Mill Open Space on Sturges Road, and study trips for students in grade 6 are at the St. Mary's, Southport and Ash Creek estuaries.
Volunteers who want to be study guides must complete two training sessions to be a qualified guide.
Volunteers are needed, especially in the following areas: Artists, annual meetings, awards, board members, editing/writing, fundraising, garden expo, grant writing, hospitality, marketing, membership, office work, photography, public relations, research consultants, scrap book, strategic planning, trail maintenance and volunteer picnics.
The group's major fundraiser is an annual garden expo.
The Stewart B. McKinney Foundation, established in 1987 after the death of U.S. Congressman Stewart B. McKinney, R-4, is dedicated to providing funds to care for people with HIV disease who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
The foundation states that the estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States is about 1.1 million and that more than 16,150 men, women and children in Connecticut are infected with HIV/AIDS.
The foundation states that it has been able to maximize services for people afflicted with AIDS through strategic grant making and credits the success of its housing, educational, emergency and supportive options to generous contributions received from corporations and individuals.
The foundation's mailing address is: The Stewart B. McKinney Foundation, P.O. Box 338, Fairfield CT 06824.
The First Tee Golf Program is a non-profit organization that uses the sport of golf to work with youth on life and developmental skills. The program works with thousands of local children each year, both on the golf course and in the classroom and uses fun golf-inspired activities to teach First Tee's Nine Core Values, including honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, courtesy, judgement, confidence, responsibility and perseverance. The First Tee Golf Program also offers youth a variety of scholarships to apply for and sponsors numerous charitable events each year.
Fairfield Arts Center, a not-for-profit organization, was established in 1996 to advocate for local cultural organizations and artists, provide arts-related information, sponsor art exhibits and provide a visitor's center.
Fairfield Arts Center is located at 70 Sanford St., next to the Fairfield Theatre Company, which leases a town-owned building (formerly home to the town's Parks and Recreation Department) and features musical performances and off-Broadway plays.
The Fairfield Museum and History Center, formerly known as the Fairfield Historical Society, is located at 370 Beach Road in a 13,000-square-foot building that was specifically built for the organization in 2007.
Previously, the Fairfield Historical Society, founded in 1904, had been located in a 636 Old Post Road building next to First Church Congregational, but had outgrown its space. The town of Fairfield leased property on Town Green at a nominal fee for the construction of a new facility, and First Church Congregational bought the building that had housed the Fairfield Historical Society.
The Fairfield Museum and History Center includes exhibition galleries, a special collection library and reading room, a family education center, an 80-seat theater overlooking Fairfield's Town Green and a museum shop.
The Fairfield Museum and History Center also manages the following town-owned historic properties: Bronson Windmill, 2963 Bronson Road; The Burr Homestead, 739 Old Post Road; Sun Tavern on the Town Green; Powder House, 230 Unquowa Road; and the Victorian Cottage and Barn on the Town Green. The Fairfield Museum and History Center also manages Ogden House and Gardens, 1520 Bronson Road, which it owns.
Membership benefits include free admission to the Fairfield Museum and History Center, special members-only events, advance notice of tours and programs and store discounts.
The Freemasons are a brotherly fraternity that practices "friendship, morality, and brotherly love." The local chapter meets every first and third Thursday at 730pm. If interested in becoming a member, contact the local chapter. The Freemasons sponsor a variety of events throughout the year for the community.
Equal parts fitness center and community center, the Fairfield YMCA serves a large role in the greater community. It is the go-to place for a wide variety of activities for the entire family.
From dance and gymnastics to basketball and baseball, the YMCA offers year-round programming both on-site and off-site at area fields.
In addition to sports clinics and swimming lessons, the YMCA runs several summer camps, after-school and school vacation programs. Members of the YMCA can take advantage of its fitness center and various group exercise programs, including yoga and spinning.
Child care is available to all members while they use the facilities, and the YMCA's preschool program is a popular choice for area parents.
Memberships available at the YMCA include $20 a month for youth; $26 a month for high school students, with a one-time $25 joiners' fee; $32 a month for college students, with a one-time $50 joiners' fee; $50 a month for adults, with a one-time $50 joiners' fee; $42 a month for senior citizens, with a one-time $50 joiners' fee; $61 for senior citizen families, with a one-time $60 joiners' fee; and $72 for families, with a one-time $60 joiners' fee.
Operation Hope is a local agency, established in 1986, that helps the homeless and that operates a homeless shelter at 50 Nichols St. next to the Fairfield Police Department and Station 1 of the Fairfield Fire Department.
Operation Hope states that its mission is to provide innovative solutions to homelessness in Fairfield and the surrounding community through housing development, advocacy, education and personalized support services for individuals and families. The agency says that it helps people reach their potential in an environment where compassion inspires dignity and hope.
Operation Hope's administrative offices and food pantry are at 636 Old Post Road.
Operation Hope is in need of volunteers and donations to its food pantry. For information, call 203-292-5588 or e-mail Carla Miklos, Operation Hope's executive director, at [email protected]
Fairfield Counseling Services, established in 1969, is a private, non-profit, state-licensed psychiatric outpatient clinic that provides a continuum of comprehensive mental health, substance abuse and psychiatric services to adults, youths at least 14 years old and families in the Fairfield County area.
Fees, on a sliding scale, are based on gross income, and most insurance plans are accepted.
Clients call for intake, and all services are confidential.
Ridge Homeowners Association is the governing body for the gated Greenfield Hill community of homes. The Association handles residents' questions and concerns, as well as mandates rules regarding upkeep and maintenance.
The Fairfield Chamber of Commerce was established in 1946 by a handful of business owners and now has more than 450 retail, service and professional members.
The Chamber exists to promote a climate for business that enhances the economic vitality and quality of life in Fairfield.
The Chamber holds monthly business after-hours meetings and seasonal events designed to promote shopping in the town's business districts, such as Trick or Treat on Safety Street, Sidewalk Sales Days and an Arts & Craft Show and Farmer's Market.
The Chamber of Commerce's CEO and president is Patricia Ritchie.