Kiwanians with children with their new winter coats at Norwalk Head Start.

Kiwanis Keeps Kids Warm

By Frank Ferrara

Today, Wednesday, December 18, 2024, the Kiwanis Club of Weston provided new winter coats to keep 145 needy children warm this winter. In the nearby photograph contributed by Frank Ferrara, Frank, and Harry Spencer are pictured with a few of the delighted three- to five-year-old recipients.

Weston Kiwanis Community Service Committee members volunteered over 80 hours to ensure 136 children of Head Start Family Services in Norwalk and 19 children of Rippowan Park complex In Stamford would have a coat to keep them warm.

Working with Kiwanis Club community service funding, Costco Wholesale® of Norwalk managers played an essential role in accomplishing this mission.

Head Start programs are provided at no cost to eligible families. They provide high-quality pre-kindergarten education for children who are 3 years old until they enter kindergarten.

Head Start, delivered in Norwalk by the Family & Children’s Agency,  is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families. It is the oldest and largest program of its kind.[1] The program’s services and resources are designed to foster stable family relationships, enhance children’s physical and emotional well-being, and establish an environment to develop strong cognitive skills. The transition from preschool to elementary school imposes diverse developmental challenges that include requiring the children to engage successfully with their peers outside the family network, adjust to the space of a classroom, and meet the expectations the school setting provides.[2]

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