Neighbor News
New Nonprofit Aims to Connect Fairfield County Residents Through Stories
Want to help? Put on your dancing shoes!
Nov. 11, 2024—FAIRFIELD, CT Stories Connect Fairfield County, a new nonprofit seeking to unite the county’s diverse populace through the power of personal stories, launches this Friday, Nov. 14, with a dance-party benefit at the Fairfield County Story Lab.
The new organization was born around a table at a writing workshop in Fairfield, when the participants—a first responder and Army veteran, a retired film editor, a Latina chemical engineer, a Yale-educated patent attorney, a journalist, a therapist, a creative writer—all Fairfield County residents—realized they would probably never share the same space were it not for the opportunity to come together over their stories.
Filled with optimism, they recruited other creatives, formed a board, and received their 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS.
Find out what's happening in Fairfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Then the hammer fell on grant-giving, both nationally and in Connecticut. But the group was not stymied.
“There’s so much dividing us right now in Fairfield County, from politics to housing access to health care, to gender topics, to immigration issues and more. Instead of adding to those arguments and deepening those divides, we’re hoping to find ways to bring people together. And one way we can do that is by sharing personal stories from people in our county’s 23 cities and towns,” said Carol Dannhauser, of Fairfield, who volunteers for the new group.
Find out what's happening in Fairfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Dannhauser directs the Fairfield County Story Lab, which is donating space for the dance party. One hundred percent of the profits from the launch party will fund the new non-profit. The hope is to connect the county’s diverse voices and to cultivate a nurturing and collaborative writing community through programs, workshops, scholarships, readings, mentorships and more, Dannhauser said.
The BYOB, women-only dance party runs from 6-9 p.m. and features raffles and a silent auction. For information, or to donate or purchase tickets to the launch event, please visit https://givebutter.com/BookClubDanceParty.
