Shelton teen to compete for National Youth of the Year title

Brooke Grand will vie for a national title in Washington, D.C.

SHELTON - Brooke Grand, the Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley’s 2015 Youth of the Year, is headed to Washington, D.C., to vie for the title of National Youth of the Year. 

She will be representing the Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, the great State of Connecticut, and the entire Northeast region next week. 

Grand and five other regional winners from across the U.S. will gather in our nation’s capital Tuesday where a winner will be chosen. 

Grand has gone through a series of local, state, and regional events over the last several months. 

“Being selected as the Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley’s Youth of the Year was such a great honor to me,” she said. 

“Being selected as the Connecticut State Youth of the Year has been my dream for the past four years, a dream that I never believed would come true. 

"Being selected as the Northeast Youth of the Year was never even a thought in my mind. I am so honored to be representing my amazing Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, and the Northeast Region.
"I will do my very best at nationals to make everyone proud. I can’t thank everyone enough for never giving up on me, especially my Boys & Girls Club.”  

The Boys & Girls Club of America’s Youth of the Year title is a prestigious honor bestowed upon an exemplary young person in recognition of leadership, service, academic excellence, and dedication to live a healthy lifestyle. 

The program honors our nation’s most awe-inspiring youth on their path to great futures and encourages all kids to lead, succeed, and inspire. 

Grand has been a member of the Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley’s Raymond P. Lavietes Unit for 12 years. 

It became her home-away-from home and her sanctuary, offering her endless opportunities to keep her mind off home life and focused on where her future was headed. 

She is a hardworking, highly motivated young woman with a willingness to help others and a positive attitude despite the obstacles she has faced. She has earned honors in school and was the top athlete in every sport she participated in. 

In addition to serving as Keystone Club officer, she also runs the Happy Hoopers health program and works as a staff member. 

Grand recently began her freshman year at Southern Connecticut State University, where she is majoring in business. Her charismatic and compassionate nature has given her the opportunity to win up to $100,000 in renewable, four-year scholarships if she wins the national title. 

This is a press release from the Boys and Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley. For more information, visit www.BGC-LNV.org.

I wish Brooke the best of luck in the national competition Tuesday!

Thrift shop in Derby seeking furniture donations

Sharing this post from Facebook to help a worthy cause:

"St. Vincent de Paul, Helping Hands of the Valley thrift shop and food bank are looking for donations of furniture. 

"We are a non-profit organization that helps the less fortunate in the lower Naugatuck Valley. 
"Proceeds from the sale of items in our store go to purchase food for our food bank.
"We have finally opened up our new room after several months. We are looking to fill the room up with furniture. Especially needed are dining table and chairs, end tables, coffee tables, small couches, comfy chairs, recliners.
"Please, please, all items must be in good usable, saleable condition. If it's dirty, torn, ugly, sorry, we don't want it.
"We may be able to arrange pick up if items are in great shape."


The thrift shop and food bank are located at 237 Roosevelt Drive, Derby. 

For information, call 203-734-7577.

Shelton Farmers Market to host festival Saturday

September is Hunger Action Month

Check out the market's Facebook page here.

Griffin Hospital in Derby offers 5-week CNA program

DERBY - The Griffin Hospital School of Allied Health Careers, 300 Seymour Ave., Suite 206, is offering two sessions of its Accelerated Certified Nursing Assistant program this fall to help aspiring healthcare professionals quickly jumpstart their careers.

There will be a daytime session of the five-week CNA Program starting Oct. 5 and an evening session starting Nov. 16. Anyone 18 years of age or older with a high school diploma or GED may apply for admission.

The program runs for a total of 104 hours. The first four weeks of the program will be classroom education and skills training and the final week will include clinical experience at an extended care facility and Griffin Hospital for the required 40 hours for CNA certification completion.

The days and hours for the session starting Oct. 5 are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. for the first four weeks, and Monday through Friday from 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. for the final week.
The session starting Nov. 16 will be Monday through Thursday from 5-9 p.m. for the first four weeks, and the times for the clinical hours in the final week will be discussed in class.

Tuition includes books, CPR training and malpractice insurance.

For more information or to apply, call 203-732-1276 or visit griffinhealth.org/allied-health.

Griffin Hospital's School of Allied Health Careers was one of the first hospital-based schools of its kind to be authorized by the Connecticut Department of Higher Education and offers Phlebotomy and other professional educational programs to provide training, education, and certification in selected health careers. 

Classes are taught by certified instructors in the Griffin Hospital Medical Building, located at 300 Seymour Ave.

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

Hoptoberfest on tap at Shelton Riverwalk

Proceeds from the event support the Derby-Shelton Rotary Club's scholarship fund and other community programs.

Griffin Hospital in Derby to host fall prevention program Friday

DERBY - The Valley Parish Nurse Program at Griffin Hospital and Griffin Hospital Lifeline will host a free Fall Prevention Program from 9 a.m.-noon Friday at Griffin Hospital, 130 Division St.

The program will discuss the dangers of falling, especially for seniors, and will help attendees prevent falls by: Assessing their fall risk; teaching them to assess their, or a loved one’s, risk of falling; teaching and practicing exercises to improve balance and leg strength; providing a medication review; encouraging annual eye exams; teaching ways to reduce tripping hazards at home and learning how to get up or to call for fast help if a fall occurs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of three adults 65 and older will fall each year. For those 65 and older, falls are the leading cause of injury, death and hospital admissions for trauma.

Those who fall, even if not injured, develop a fear of falling. This fear causes people to limit their activities reducing their mobility, causing loss of physical fitness, which in turn increases the actual risk of falling.

A light breakfast will be provided by Griffin Hospital Lifeline.

To reserve a seat or for more information, contact Esther, 203-732-1523 or ejones@griffinhealth.org.

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

Stratford resident creates fundraiser for Seymour-based nonprofit

A spin class being held at Taylor-Made Fitness in Shelton./ Contributed photo


SHELTON - On Oct. 10, Taylor-Made Fitness in Shelton will host the first of three Spin®-Mix classes to benefit the Seymour-based Connecticut Partnership for Children, Inc. 

Created by Dana Daconto of Stratford, this class series features Spin®-Circuit (Spin® and strength training) on Oct. 10. Additional classes will be added at a later date. 

The class starts at 11:30 a.m. and runs one hour. Spin®-Circuit is the ultimate workout- 20 minutes of Spinning®, 20 minutes of either kettlebell or TRX, and 20 minutes of either core or weight training.

Funded by the "I Can Make A Difference Grant" from the CT Block Party Foundation in Westport, this series promotes health and wellness among adults, while benefiting Connecticut Partnership for Children, Inc., a 501c3 organization that supports low-income children throughout the state.

There are only 17 spaces available for this event.
Entry into each class is a $25 minimum monetary donation to CTPFC, and includes an event T-shirt.
Registration by Sept. 30 guarantees the T-shirt to the participant prior to the event.​
​
​Additionally, we offer a pledge sheet at www.ctpfc.org to raise additional funds for the agency.
​There are prizes for participants based on how much is raised in donations.

The $25 registration fee must be paid either by check in the mail, credit card by phone, or on our website to hold a space.
All proceeds from this event go directly to CTPFC.​

​For questions, or to register, call 203-881-1804.



This is a press release from Meg Tarby, founder/executive director, Connecticut Partnership for Children, Inc.