Rotary Club Of Stamford, CLC Sort Coats For Children In Need

STAMFORD, CT — About 400 children enrolled with Children's Learning Centers of Fairfield County will be nice and warm this winter thanks to the generosity and help from CLC and the Rotary Club of Stamford.

Volunteers from the club on Tuesday gathered at CLC William Pitt on Hillandale Avenue in Stamford to sort and organize winter coats to prepare them for distribution to children in need later this week.

CLC is the second largest, center-based early-childhood education program in the state of Connecticut, serving nearly 1,000 children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old. There are eight centers in Stamford.

Children are at CLC facilities 51 weeks out of the year for roughly 10 hours per day.

About 86 percent of children at CLC are from low-income families, with many reporting lost income and the struggle to meet basic needs due to the pandemic, CLC said.

Rotary Club of Stamford President Matt Stendardi noted this is the fifth year the club has organized and sorted the coats for CLC children. About $8,500-$11,000 worth of coats were purchased through a grant CLC was able to obtain with the club's board.

"It always feels good to help the community. I think it fits well with the mantra of our club, which is 'service above self,'" Stendardi said. "Everybody who is in our club is in it for various reasons, but the one thing we have in common is we're all trying to make the community a better place and serving whatever role we can in doing that."

CLC Chief Executive Officer Marc Jaffe said that CLC families, who are predominantly working class, are going through tough times. There are also a significant number of immigrant children at CLC, most recently from Ukraine.

But to be able to provide warmth to those who need it this winter season is impactful, Jaffe said. He called Tuesday and the volunteer effort "a wonderful day."

"We know that many of the families are struggling," he said. "For us to be able to do this, for us to be able to have the support of the Rotary Club of Stamford — to do this is special and meaningful."

For more information on CLC, click here.