30th Holiday Festival Will Continue Important Fundraising Efforts For NYFS
This holiday season will mark the 30th time that a Holiday Festival will benefit Newtown Youth & Family Services.
The 2015 Newtown Holiday Festival will be presented Sunday, December 6, from 11 am until 4 pm.
The festival will include ballet performances, trolley tours, a gingerbread house contest, a Festival of Trees, visits with Mrs Claus, and Frozen-themed children’s events.
The Jingle Bell Jam, which debuted last year on the eve of the Holiday Festival, is also scheduled to return, on December 5.
Additional events will be announced as the festival date approaches.
One of the most popular events of the Holiday Festival, the walking tour of privately owned homes, is taking shape. House Tour co-chairs this year are Brid Craddock and Kathy McLeary. The women have been working on their event-within-an-event since February. They have, Ms Craddock said in late July, “probably six houses for this year.” All of this year’s houses are on Main Street; most festival events will be within Edmond Town Hall, at 45 Main Street.
Ms Craddock is determined to make sure that behind-the-scenes work is as special as what the public will see when they show up in December for the five-hour event.
“One of the things, I think, that has frustrated volunteers in the past,” she said, “is perhaps a lack of clarity in terms of what their responsibilities are, and a lack of timeframe in which to accomplish them. We have those down pat,” she added, tapping on a notebook and sheets of paper on her lap. As she speaks, or responds to questions about the festival, she looks up notes or makes new notes for future reference.
“We have a calendar, we have Holiday Tour Guidelines For Docents, Holiday Tour Guidelines For Homeowners, and even a scriptwriting process for the homeowners,” she said. “Everyone is going to write what the docents are going to do and say.”
The women have also outlined guidelines and responsibilities for this year’s decorators, who have yet to be lined up. Registration forms are available, as are stipends for decorators.
“This year we are open to hearing from decorators and designers who would like to simply decorate a single room, instead of committing to an entire house,” Ms McLeary said. “We are actively seeking decorators and designers.”
Ms McLeary was a volunteer last year, and is a member of the NYFS board. She returned as a volunteer this year, she said, because the festival “is a great fundraiser. It does a lot for the agency, and I think there’s a lot of areas we can improve on.
“With the 30th year we want to make this the best house tour yet,” she added.
Likewise, Ms Craddock also wants to make this a house tour to remember. Her home — both co-chairs live with their families on Newtown’s Main Street — has been featured in two previous festivals.
“I have a lot of specialized experience in running house tours, and decorating, and I thought I could contribute to a very good fundraiser for a really important organization within Newtown,” she said.
Unlike festivals of years past, there is no single 2015 Holiday Festival chairman.
“We’re going to rely on a lot of subcommittees this year,” said Matt Ariniello, the operations manager, development and partnership for success grant coordinator for NYFS. The process has worked for a few years, he said. Previously, one or two people handled overall coordination of the festival, with subcommittees handling every aspect of each event within the festival.
Nevertheless, Mr Ariniello does seem to be acting as a point person for all of the volunteers to check in with.
“We are actively seeking Holiday Festival Committee members,” he said. Still needed is a chair for the Festival of Trees (the former co-chairs do not have the time to dedicate to this year’s event, he said, but a new chairperson “will not be going in cold turkey. There will be a passing of the baton,” promised Ms Craddock). Tree and wreath decorators are needed, as are docents for the house tour. Numerous volunteer opportunities are available.
The Festival Beneficiary
The predecessor of NYFS was Family Counseling Center (FCC), which was preceded by Family Life Center (FLC).
The idea for a local counseling center in Newtown was born after a group of individuals belonging to Newtown’s Trinity Church Outreach Commission realized there needed to be a way to help provide affordable counseling, educational, and support services over a broad communitywide base.
After the original funding was provided by Trinity’s Outreach Group, Family Life Center was established in 1983, with a mission to serve individuals living or working in the greater Danbury and Southbury area. It was a state licensed and nationally accredited outpatient psychiatric clinic. The center’s first location was in the old Wheeler Shopping Center (now the Big Y) on Queen Street.
As the needs were recognized and the mission began to include individuals living beyond the Newtown community, the facility outgrew its space and moved to 10 Glen Road in Sandy Hook.
In June 1997 the organization changed its name to Family Counseling Center. A few months later it also relocated into spacious new offices at 123 Mt Pleasant Road. Its mission remained the same, however, with staff members dedicated to mental health work for their clients, regardless of their ability to pay.
Meanwhile, Newtown Youth Services had been founded in 1979 to improve the quality of life in Newtown not just with programs and services for young people and parents, but with a philosophy reflecting the enthusiasm, hope, and creativity that are the promise of children. NYS operated out of the same building on Glen Road that formerly housed FLC.
The two nonprofit agencies formally merged on July 1, 2007, combining services under one roof so that more of the area’s population could be served in one location. Chris Gardner, then-chair of NYS, told The Bee in October 2006 that the merger would create “a stronger organization to serve more children and families in Newtown. At its core, the new agency will continue to be a youth service bureau with a fully licensed and accredited counseling service, with an array of programs for children, adults, and senior citizens.”
A common mission of service to the community made sense for the merging boards of directors and counselors who combined forces for what became Newtown Youth & Family Services (NYFS).
NYFS is licensed by the Department of Children & Families as an outpatient clinic for children, and by the Department of Public Health as a psychiatric outpatient clinic for adults and as a facility for the care or treatment of substance abuse or dependent persons. It is accredited by the Council on Accreditation.
NYFS is not a crisis center, but a place where residents across the greater Danbury area can participate in ongoing support groups, receive individualized counseling, or take part in any number of activities and events that are created for all ages. It is a nonprofit mental health clinic and youth service bureau.
Among its offerings are outpatient individual, couple, and family counseling and substance abuse treatment services; prevention initiatives; after school, evening, and weekend programs; and support groups.
“I don’t think people understand the importance of this fundraiser,” Ms Craddock said. “There are ever-increasing numbers of people who seek NYFS, the families and children who are served by this agency.
“One of the things that has been lost sight of is the services provided by NYFS. This is not just a day out to have fun for the holidays,” she added, referring back to the Holiday Festival. “It’s an important way for NYFS to earn money for the services it provides. Their services are not provided through our tax dollars, which I think many people don’t realize.”
Mr Ariniello said fundraisers like the Holiday Festival help cover come of the costs of not only onsite programs at 15 Berkshire Road, but also “the increased number of programs we do in schools and the community. Without fundraisers like this, we couldn’t continue doing everything.”
In addition to the Holiday Festival, annual events that help fundraise for NYFS include an annual Road Race & Kids Run. This year’s is scheduled for Saturday, September 5.
The Holiday Festival raises money primarily through the tickets sold which provide entry to its events. 2015 Holiday Festival tickets are $25 for a family four-pack (two adults and two children), $10 for adults, and $5 for children (with a $10 maximum for children).
Tickets will be sold at Newtown Savings Bank branches in Newtown and Brookfield, and at the NFS office. They will also be sold on the day of the festival.
For additional information about NYFS or to volunteer in any capacity for the Holiday Festival, contact Matt Ariniello at 203-270-4335 or mariniello@newtownyouthandfamilyservices.org.