Family Centers recently held its 115^th Annual Meeting at the Round Hill Community House in Greenwich to celebrate the year’s many accomplishments and elect Patti Fast to the Board of Directors.   

Fast, a resident of Greenwich, has an impressive background working with non-profit organizations, and brings her extensive fundraising expertise to the Board.  She is a founding board member and Treasurer of CitySquash – an urban youth enrichment program based at Fordham University.  Previously, Fast served as the vice president of the Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich, where she sat on the Board’s Development Committee.  She has also held development positions while serving on the Boards of Greenwich Country Day School and Cornell University. 

Family Centers also recognized two individuals for their continued support to the agency and its clients.  Longtime Board member Joan Melber Warburg of Greenwich – whose exemplary volunteer efforts have helped shape the face of Family Centers over the course of five decades –  was honored with the Helen Gratz Rockefeller Outstanding Volunteerism Award.  A Board member for 45 years, Warburg provided guidance that was instrumental in establishing Family Centers as one of Fairfield County’s leading providers of human and social services programs. 

“No other person at Family Centers has done as much for as long as Joan Warburg,” said Elizabeth Radley Anderson, a past board chairman and the first recipient of the Helen Gratz Rockefeller Outstanding Volunteerism Award.  “For five decades she has had her fingerprints all over the successful programs Family Centers offers, especially those involving children.”   

Steve Grabowski was named Family Centers’ 2006 “Family Champion” for his dedication to helping people with mental disabilities find safe, affordable housing.  As a partner with Knight & Grabowski Constructions in Stamford, Grabowski has opened the doors to the properties he manages to clients of Family Centers’ Housing Resource Program – an initiative that finds housing for those living with long-term mental illness. 

“Steve has consistently demonstrated an understanding of the complexities which accompany long term mental illness,” said Bob Arnold, President and CEO of Family Centers.  “In the face of situations few landlords would tolerate, Steve has shown patience and compassion.”  

Also at the Annual Meeting, Family Centers debuted a new agency video.  Produced by Creative Video Corp. in Norwalk, the seven-minute video features uplifting success stories from a number of Family Centers clients.  Board Members Abby Bowers, Alice Holbrook, Charlotte Minor, Terri Walker and Communications Director Bill Brucker oversaw the production of the video.    

Family Centers is a private, nonprofit organization offering education and human services to children, adults and families in Fairfield County. More than 1000 professionals and trained volunteers work together to provide a wide range of responsive, innovative programs. A United Way partner agency, Family Centers is a member of the Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies and the Alliance for Children and Families and is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
The agency is licensed by the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health.