For Darien and New Canaan this past Thanksgiving, more was at stake than football bragging rights.  The two perennial rivals also competed for the title of “Most Generous Town,” in the second year of a fund-raising competition between The Community Fund of Darien and the New Canaan Community Foundation. This year’s winner was New Canaan by a margin of $1,084.  Collectively, the two charities raised over $150,000. Last year, the combined amount raised was over $70,000, with Darien winning by a s

Lilly Ma is known for setting records. As the No. 1 singles player for the Darien High School varsity tennis team, she was named last spring’s FCIAC player of the year, while also maintaining a top USTA ranking. Yet the high school senior was holding out what is perhaps her most unique achievement to date.

Call it the little sailing program that could: After suffering the destruction of its clubhouse in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy, the Darien Junior Sailing Team, now operating out of a storage pod and a tent, is still fulfilling its mission of introducing young people to sailing.

The scene at Monday’s all-school gathering of Pear Tree Point School, on the surface, seemed like any other happy end of the year school celebration.  The students, ranging in age from kindergarten to fifth grade, performed the musical “Mighty Minds!,” wearing brightly colored t-shirts and superhero capes, while their parents snapped photos.

As part of its ongoing mission to close the opportunity gap for low-income students, Horizons at Norwalk Community College is expanding beyond its traditional six-week summer program to offer an enrichment program during the school year.  And it is partnering with several local non-profits to do it.

When Al Smith and Tim Brown, two friends who had both been diagnosed with cancer, started the Darien-based charity Hackers for Hope to raise money for cancer research in the mid-1980s, they targeted their male friends with a golfing event.

On a recent Tuesday night at the Chabad House Bowery on the Lower East Side, a crowd began to form. Tables covered in craft paper filled the room, tea lights flickering in mason jars. At a long table at one end, servers set up paper plates and jugs of ice tea — but no food. “Jazzie’s running late,” explained Matt Glick, the Chabad House chief of staff.

On a cold Thursday morning in March, three days before Easter, volunteers were hard at work at the historic St. George’s Church on Stuyvesant Square  preparing   a three-course meal. In the basement, a pink tablecloth covered a long buffet table, which was decorated with baskets of Easter eggs and silverware rolled in festive napkins.  From the adjacent kitchen, the pungent smell of chicken potpie filled the air.

As Qalvy Grainzvolt led a recent walking meditation class in Bryant Park, cabs honked and sirens blared. Far from being distracted, however, he saw the noise as a blessing. “For example, the noise of the bus: if you were on the phone, you would curse at the noise, but if you are in meditation, the noise the bus makes — whoosh — is a great reminder to breathe,” he said.

From immigration reform to national security to affirmative action, this year’s presidential candidates have battled over a variety of important issues. But our nation’s food system—one of the most crucial components for a functioning society—has been left out of the conversation.