FCC To Honor Tendler, Trinity Church

 At Friends Of The Family Recognition Dinner

The Family Counseling Center, the agency that has been providing mental health counseling to children, their families, and individuals in the Newtown area for more than 20 years, will honor Bob Tendler and Trinity Episcopal Church for their service to the community at the 2004 Friends of the Family Recognition Dinner on Thursday, May 13.

The $100 a person dinner will be held at 6:30 pm at Three Oaks at Capellaro’s Grove in Bethel. A portion of the ticket price will benefit the Family Counseling Center.

Barbara Pisacreta and Claudia Coopersmith are the event co-chairpersons.

“Trinity [Church] is the primary reason that The Family Counseling Center is here in Newtown,” FCC Board Chairman Joseph Humeston said. “In 1983, members of the church’s Outreach Commission saw a need for a local counseling center as a way of improving family life for area residents and they had the vision and leadership to make it happen.”

The parishioners of Trinity Church provided $15,000, which, together with a $5,000 special grant from the United Way, provided the seed money to establish the agency, which provided counseling, support groups, educational workshops, and a growing resource file.

 In 1992, the center was licensed by the state as an outpatient psychiatric clinic, and in 1998 it was licensed as an out patient substance abuse clinic. Two years later, the center obtained its out patient psychiatric clinic for children, licensed by the Department of Children and Families.

In 1996 the Council on Accreditation accredited the center and it became a member of the Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies. In 2001 the center became a provider of the state-mandated parent education classes for divorcing parents and a participant in the Employment Success Program, which assists the Welfare to Work population.

This ongoing success story could not have happened without the support of the community, Mr Humeston said.

 Among those long active in supporting community causes is Bob Tendler, owner of one of the most successful real estate companies in Fairfield County for the past 25 years. Mr Tendler has raised more than $500,000 in fundraisers for more than two dozen organizations, individuals, and agencies.

“We hope those who wish to join us in honoring Bob Tendler and Trinity Episcopal Church for their contributions to the betterment of life in Newtown will join us on May 13 at Capellaro’s Grove in Bethel,” Mr Humeston said.

 Reservations are required by May 5. For more information on The Friends of the Family Recognition Dinner, call the Family Counseling Center at 426-8013.