13th Annual #NewFairfieldCT Relay for Life Goes Virtual on Saturday, June 6th

NEW FAIRFIELD, CT—For the first time ever in its thirteen-year history, the New Fairfield Relay for Life will be held online due to social distancing guidelines set by the State of Connecticut in response to the coronavirus. Teams from New Fairfield, New Milford, Sherman, Danbury, Bethel, and surrounding towns will participate in the annual fundraiser to help find a cure for cancer.

The organizers of this year’s New Fairfield Relay For Life of New Fairfield are hoping that this year will be their “Lucky 13″ and that they will raise more money than ever to help cancer patients. Co-Chair Amber St. Hilaire has been participating in the New Fairfield Relay for Life for 10 years with her team “The Heavenly Hippies” which was born out of the New Fairfield Congregational Church.

“Normally, we walk for 15 hours at the New Fairfield High School Track from 3 p.m. on Saturday until 5 a.m. on Sunday morning,” St. Hilaire said, continuing, “Unfortunately, Covid-19 has changed a lot of things for us but we are determined to do our best to fight despite it!”

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life event is held in over 20 countries worldwide. The event gives people a chance to fight back against cancer and honor those who are fighting or have lost their lives to the disease through a moving silent Luminaria ceremony.

This year’s event is entirely virtual and their theme is “Small Town, Big Heart” which she said represents her community and their fight. St. Hilaire said participants will be relaying (walking) from home from 1:00 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 6th, and then they will “light the night” at 9 p.m. with a Luminaria/porch light-up event in honor of their loved ones who are fighting or who have passed away. Details can be found on their Facebook page:  Relay for Life New Fairfield, Twitter @relayforlifenf, and Instagram @relay4lifenf . They are also on Youtube as “ACS Lower Hudson Valley.”

The opening ceremony begins with a video of guest speaker Wendy Mitchell, a survivor of a rare and aggressive type of breast cancer called Triple Negative Metaplastic Carcinoma, who shares her survivor story. Mitchell began an advocacy campaign for breast cancer awareness from day one of her diagnosis in 2015 under the hashtag #MyLeftBoob for early detection. Her blog, Wendipoprock’s Wild Ride, serves as a guide to help newly diagnosed cancer patients. Her story/video can be viewed here.

The Knights of Columbus 12968 will be leading their virtual survivor lap to kick off the opening ceremony. There will be online games, a telethon, a music jam hour, stories of hope, opportunities to donate and win prizes, a touching luminaria ceremony, a senior spotlight, Zumba with Tim, and a touching closing ceremony.

“We tried to be as close to our true Relay event as we could by encouraging walking, socially distanced, of course, scavenger hunts, Zumba, and more,” St. Hilaire said.

While she admits this year is a challenge by being completely online, St. Hilaire said “nothing can stop Relay For Life because our volunteers’ hearts are just too darn big and stubborn! “

She shared her motivation for why she relays on her fundraising website:

“Every year I walk for two specific people; a survivor and one who has passed. This year those two are my dearest cousin Michelle Gonzalez who is suffering for the second time in a year with cancer and for Sarah, a young woman who passed away last year from brain cancer. These women are prime examples of the reasons I am so passionate about fundraising. This year, for every donation I receive, I will walk one lap in honor of a loved one. Your donations matter and I want each and every person to be remembered and brought up at the event.”

For more information about New Fairfield Relay for Life 2020, or to donate, click the link below:

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/seeacure

Photo credit: New Fairfield Relay for Life

Who & What is ‘CT Buzz News’ and How Can I Share My Business Information? Find Out Here!

RIDGEFIELD, CT — Hello CT Buzz News readers, followers, and new group members! We’ve seen a recent large spike in traffic on our website and many new members joining our 10 group Facebook pages so we wanted to explain who we are and how it works with sharing posts and information in our groups.

CT Buzz Media is a news and information website with a passion to help small businesses and nonprofits in our community. We encourage residents and readers to shop local and strive to do the same. The main towns we cover are Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Newtown, New Fairfield, New Milford, Redding, Ridgefield, and Southbury but we also occasionally cover Monroe, Wilton, and surrounding towns.

Wendy grew up in Sandy Hook, attended Bethel High School and graduated from Newtown High School. She has also lived in Brookfield and New Milford and now lives in Ridgefield with her husband, 23-year-old son, 19-year-old daughter, and 5-year-old rescue dog, a black lab mix. Her oldest son lives in Brooklyn and is a SAG/AFTRA actor in NYC. Wendy is very connected to the community and serves on a number of boards and committees as a volunteer.

Now that you know about all CT Buzz and its Queen Bee, learn how to share your story and your news on our website and social media pages.

TO SHARE YOUR NEWS:

Anyone can share local news to the page it pertains to: Ex: An accident in Danbury would go on Danbury CT Buzz. We ask that you don’t “dump and run.” Take a few minutes to talk to others on the page, share your local tips, photos and local news and be active on the pages to boost engagement.

If you want to post about your business please follow the rules below. If you want to share a press release or are requesting coverage for your local fundraiser and/or event, please email CTBuzzNews@gmail.com.

We have *paid sponsors who support the website who we share info about on a daily, weekly or bi-weekly basis. You’ll know who they are because you will see #sponsored on the post.

For **unpaid sponsors, anyone is allowed to post if you follow these simple rules:

1. LIKE the main CT Buzz Media page by clicking this link: https://m.facebook.com/ctbuzzmedia/?__nodl&_rdr
2. Join the CT Buzz Media (Group Page) Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTBuzzMedia/
3. Only share ***ONCE a week, on “Follow Friday” and only post on the town where the event is located and the main CT Buzz Group Page. Ex: If your business is in Ridgefield, only post on Ridgefield CT Buzz & CT Buzz Media Group pages. The CT Buzz Group page is for any town in CT.

***IF you would like your announcement, coupon, event or business information shared to neighboring towns or more than once per week, please email Wendy to become a paid sponsor at CTBuzzNews@gmail.com. We offer very reasonable rates that give you maximum exposure across all of our platforms: Facebook, Facebook Groups, Twitter, Instagram, CT Buzz website, e-news blasts.

**A paid sponsor is a business who pays weekly or monthly to support the website.

***An unpaid sponsor is a business who pays weekly or monthly to support the website.

WHO ARE “WE?”

“We” is mainly me, Wendy Mitchell. I’ve been a news editor, journalist and local reporter in the greater Danbury area and Fairfield/Litchfield counties for the last 12 years and have lived in Newtown/Bethel/Danbury/Ridgefield nearly my entire life, save for a brief stint one summer on Martha’s Vineyard and two years in Mesa, AZ. I sometimes have students, interns and bloggers share their stories on our site.

You may recognize my name from Patch.com, a national news website I worked for on and off for 7+ years. I have also been a “SEEN” photographer for the Danbury News-Times, worked for ORTV, Cumulous Broadcasting and other local newspapers. I have been very active in the community, volunteering with nonprofits and running my own.

I work as a professional marketing and social media consultant for a number of small and large local businesses helping them to gain an online presence through the creation of a strategic marketing plan personalized for their business, content creation, social media, digital advertising, event planning and much more.

I launched my CT Buzz Media website in 2011 and took a break in 2012-2013 to volunteer to open a nonprofit children’s arts organization in the wake of the tragic school shootings in my hometown of Sandy Hook. Read more here. After several years, I took another break to focus on raising my kids and also to battle the “Evil C Word,” breast cancer. You can read my story here.

I am now four years cancer free and I am redesigning and relaunching after a number of post-cancer health scares.

My advertisers have been very happy with their ads and have seen an increase in their business and Facebook likes since signing on with CT Buzz Media. We do weekly shout-outs, giveaways,  “Tip of the Week” columns, events, and much more to help raise awareness for local businesses. 

We also write “advertorials” that include an interview with the business owner and a full photo gallery and/or video. Email CTBuzzNews@gmail.com for a rate sheet and more information.

Thanks for listening and help spread the BUZZ about CT Buzz!

Pictured: Wendy Ann Mitchell and her children’s theater students. In addition to running CT Buzz News, Wendy teaches ages 3-12 from the Greater Danbury Irish Cultural Center on Saturday mornings and donates the proceeds from the shows to local charities. For more information, click here.

More about Wendy:

Wendy is an award-winning marketing manager, regional editor, entrepreneur and communications professional with expertise in brand development, strategic communications, print design, project management, and marketing. As the founder of CT Buzz Media, Wendy creates positive and innovative aesthetically-focused storytelling for small and large business owners across industries ranging from nonprofits to attorneys and medical practitioners. She has been featured on national news sites and is an award-winning writer and marketing professional.

Wendy sits on the Danbury Irish Cultural Foundation’s Board of Directors, manages all publicity and marketing for the Greater Danbury Irish Cultural Center and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians Division #58, creates marketing campaigns. manages events from concept to completion for audiences of up to 3,000 and much more. The Danbury Irish Cultural Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

Wendy brings a diverse background to her role, with more than 15 years of experience in nonprofits including fundraising and events, over 15 years of marketing and communications experience, and 25 years of customer engagement including 10 years in retail and restaurant management.

Wendy has won numerous awards, attended dozens of leadership workshops and brings passion, energy, enthusiasm, and creativity to her work.

•Winner: Townvibe Reader’s Choice Awards 2017, Best Art/Music School, Arts & Nature School of Ridgefield.

•Awarded #7 of “Top 10 Most Fascinating People of 2013” in the Greater Danbury Area by Hearst Media Services for volunteer work at the Sandy Hook Arts Center for Kids, a nonprofit I founded in response to the tragic school shootings of 12/14.

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Wendy Ann Mitchell

Owner/Editor, CT Buzz Media

ctbuzznews@gmail.com

(203) 501-7424

What’s the Buzz, CT?

 

Hey there! Wendy Mitchell here— mom of three, writer, editor, musician, wife, rescue pup mama, breast cancer survivor. After battling the evil “C word” for the past three years, I’m happy to report that I’m now 100% cancer free and ready to announce the (re)launch of sorts of my CT Buzz family of news sites. Why is it a relaunch? Because I originally launched Bethel Buzz news site in June of 2011 and soon after added New Fairfield and Sherman Buzz. After several years, I went on to work as Regional Editor for a national news website from 2010-2012.

During 2012-2013, I stopped working in order to serve as a volunteer to help my hometown of Sandy Hook heal after the tragic Sandy Hook School shootings on Dec. 14, 2012. I founded the Sandy Hook Arts Center for Kids (The SHACK) in Sandy Hook Center as a creative way for kids and families to heal through the power of the arts through free music and art programs. We were happy to have the Newtown Strong Therapy Dogs as regular visitors.

In January of 2014, Hearst Media Services honored me as one of the “Top 10 Most Fascinating People of 2013” award in the Greater Danbury Area for volunteer work I performed with Sandy Hook Arts Center for Kids.

February 4, 2015, is a day I won’t ever forget. It was the day life threw me a major curveball and I found out I had a rare and aggressive type of breast cancer called Metaplastic Carcinoma, only found in 1% of women diagnosed. After four months of dose dense “red devil” chemo, 30 rounds of radiation, five surgeries and tons of complications, I’m happy to be cancer free after a three-year-long fight and continue to work to raise awareness for self breast exams for early detection. (Read my story from the beginning by clicking here on my blog)

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CT Buzz News will cover the towns of Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Redding, Ridgefield and Sherman. Our sites will serve not only as a current news and information site, but also as an escape from the rigors of your desk job. Hop onto the site for a little light-hearted humor, a heartwarming story about local volunteers, or  read about all of the many interesting and eclectic artists and residents in our towns.

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Each week expect to find news from the First Selectman’s office, the public schools, news from the Chamber of Commerce, the Library, nonprofits, Scouts, civic groups and other wonderful organizations.

Watch for stories of your neighbors who we think are The Bee’s Knees— outstanding citizens, volunteers and civic groups in our community. Read about Queen Bees— women run businesses, Yellow Jackets— Fire &  EMT news, and The Fuzz Buzz— Police news.

We love to highlight our local sponsors and feature them weekly in our Small Business Spotlight. If you are a business owner who would like to be featured on our website and/or Facebook pages, contact me at ctbuzznews@gmail.com. Thanks and keep spreading the BUZZ!

Welcome To CT Buzz Media!

Welcome to your new hometown news and information website! We are your go-to source for the latest buzz around your town. With news from the First Selectman, school news and sideline photos, CT Buzz is sure to keep you interested, entertained and informed. Please email news, tips and information to ctbuzznews@gmail.com.