Westport

About Our Chapter

NCL, Inc., Westport Chapter is a group of mothers and daughters who have come together in a commitment to community service, leadership development and cultural experiences.
Members shall reside in Westport-Weston area. Like all NCL, Inc. Chapters, Westport aims to foster the mother-daughter relationship by serving its communities together.

The Westport chapter of NCL was founded in 2006.  It has been going strong ever since with 6 full classes of Ticktockers each year from 7th grade through 12th grade.  For the 2019-2020 year, we earned the Blue Rose Chapter Award, the highest award level from NCL, Inc.  This means we completed our annual requirements, participated in #Giving Tuesday and the national philanthropy program and held a Sustainer Event.

               

Join Our Chapter

Interested in joining our chapter? Membership opportunities are dependent on chapter openings.

If you know someone in our chapter, talk to her about getting started, membership obligations and our membership drive timeline.  If you do not know someone in NCL, you are invited to complete this Membership Inquiry Form.

Membership Inquiry Form

For any questions regarding Membership, requests for transfers or assistance with connecting as a Sustainer, email us.

Our Membership Drive runs from December 1st to February 15th.  We enroll girls entering grades 7-9.  We hold several potential membership meet and greet informational sessions in January and February accept applications through the middle of February.  Contact our Membership Vice President to let us know you are interested!  

  

Mothers and their daughters (grades 7-12) participate in a program that embraces:

Community Service

We understand and serve communities in partnership with local and national nonprofits. Each NCL, Inc. chapter promotes social awareness by considering the local community’s needs and selecting appropriate non-profit organizations to support through different volunteer activities.

We work with the following philanthropies:

  • Al’s Angels
  • Alzheimer’s Association
  • American Heart Association
  • American Red Cross
  • Bacharach Community (Homes with Hope)
  • Building One Community
  • Caroline House
  • Carver Foundation
  • Circle of Care
  • CLASP
  • Connecticut Quest for Peace
  • CT Challenge
  • Day of Champions – Experience Camps
  • Disaster Response
  • Earthplace
  • ElderHouse
  • Food Rescue
  • Gillespie Center (Homes with Hope)
  • Homes for the Brave
  • Homes with Hope (other than Bacharach or Gillespie)
  • Lobsterfest
  • Mercy Learning Center
  • MOCA (formerly Westport Arts Center)
  • My Team Triumph
  • National Day of Service – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service – January 15, 2024
  • Operation Gratitude
  • Our Vision
  • Person to Person
  • Publicolor
  • Remarkable Theater
  • Save the Sound
  • Smith Richardson Preserve
  • Special Olympics
  • Susie’s House (previously Project Return)
  • The Kindness Campaign
  • Wakeman Town Farm
  • Westport Animal Shelter Advocates (WASA)
  • Westport Center for Senior Activities
  • Westport Chapter Philanthropy Hours
  • Westport Country Playhouse

We have longstanding relationships with many local philanthropies including – 

Person to Person, Susie’s House, Caroline House, CLASP, Mercy Learning Center, Wakeman Town Farm, Westport Senior Center, Homes for the Brave, Food Rescue, and many more.  

            

Leadership Development

We build capable, courageous leaders through opportunities to learn, reflect and develop. Our leaders become successful in their education, career and communities by learning the necessary skills during their NCL experience.

Examples of skills developed include:

  • Confidence
  • Consensus building
  • Team building
  • Conflict resolution
  • Event planning
  • Parliamentary procedure

Our Chapter Board of Directors:

  • President: Kathryn St. Andre
    Stephanie Bulkeley
  • President Elect: Stephanie Bulkeley
  • Secretary: Jennifer Hoke
  • Treasurer: Tami Benanav
  • Parliamentarian: Denise Michalowski
  • Vice President Communications: Kris Story
  • Vice President Membership: Kari Bley
    Sonja Tracey
  • Vice President Philanthropy: Andreina Bauer
    Chrissy Toeplitz
  • Vice President New Members: Cindi Sunjka
    Katie Gervasio
  • Vice President Ticktockers: Annmarie Grout
    Megan Lott
  • Vice President Chapter Engagement and Inclusion: Elizabeth Whittle
    Emily Kugel

One of the pillars of NCL is Leadership.  All of our members hold positions within the chapter.  Patronesses lead event committees, serve as liaison’s to each our philanthropies, or work with our girls directly as Grade Level Advisors in each Ticktocker classes.  The patronesses model leadership behavior for the Ticktockers.  In turn, the ticktockers serve in positions within their class – as meeting leaders, event committee chairs, recording secretaries.  We also have a Ticktocker Council which meets across all grades to plan and execute a annual all-Ticktocker event.  

Each ticktocker is given an opportunity at every meeting to speak and present in front of her peers.  This is a critical part of serving in the National Charity League.

   

Cultural Experiences

We preserve National Charity League traditions and core values, while appreciating the growth that comes from connecting with different communities and cultures. We continually strive to build stronger ties with our communities and the individuals within them. It is through this understanding that we grow and develop broader worldviews that will shape and support our lives.

  • Traditions – We celebrate the richness of our history through traditions that honor the past while serving the future.
  • Values – We embrace values that make us strong as an organization of mother-daughter leaders.
  • Community Connections – We build connections through experiences that impact our communities.
  • Etiquette – We encourage and mentor kind, respectful and gracious social conduct.

Each grade chooses how to enjoy cultural and arts experiences each year.   Our members prepare cultural dinners together and share family traditions..  To celebrate the arts, there are trips to art museums such as Grace Farms, the Bruce Museum, or Westport Center for the Arts.  They also attend plays at the Ridgefield theater or Staples Players together.  

 

NCL Westport Special Events

Unique experiences throughout the year include;

Big Sister/Little Sister events – Scavenger hunts, holiday wrapping parties, big sister tours of high school for incoming freshmen.  Often Big Sisters and Little Sisters go caroling together for Homes with Hope at holiday time or serve in Person to Person’s food pantry.

 

Father Daughter philanthropy – Making memorial day planters for the Westport Senior Center, fall cleanups at Gillespie Center or Susie’s Place, sorting donations for Quest For Peace.

Annual Mother/Daughter Tea – Each spring, the chapter experiences a chapter-wide tea with grade-level provided decor and entertainment concluding with a senior celebration.