Greenwich's "Community Answers" Changes with the Times

It was a great idea in the 1960s. It still is. Perched on the rear mezzanine over the stacks at Greenwich Library, staff and volunteers at Community Answers have a nice view. They also have the answers. Sometimes to questions a person doesn't think to ask.

Executive Director, Chitra Shanbhogue and staffer, Anita Lai, describe the phone as a lifeline.

The pair recalled  a woman who needed a ride to the doctor. "Turns out she was recovering from hip surgery and lived on the second floor. Some ride services require you to come to the curb," said Lai, adding that she was not only able to find the right ride, but further conversation led to other answers. "We learned that in the two weeks since surgery, she'd not gotten out, and not gotten food in. She had never needed to look for help. She was very self-sufficient. But there are programs and services like Meals on Wheels and Supermarketing for Seniors. There's also Family Centers' Friendly Callers and Friendly Connections. One involves a once-a-week visit to the home. The other sets up conference calls that the homebound can dial into and discuss current events."

Forty-Four Years of Answers
Over the decades, Community Answers has adapted to improvements in technology and changing habits. Originally, and long before the internet or even email, Greenwich Library staff fielded questions through what was called Community Chest.

In 1968, the Junior League of Greenwich launched Community Answers, which operated semi-autonomously from the library. Staffed with a fleet of volunteers who worked in pairs to answer constantly ringing phone lines, information was retrieved and dispensed from massive binders full of typed pages.

These days, according to Shanbhogue, typically there is one volunteer at a time. "The phone rings maybe four times during a three-hour shift," said Lai, explaining that longtime volunteers keep themselves busy paying their bills or reading a book while waiting for the all important call.

Community Answers.org
While the phone rings less frequently, the new Community Answers website gets 8,000-10,000 hits per month.

According to Shanbhogue, the website had its soft launch last summer and has had its information checked and double-checked. In fact, the non-profit's staff operated it as a mirror site for almost two years before closing down the old site, which was attached to the library's.

A virtual jackpot of information about services, programs and non-profit organizations in Greenwich, Community Answers.org maintains two online databases: organizations and events. Users can click for current popular searches, tax assistance, events, newsletter, and summer resource guide, as well as other publications including early childhood programs and the know-your-town card series. 

Shoestring Budget and Creative Fundraising
According to Lai, Community Answers has been effected by what she described as the belt-tightening effecting non-profits. "Forty-five percent of Community Answers support used to come from United Way. These days the number is 22%," she said. And so, the staff of three, which, in addition to Shambogue and Lai includes part-timer Janet Santen, has had to get creative.

Describing a steady stream of donations from older, philanthropic-minded residents who mail a check every year, according to Shambogue, "Younger families are in saving mode." To that end, the April 7th fundraiser, "Swing into Spring," features a fashion show with local children serving as models, as well as a silent auction and luncheon. The annual benefit, emceed by WABC-Channel 7 weatherman Bill Evans, is the source of over 50% of Community Answers' budget.

In September, a Friday night fundraiser called "Comedy Night at the Cole" begins with food and wine in the courtyard outside the Cole Auditorium, and moves inside for a night of professional comics performances.

Shanbhogue likens Community Answers to "the personalized, good neighbor of old time living, when you talked to your neighbor over the fence. That's gone. And the digital age can be isolating. But we can provide that resource you no longer have, which is both community and answers."

Longtime volunteer Maryann O'Rourke, who stopped by to deliver some items for the spring fundraiser, described the no-profit succintly. "It's a gem. It's unique. Like the keystone, the piece that connects and holds the two halves of a bridge together and keeps them in place. That's Community Answers."

Community Answers phone (203) 622-7979 is manned Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Website: communityanswers.org