We help students reach their potential and achieve their dreams of attending competitive four-year colleges and universities

Starfish Connection’s mission is to address Stamford’s opportunity gap by providing long-term mentoring, after-school and summer enrichment programs, and educational support to promising students from the city’s underserved families.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starfish Connection’s mission is to address Stamford’s academic achievement gap by providing long-term mentoring, after-school and summer enrichment programs, and educational support to promising students from the city’s underserved families.

The Starfish Connection is a 501c3 corporation. Your donation will be used to support after school and summer enrichment activities for these academically talented Stamford youth.

One of the most important components of the Starfish Connection program is to provide a variety of enrichment experiences that gives our students the opportunity to experience the world. With this comes a growing sense of confidence that positively impacts a child’s life!

Dear Starfish Connection Friends and Supporters,

I am excited to join Starfish Connection as the new Executive Director. I believe deeply in the mission and with my background in education, community experience in Stamford and just being a Mom of four children, I know I can make a difference. My children all benefited from an excellent education in Stamford Public Schools, with many dedicated, skilled and caring teachers and administrators. They also had the benefit of having two parents who graduated from college and know the importance of enrichment, educational excellence, exploration and eventually college. Our family was lucky to be able to provide those things to our children and I love Starfish, because that’s what we can do for other students in Stamford Public Schools.

Since the pandemic, our Starfish students are back to afterschool enrichment activities and exciting camp experiences. We continue to offer field trips to performances and cultural events, music instruction, teen circle counseling, college preparation, and parent meetings. As in past years, Starfish students exceeded the achievement of other high-needs students in Stamford and Connecticut in English/Language Arts and Math as evidenced in the Smarter Balanced Assessments. In 2023, we celebrated our seventh group of high school students who are each attending a 4-year college of their choice, with honors and full scholarships. Our longitudinal mentoring approach has made it possible for a total of 21 students (since our inception in 2008) to achieve their dreams and begin their careers.

It has been a pleasure to meet our mentors, team leaders, camp director, and music directors, and see all their hard work and dedication, making sure our students have bright futures for themselves and their families for generations to come. It has been especially exciting to meet our Starfish students, who I know will be the change-makers of the next generation.

Sincerely,
Regan Allan, Executive Director

The mission of Starfish Connection is to address Stamford’s opportunity gap by providing long-term mentoring, after-school and summer enrichment programs, and educational support to promising students from the city’s underserved families. We pair a mentor with a student, one-on-one to provide these resources.

The Starfish Connection is a 501c3 corporation. We rely on generous contributions like yours to fulfill our mission. Your donation will be used to support after school and summer enrichment activities for these academically talented Stamford youth. If you would like to make a tax-deductible
donation to the Starfish Connection, please do so on our donation page!

Our Founder and Inspiration

The Starfish Connection website is dedicated to the memory of our cofounder, Judith Martin. Judy and her husband David had a dream of enriching and changing the lives of promising Stamford young people.