AC Chatter: Leaders for the 21st Century

JCPenney Round-Up for Children's Aid!

2009-08-06T11:15:00.004-04:00

Shop at New Manhattan JCPenney and Round-Up for Children’s Aid!

From now until August 16, the just-opened JCPenney in Manhattan (at 33rd Street and 6th Avenue) offers all shoppers the chance to round-up their purchases to the next highest dollar and will donate 100% of the funds raised to The Children’s Aid Society’s after- school programs! The beautiful new store is huge – 153,000 square feet – and offers lots of clothing, a Sephora boutique, and home furnishings.As you may know, the store is the chain’s first-ever in Manhattan. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg attended the grand opening on July 31, as did JCPenney’s CEO and celebrity designer Kimora Lee Simmons. To commemorate the store’s arrival in Manhattan, JCPenney donated $5,000 to Children’s Aid’s after-school programming (and donated as well to TASC and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC), and treated 40 Children’s Aid youth to a back-to-school shopping spree after the opening ceremonies.The Children’s Aid Society will partner with JCPenney in future round-ups; the next is in October. But right now is a great time to see the new store, shop – and give!

AC General Meeting (July 14--6:30pm to 7:30pm)

2009-07-10T07:45:00.002-04:00

NEXT MEETING: JULY 14th- 6:30PM - 7:30PM
(NO New Member Orientation Tonight)

The final Associates Council meeting of the 2008-09 season will be held next Tuesday, July 14th from 6:30pm - 7:30pm at the Lord Memorial Building, 4th Fl. (150 East 45th St - b/t Third & Lex).

THIS IS ONE NOT TO MISS! Be the first to hear about some of the changes coming to Children's Aid & their effects on our volunteers and AC members. Learn about how the AC has influenced the marketing and outreach of the agency towards our friends and supporters and find out what direction the AC is headed for during the upcoming 2009-10 year...including the appointment of a new AC President.We invite you to come out, hear about what we have planned and share your thoughts and ideas about the future of the Associates Council.

Food and refreshments will be served. RSVP: Please contact Scott at 212-381-1173 or via email.

Summer on the Hudson: A Smashing Success

2009-07-01T10:30:00.015-04:00

On June 17th 2009, the rain stopped for a night, and it was as if the sky knew that the Associates Council had planned an outdoor fundraiser along the Hudson River. Set on the docks of the Frying Pan, with breathtaking views of the NYC skyline, the event drew over 75 people who came out to support the Children’s Aid Society. Whether it was friends, family or members of the AC, the crowd was enthusiastic and the support was tremendous.

photo: Miguel Bermudez

The evening began with drink specials and delicious food, ranging from mouth watering chicken and beef skewers to crudités and dip. Those with a penchant for live music enjoyed the beautiful music of Larisa and Jason, while those who craved the latest hits enjoyed DJ Stevie Vano. As guests entered, they were given a raffle ticket that was automatically entered into a drawing. Upon arrival guests were also given a gift certificate to Completely Bare, which was the Associates Council’s way of saying “thank you for coming!” Scott, Meita, and Keisha pumped up the crowd when they announced two rounds of raffle winners who received prizes from Equinox Spa, Love Quotes Inc., Bulldog Sports, Smathers & Branson, Mikol & Company, and items signed by Taylor Swift & Britney Spears.

Nothing about this event recalled the standard fundraiser ambiance. From start to finish, the event felt like an escape from the hustle of New York and everyday hectic work life. At the end of the day, all of this was to support quality programs and services that benefit over 150,000 children and their families living in New York City—a great event for an even better cause.

contributing writer: Rochelle Torgman

New York Times: Letter to the Editor

2009-06-30T12:17:00.007-04:00

Opening a Door to Young Immigrants

Published: June 29, 2009

To the Editor:

Your editorial about the Dream Act and the doors that are currently closed to undocumented young people (“Graduation Dreams,” June 24) provided more wrenching testimony about the waste of human potential fostered by our current immigration policies.

The youth you describe and thousands of others like them in the United States want to get on with their lives, finish their educations, get jobs and continue to contribute to their adopted country. This worthy legislation will allow law-abiding students to graduate, obtain meaningful employment and plan for the future. They want to contribute to the only home they have ever known. These children hold the keys to America’s future and should not be denied their dreams.

I trust that President Obama will put these deserving youth on the path to brighter, legitimate futures.

C. Warren Moses
Chief Executive
The Children’s Aid Society
New York, June 26, 2009

SAVE THE DATE: June 17, 2009

2009-05-20T15:07:00.009-04:00

"SUMMER ON THE HUDSON"

The Children's Aid Society invites our friends and supporters to help us kick off the summer in style. Join us for "Summer on the Hudson" on Wednesday, June 17th at the fantastic "Frying Pan" at Pier 66.

Surrounded by breathtaking views of the Hudson River and New York skyline, guests will be treated to a fun and relaxed evening of great music, delicious food, and special treats including special raffles, door prizes, and a special online auction.

Here are the details:

When: Wednesday, June 17th

Time: 6:00pm to 10:00pm

Where: Frying Pan at Pier 66 (26th Street and Westside Highway in Hudson River Park)

Cost: $25 (Pre-sale tickets), $30 (At the door)

Proceeds will help support crucial Children's Aid programs and services assisting underprivileged children and families in need living in New York City.

Stay tuned for more details!!!

Questions? Contact Malia Poai at maliap@childrensaidsociety.org or 212-284-4591.

Fundraising and Fun

2009-03-18T10:19:00.004-04:00

The Associates Council Events Committee has started off 2009 in style! Our "Love's Hangover" happy hour at Union Bar (NYC) served as a mini fundraiser and brought out members of the volunteer community and the CAS executive office, staff and board members. Thanks for all the AC members who helped get the word out and brought friends. Thanks also to all those who manned the door and greeted potential new members. Happy Hours are a great opportunity to introduce CAS to the community and to meet up with your friends from the AC who you might not get to see as much as you would like.

Please check out the CAS website for the next happy hour and come out for a great time for a great cause! We party with a purpose!

Looking ahead, we are in the midst of planning our Spring Fling event. We are gearing up for a great event, much like the Toy Drive in 12/08. We're in the planning stages, but there's still time to join the planning committee. Maybe you can secure a great venue, a great raffles prize, or other sponsor. In this difficult economy our fundraising efforts are even more important to the continuation of CAS efforts. We're looking for creative people who have creative ways to fundraise while having fun. If you'd like to help, please contact: scottm@childrensaidsociety.org or maliap@childrensaidsociety.org.

Get ready for a great events year with CAS and the Associates Council!

Contributing Writers: Amy Kohn, Meita Harahap

AC President Speaks

2009-03-17T11:23:00.001-04:00

The Associates Council is constantly changing. So much so that it seems hard to keep up when you turn away for just a moment. We are a dynamic group of volunteer leaders inspired to make a positive impact in the lives of NYC kids, teens, and young adults, and our diverse passions and interests drive the AC forward in myriad directions.

Already this year we’ve partied in Union Square and learned about the “foster care to prison pipeline” and what one ambitious CAS center in the Bronx is doing to combat this tragedy. We’ll next tackle the housing crisis that has gripped the nation, clean up our schools and community centers, and wrap up the season with a Spring Fling celebration.

As stewards of the Children’s Aid Society, AC members are always ready to pitch in and answer CAS’s call for help. Often times, what CAS needs most is money to run its programs and support its children and their families. This has never been more true than now. Whether we’re reaching into our own pockets, hosting fundraisers for our friends, families, and colleagues, or reaching out to those who can donate in-kind goods and services, we’re always looking for fun and innovative ways to champion the spirit of CAS and ensure that every child has the opportunity he or she deserves to flourish.

The AC has something for everyone, and we welcome you to join us at any of our events or monthly meetings. We’ll see you soon!

Cheers,
Hannah Thonet
AC President

Photograph Contributed by Devyn Fomer.

Aging Out of Foster Care

2009-03-16T17:45:00.004-04:00

If you are looking for a glimpse of hope in the fight to help the 20,000 youth that will be released from foster care system this year, you need look no further than The Children’s Aid Society’s Next Generation Center (NGC). On Thursday, March 5, 2009, the Associate Council’s Social Issues and Advocacy Committee hosted a forum on the topic of Aging Out of Foster Care, with NGC’s director, Lynne Echenberg as the keynote speaker.

Youth aging out of foster care face poverty, homelessness and the criminal justice system. NGC, is a one-stop center designed to meet the needs of young people transitioning to adulthood and self-sufficiency. The mission of NGC is to provide support, guidance, training and opportunities to young people, ages 14 to 24, in the Bronx — with a special focus on youth in foster care and those who have aged out of foster care. These youth often struggle with homelessness, have trouble accessing healthcare and experience extreme financial hardship. As Lynne explained, the child welfare system is often not equipped to address the needs of those young people not connected to either school or labor force and who have no social safety net.

However, through the work of NGC and passionate leaders like Lynne Echenberg, foster care children are making smoother transitions to adulthood. NGC assists this target population through housing assistance, job placement, access to its lending library, college counseling, youth leadership programs, health services, culinary arts, dance, vocal coaching, spoken word/creative writing, among others. The center currently services over 1,000 young people and its focus is on comprehensive one-on-one engagement, whereby these young people form a personal and lasting relationship with staff. One of the main objectives of the center is to always be there for these young people no matter the situation they find themselves in.

At the end of the discussion, a couple of action points were introduced such as 1) becoming a foster care parent, 2) hiring these young people if an individual is an employer capable of doing that, 3) as well as donating to the center or supportive housing programs.

If you are interested in helping children in foster care visit the Children’s Aid Society’s website at http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/.

- To learn more about becoming a foster parent:
call 212-949-4962; in Spanish 212-949-4905.

- To Hire a Teen - contact Unique Morris, Employment Coordinator.
uniquem@childrensaidsociety.org or 718-589-4441.

- To make a donation:
call 212-494-4936 or visit us online at www.childrensaidsociety.org/donate.

Also, remember to check the Children’s Aid Society’s website to hear about more events hosted by the Associate Council’s Social Issues and Advocacy Committee.

Contributing Writers: Devyn Fomer and Alma Subasic.

Photograph Contributed by Ben Russell.

Welcome back

2009-02-05T21:48:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

A delayed but heartfelt welcome to 2009! With the new year comes new initiatives, new programs, new activities, and a new blog! I’ll continue to post updates on our latest events and meetings and add photos and videos of our adventures, so please check in from time to time. Or better yet, join us in person!

January 13th marked our first AC meeting of 2009, and we had a great turnout. In addition to many returning members, we welcomed one of our largest new member groups to date. We recapped the highlights of 2008 – 12th Annual Holiday Toy Drive, 1st Annual Back-to-School 3-on-3 Youth Basketball Tournament, Poverty in NYC: Teens in Crisis panel discussion – and moved on to discuss all that’s in store for 2009. In an effort to both expand our outreach and offer more opportunities for volunteers to interact with the children and see the direct results of their efforts, the AC is rolling out a number of new initiatives, such as Kid Visits, An Evening With and InsideCAS (see Scott’s post “Big Things In Store…” below for details). Of course we’ll continue to offer the Happy Hours, fundraisers, and other social events that have remained so popular among AC members throughout the years.

On that note, please join us at our next two events!

AC Monthly Meeting
6:30-8:00
Lord Memorial Building
150 E. 45th St., 4th Fl

AC Happy Hour: Love’s Hangover
6:00-8:00
Union Bar
204 Park Ave S at 17th St.

Hope to see you soon!
Hannah
AC President

Children's Aid CEO Talks About "The Value of Volunteers"

2009-01-29T02:34:00.000-05:00

Check out Children's Aid CEO Pete Moses' column "The Business of Giving" on the Minyanville site. This month, Pete talks about the value of non-profits utlizing volunteers during the current economic crisis.

Business of Giving: The Value of Volunteers
C Warren Moses Jan 28, 2009 12:45 pm

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, our new president asked Americans to volunteer in their communities. It was the day before he took the oath of office, and one can imagine he had a lot of other things on his mind. Regardless, Barack Obama took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and helped paint the walls of an emergency teen shelter in Washington, DC.

In assuming the role of Volunteer-in-Chief, President Obama demonstrated to the nation that society’s ills can be solved in ways other than check-writing: Face time works, too. As the head of a nonprofit organization, I’m the last person to turn down a donation. But we also need volunteers. Badly.

You can help nonprofits like mine meet our manpower demands. Here’s an example: Intel Corp. (INTC) made a 1-million-volunteer-hours commitment on behalf of its employees. More than half of the company’s workforce participated in the campaign, aiding 5,500 nonprofits across the country.

But that wasn't the only benefit. This program signaled to employees that people in the front office understand that in hard times, we don’t have to go it alone. Instead, we can all come together and help each other. That’s a powerful message.

Another easy way corporations can help nonprofits is by starting a dialogue. Host an employee luncheon and talk about why your company believes in volunteerism. Ask employees to talk about their personal experiences and the needs that exist. It will motivate action. Helping is empowering; it makes us feel we can change the world around us.

Mentoring programs are another great way to get employees involved. Set aside 1 day, as Goldman Sachs (GS) does, and send your employees to a local high school to help students with their college essays. Employees may grumble at first: What difference can 1 day make? But the kids say, “One day and I can get the help I need with my college entrance essay.” And as I’ve seen happen time and again, that day often ends with the swapping of e-mail addresses and the beginning of long-term dialogues.

Here’s another idea that doesn’t involve writing a check: If you can’t help fund a job-creation program, instead, give a job to someone who really needs one. One day I asked my staff: “How many intellectually impaired people do we have working for us?” They thought I was joking, but I was dead serious. At the supermarket there might be a person who's disabled, collecting carts in the parking lot. He's doing a job he can do. There are probably similar jobs in your corporation.

So I challenge you to think about jobs in your organization that can be performed by those who have disabilities. When you give jobs to people who are blind or in a wheelchair -- and help turn them into taxpayers like you and me -- you're not only helping improve their economic situation, you’re improving everyone’s.

When dollars are tight, your corporation may need to limit its monetary donations. But don’t let hard economic times be an excuse for neglecting your company’s civic duty. Get creative, and you’ll find low-cost or cost-effective ways to help those who need it the most.

Volunteering is good for your health, your community and your company. As Toddo says, “If you're not part of the solution, you're probably part of the problem.”

Big Things in Store for Associates Council in '09

2009-01-08T17:52:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! On behalf of Children’s Aid, I hope that you all had a peaceful holiday with friends and loved ones. As we close the door on 2008, this past year proved to be a banner year for the Associates Council. With each passing month, our members reignited the flame of leadership and innovation as they enthusiastically announced to the world that the AC was here to stay and firmly re-established Children's Aid at the forefront of developing leaders for the 21st century. Some highlights included:

The AC Goes Viral: Using online networking communities such as Facebook, Idealist, and LinkedIn, along with creating videos for sites such as YouTube, the Council continued to recruit individuals interested in becoming “CAS champions”.

Getting Serious with the Social Issues & Advocacy Committee: This committee allowed the Council to educate the public about key issues directly affecting the children and families served by The Children's Aid Society. In October 2008, a forum was held to discuss the topic of NYC Teens Living in Poverty. Experts from the areas of Education, Medicine, and Advocacy gathered to discuss this serious problem and provide both solutions and ways for the public to get involved to affect a change. Past topics have included: “The State of Education in NYC” and “Early Child Care in NYC”.

The Tradition Continues…Annual Toy Drive Party & Happy Hours: The Associates Council continued the rich tradition of past members by taking the lead in organizing various events to serve as fundraisers supporting the work of some of our programs. This included hosting the Annual Toy Drive Party that provides toys and gifts for hundreds of children during the holiday season. Since 2007, more than $10,000 in donations has been raised and over 700 new toys collected and distributed to the kids. Also, the Associates Council organized a series of successful Happy Hour Mini-Fundraisers to benefit the popular Saturday Outings program. In that time, over $6,000 was donated by friends and supporters to continue this program at three Harlem locations.

“The New Fall Classic”: 1st Annual Back-to-School 3-on-3 Youth Basketball Tournament: This newly conceived event drew over 150 teen boys & girls representing several CAS locations, along with teams from the Boys Club of New York, Alianza, and Harlem Children’s Zone. The event raised over $4,000 to support Children’s Aid youth and teen programming.

While this was a fantastic year...2009 promises to be even better!

This year we are going to be taking our mission "to develop champions that will convey the mission of the organization through both their words and deeds” to the next level and engaging our members in a wider variety of projects and signature events...such as:

KidVisits: Spend a few hours in the company of new friends and colleagues enjoying a show or concert featuring the kids of Children's Aid.

InsideCAS: Visit a Children's Aid location and gain in-depth knowledge & information about the various programs and services offered by Children's Aid..directly from the people in the field.
We will also be bringing back a few of our signature events such as:

Social Issues & Advocacy Forums: In early March, we are planning a discussion on the challenges facing "Teens Aging Out of Foster Care". We will spotlight this issue and offer the a series of solutions for the pubic to get involved in making a difference in the lives of these young adults.

Themed Mini-Fundraisers: These smaller social networking events offer you the opportunity to support Children's Aid programs while spending a few hours laughing, smiling, dancing, eating, drinking and having a fabulous time.
Whether you have not attended a meeting in a while or not at all...I invite you to attend our next meeting on Tuesday, January 13th and hear about all of the great things in store for 2009.
See you then!

Scott J. McLeod
Director, Office of Volunteer Services