Coconuts! Coconuts were everywhere, strewn across the floor, sitting under handmade palm trees, by beach chairs that lounged in front of the wall-length mural of the beach that, to anyone who has been in the city for the last few months, is just as good as the real thing. At least I didn’t have to clean out sand from my shoes.

This year’s African-American & Dominican Heritage Celebration at the Salomé Ureña de Henríquez Community School in Washington Heights offered a tropical escape from the crisp air and slushy streets. Students, parents and staff from eight Children’s Aid Society community schools in Washington Heights, East Harlem and the Bronx celebrated their heritage on Friday, March 5th.

The school doors opened to a lobby full of paintings, ceramic statuettes, live music by The Ebony Hillbillies and a variety of foods, including fish in coconut sauce the and the Dominican Republic’s traditional dessert made of beans called Habichuelas con Dulce. One could really feel the tropical culture; Children’s Aid staff were dressed in authentic African attire, and sarongs, large brightly colored hats and flip flops.

The evening’s performances opened with the Dominican Republic’s National Anthem and was followed by over 100 performers showcasing African-American and Dominican inspired moves. The students, ages 5-18, performed a variety of dances from hip-hop to merengue.

A touching moment came when students from I.S. 166, wearing “I Love J.O.” t-shirts, dedicated their performance to their former Community School Director Jobis Ozoria, who passed away last December.

“The African-American and Dominican Heritage celebration is one of my favorite events of the year,” said Richard Negron, Director of The Children’s Aid Society’s Community Schools. “It is wonderful to see the community come together and students, their families, Children’s Aid staff and our Department of Education partners working to put the event together. Seeing the auditorium at the SU Campus filled to capacity is energizing.”

Photos by Ben Russell

Tags: Children, children's aid new york, Events

Dozens of youngsters, from tiny preschoolers to shy teens, walked cautiously into the National Arts Club in Gramercy Park on the evening of February 24^th. Keeping close to their parents, some still wearing their iPod earplugs, they entered the main gallery and found black walls and spotlights highlighting artwork of all techniques, from watercolors to dominoes.

Once the children located their pieces, they stayed close, eager to show them off to anyone who walked by. The walls looked dull, if only for a moment, compared to the young faces glowing with excitement, accomplishment and pride throughout the room.

The 9th Annual Children’s Art Show showcased over 150 pieces of art by children ages 3-18 and was open to the public from February 23^rd – 28^th. The show featured artwork  of students from Children’s Aid Society from this fall and winter programs. For the first time, the reception featured a fashion show from the Eco-Fashion and Green Design club at the Mirabal Sisters community school campus in Washington Heights.

“Wait until the art show, wait until the art show” said Mr. Richard R. Buery, Jr., President and CEO of The Children’s Aid Society, repeating words he heard regularly since joining the agency. “I was blown away!”

Photos by Lily Kesselman

Tags: Children, children's aid new york, Events

Pictured (from left to right): Aaron Ackerman, Amber Weiss, Alexandra Gold, and Toy Drive Committee co-chair Annabelle Torgman

During the holiday season, more than 125 people came together for an evening of fun and camaraderie, raising both money and toys benefiting New York City children and families in need of a helping hand. The 13th Annual Children’s Aid Society Toy Drive Party is the continuation of a strong tradition that began more than a decade ago by caring volunteers and young professionals committed towards our mission of helping those youth become healthy and productive adults. This year, guests, friends, and supporters raised more than $6,700 and donated over 100 toys and gifts towards making the holidays a little brighter for our kids.

Hosted at the fabulous Joshua Tree, guests attended the “Party with a Purpose” and enjoyed a wide selection of appetizer favorites and drinks like the Christmas Kiss and Snow on the Beach while dancing to classic 80’s tunes. They also purchased raffle tickets and participated in a party staple, the Triple Chance Raffle. This year’s raffle saw the largest and most eclectic assortment of prizes in recent years, with a list of more than 25 items up for grabs including, two roundtrip JetBlue tickets from New York to any US city; two tickets to the Lion King with Backstage Passes; a $600 Lela Rose Cashmere Sweater; and a Victoria’s Secret Mega Gift Basket.

While guests laughed, danced, and even belted out a song or two during the night, the purpose for the party was never far from their thoughts. The crowd listened intently as comments by Children’s Aid Chief Operating Officer, William Weisberg and Associates Council President Amy Kohn reinforced the need for ongoing support to keep quality programs and services like academic tutoring, mentoring, college prep, and medical and dental services from being eliminated due to inadequate funding.

Despite the serious undertone of the party, everyone remained optimistic and energized throughout the evening as they did their part to make a lasting impact on the lives of families and children in need. This year’s event was truly one to remember.

On behalf of our children and families, we would like to give thanks to all of the wonderful guests, donors, sponsors, and contributors that made this event such an overwhelming success.

Scott McLeod
Director, Office of Volunteer Services
The Children’s Aid Society

Tags: Children, children's aid new york, Events

For the fourth year in a row, the East Harlem Head Start program proudly marched in the city’s Three King’s Parade.

The event, while always a chilly one, is a favorite among the children and families. The parade, coordinated by El Museo del Barrio, has everything  needed to celebrate the special holiday: music, floats, special honorary kings, and even camels!

The Head Start families did a lot to prepare for the big day. Parents and children created crowns to wear and designed signs to carry.

The teachers read books about the day’s traditions. A representative from El Museo even came to the Center to give a presentation on the history of Three Kings Day.

As always, it was an honor for everyone to participate in such a special community event.

Tags: Children, children's aid new york, Events

Over 120 CAS early childhood professionals came to the Philip Coltoff Center for 1-day professional development training sponsored by the early childhood department

On Monday January 4^th, The Children’s Aid Society’s Early Childhood department sponsored an all-day division-wide professional development workshop for its teachers to kick off the 2010 year. Lisa Murphy, better known as the Ooey Gooey Lady, came to The Philip Coltoff Center at Greenwich Village to talk to a group of over 120 CAS early childhood educators from across 10 centers about strategies for incorporating science and mathematics into their curriculum.

Her workshop titled Fizzle, Bubble Pop & Wow, provided ideas for simple science experiments for young children. For example, teachers learned how to create mini-explosions and different materials using everyday household ingredients such as baking soda and vinegar. Teachers came away from the workshop refreshed and invigorated for the New Year.

Many thanks to Ooey Gooey for joining us!

Margaret Caspe, The Children’s Aid Society in New York

Tags: Children, children's aid new york, Events

Photo by Ben Russell

On Wednesday, January 6^th, the Hispanic community celebrated Three Kings Day. No one who takes this celebration more seriously than the children and families at The Children’s Aid Society’s East Harlem Center.

Seventy-five children and their families took part in the evening of dinner, dancing and art. Keeping with the theme of the day, children decorated crowns with glitter and jewels. Since camels were the preferred method of transportation for the three wise men, many in attendance constructed and decorated paper camels.

The highlight of the evening came when toys were given to the children by the New York Chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Ten members, including the Chapter’s President Edward Montenegro (pictured), joined the evening’s festivities and, thanks to the toys, quickly became the most popular people in the room. Almost as soon as the gifts were in the children’s hands, the engineers were fast at work helping the little ones assemble their new toys. Everyone had a wonderful time; A future engineer may have been born that evening too!

Tags: Children, children's aid new york, Events

Jane Fonda speaking to the attendees

Jane Fonda, who has been a strong supporter of Dr. Michael Carrera’s Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program, and Dr. Carrera himself, spoke eloquently and passionately about teen pregnancy prevention at the celebration of the program’s 25 year anniversary.

Jane’s commitment to working on teen pregnancy issues began at a maternity ward of a local hospital, where she met a 14-year-old girl who was in labor with her second child. Jane said:

“She fixed me with her eyes daring me to be judgmental and I prayed that my eyes reflected some kind of love back to her… I realized that there was nothing I could do for her unless I could somehow offer her a life… I wanted to put my arms around her and hold her; I figured nobody ever had, except for sex.

Within weeks of that experience I meet Dr. Michael Carrera at a conference and I heard him speak. He had the words to conceptualize everything we needed if we were to stop young teens from having babies.

Event attendee and speaker, Jane Fonda with Dr. Michael Carrera

Michael said, ‘the principal lever in our work is caring – it’s more important to be kind than right,’ and then he said it’s not what you do that matters…’what they will never forget is how you made them feel,’ and that entered my DNA!

I have never in my life met a man as strategic, as purposeful, as single minded and as full of heart, he taught me that at the foundation of this work it’s about love… and that changed my life and I will be forever grateful.”

Thanks Jane – we are forever grateful to you for your support.

Read more on Jane Fonda’s blog.

Kathy de Meij, Associate Director of Development, Director of Marketing & Special Events

Photos Courtesy of Lily Kesselman

Tags: Children, children's aid new york, Events

On Friday, December 4^th, hundreds of youngsters took a break from adding to their massive wish lists to make hand-made gifts for their family and friends during the We Care event at The Children’s Aid Society’s Dunlevy Milbank Center in Harlem.

Thanks to We Care, an annual national event organized by Herman Miller, Inc. and joined by over 200 of America’s top architecture and interior design firms such as Environetics, Tobron and Gensler, the center’s gym was transformed into “Santa’s Workshop” for the afternoon.

Approximately 465 preschool and early school-aged children from Dunlevy Milbank Center, Drew Hamilton Center, Frederick Douglass Center, East Harlem Center and Taft Day Care in Harlem and East Harlem, tackled the individual craft stations to make candles, photo cubes, hats, coffee mugs and bedazzled gloves.

What to get that difficult older brother? Grandma’s the picky type? We Care and Children’s Aid staff were on hand to help with the tough choices and even helped wrap the gifts so that they would be ready for the holidays. Picking the right gift for that special someone is never an easy task so music, face painting and gingerbread cookies helped ease the gift making stress. And just in case the postal service to the North Pole is not as reliable this year, Santa was on the premises to confirm any last minute requests!

Photos Courtesy of Lily Kesselman

Tags: Children, children's aid new york, Events

Since 2004, the Children’s Aid Society has received the extraordinary support from the Simons and Magerman families to fund MASPAS (Magerman and Simons Program for Academic Success) - an intensive academic program at our three Harlem community Centers.

MASPAS works with 5th through 8th graders, promoting their academic success and getting them on a strong high school track.  MASPAS provides what many of our children desperately need:  academic enrichment during the after-school hours.  Over the last few years, the program has focused on project-based learning where the students steer the curriculum to large-scale projects that interest them.

The 5th Grade MASPAS group at the East Harlem Center has obviously been thinking a lot about toys this holiday season – however, not in the usual way.  This particular group of young people has been researching the most popular toys from different decades.

Did you know that the first Mr. Potato Head cost only 98 cents?  Or that Silly Putty is actually used in space by astronauts because it’s so flexible?  As part of the Center’s holiday show, the MASPAS students have been putting together a skit to share all the fun facts they’ve learned about their toys.

To make the project even more engaging – the 5th graders decided to take a recent trip to Toys R Us in Times Square to see how much these timeless toys cost today.  Each child had to inquire with store personnel as to where their specific toy was located, and then they needed to use one of the store’s price scanners to check the toy’s cost.  The students were surprised to see how the prices and packaging of today compared to the originals.

Everyone had a lot of fun learning more about these popular toys and being a part of the city’s holiday atmosphere.

Tags: Children, children's aid new york, Events

Accessing services for a child with special needs can be a very daunting task – this challenging situation is only compounded when that family is new to the country and doesn’t speak English.  These concerns sparked a recent event at the East Harlem Head Start program.  A group of parents, who presently have children receiving special needs services, got together to plan a Special Needs Forum where parents could share their stories, speak to experts in the field, and get their questions answered.

Nicole McClammy, Lizet Flores, Adriana Ramirez, and Brenda Colon, all mothers of preschoolers in the East Harlem Head Start program, put the forum together.  After two months of planning, the parents pulled together the following presenters:  a pediatrician from the Dunlevy Milbank Center to present on developmental milestones, a service provider from the Visiting Nurse Service to provide an overview of zero to three year olds, a service provider from TheraCare to cover children from three to five, and then an advocate from Advocates for Children to inform the audience of their rights as parents.

The forum, which was held in Spanish, had a great turn out and a lot of important questions were answered.  The East Harlem Head Start program wants to graciously thank the parents from the planning committee for sharing their experiences and for making it a priority to share resources with the larger community.  Also, big thanks to all the presenters for sharing their expertise and providing so much clarity within the confusing world of special needs.

Tags: Children, children's aid new york, Events