First, it was the many youth-led groups who stood against federal actions to repeal DACA, which would threaten the futures for innumerable children and families, not to mention undermine the founding principles of the United States.

Next, the students of Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida, sent a resounding call earlier this year that told Americans they were ready to lead the fight for gun control.

When I see these young leaders, I am incredibly inspired by their relentless efforts, and also thankful for the long track record our young people at Children’s Aid have as outspoken, fierce advocates…as champions for their peers, families, and communities, as well as the kids that will come behind them.

I am reminded of Julio Olmedo, who partnered with Children’s Aid staff to educate elected officials on child welfare. Julio spoke about his many foster home placements, and how he never had the opportunity to provide feedback about his experiences in the homes. His advocacy led to the passage of a New York City law, which created the foster care experience survey.

As you’ll read in these pages, when the president of the United Nations General Assembly wanted to connect with youth, he came to our Milbank Center. There he heard from one of our champions, Maria Mohammed, who is eager to play her own part in the battle against poverty.

With college graduation approaching, Amanda Perez reflected on her own journey growing up in poverty and pointed to mentorship as a crucial factor in her success. She hopes to sustain that work in adulthood, this time as a mentor.

Maria and Amanda are just two of the countless young people at Children’s Aid who feel called to both use their own powerful voices and also share their experiences to mobilize others. They understand the importance of giving back and the need to amplify their voices to create the change they want to see.

When their voices ring out in search of tomorrow’s champions for children, it is you they are speaking to. Let’s show them that we’re listening.

 

 

Keeping the Promise Benefit
Champions for kids invest in potential and raise more than $2M

Children’s Aid hosted its eighth annual Keeping the Promise Benefit at the Ziegfeld Ballroom on Thursday, October 18. In attendance were industry leaders, philanthropists, and new and longtime friends of the organization. Children’s Aid was proud to honor Kevin P. Ryan, chairman and founder of Business Insider, Gilt, MongoDB, Zola, Workframe, and Nomad Health, for his unyielding commitment to advancing human rights, health and welfare, and educational programming throughout the world.

The event raised more than $2 million to ensure that all New York City children have the opportunity to realize their fullest potential. Phoebe C. Boyer led this auspicious occasion celebrating the impact of another year’s work and the commitment to launching young people and their families to success.

 

 

Advocacy 
Youth Are the Present

In the last 18 months, young people have taken the lead in advocacy and taken a stand against injustice and the problems of the world, perhaps most notably in the face of gun violence and the government-sponsored hostility against immigrants.

So it shouldn’t be surprising that leaders at the United Nations wanted to weave youth perspective into its own work. That brought Miroslav Lajčák, president of the 72nd U.N. General Assembly, to the Milbank Center, in Harlem, where dozens of young men and women gathered to talk about the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals as well as immigration, poverty, and empowering women and girls, among other topics.

“It’s extremely important that you care, that you speak up, that you look around and make yourself heard,” said Lajčák. “People like to say, ‘You’re the generation of the future.’ That’s not true. You are the generation of the present.”

A number of youth from Children’s Aid programs were in the audience, including Maria Mohammed, who interned with our Health and Wellness division through our Summer Youth Employment Program. She asked, “As youth, how can we implement goals of no poverty and no more hunger?”

Lajčák identified creating a sustainable environment as critical to those goals. “It starts with each and every one of us, how we act,” he said. “We invite all of you to express your views on everything that we do. It’s important to what I do tomorrow.”

 

 

Accenture
Enduring Supporters

Partnerships between corporations and nonprofits come and go, but Accenture has been a partner committed for the long haul. Dating back more than 20 years, Accenture has embedded itself within the Children’s Aid community. From supporting after-school programming for middle school students to hosting interns during the summer to being the Founding Sponsor of our annual Golf Classic, Accenture knows what it takes to make significant, lasting change. Thankfully, they have brought us along for the ride, every step of the way.

Aside from helping Children’s Aid raise critical, unrestricted dollars, Accenture’s lead in planning the Golf Classic, year after year, also helps us increase our reach by welcoming new friends to our remarkable list of supporters. Last year alone, Accenture, along with the help of fellow committee members, helped us raise more than $250,000 for general operating costs as well as college scholarships.

In addition to their extraordinary leadership with the Golf Classic, Accenture has invested in our adolescent programming to ensure that our high school students have access to resources and experiences that develop their skills and prepare them for college and career.

As we settle into a new season and a new phase of partnership with Accenture, we thank them for their incredible support and for the difference they have made to so many of our children, youth, and families. Here’s to another 20 years!

 

 

 

Client Profile
Amanda Perez

Amanda Perez has hardly known a time in her life when Children’s Aid didn’t play a huge role. After spending several of her earliest years in the Dominican Republic, her family moved to New York City permanently when she was 4. Soon she was in our after-school program at our Frederick Douglass Center.

Amanda always found a new program or challenge at Fred Doug. She also found the support that would help her pursue her college ambitions.

“My parents don’t have high school degrees,” said Amanda, now 22. “But they always put it in my head that I was going to college.”

Her parents found partners in that message with Children’s Aid. “Children’s Aid kind of created the vision,” said Amanda. “For 18 years, I have looked up to the people at the center because they made sure we got the proper tools to be successful. And here I am in my last year in college.”

Amanda, a proud Children’s Aid scholarship winner, has earned one college degree, an associate from CUNY Kingsborough, making her a first generation college graduate. In May 2019, she will earn her bachelor’s at North Carolina A&T State University on the strength of a 3.4 GPA in the public relations program. Her future echoes her past: She wants to go to graduate school, become a mentor, and start a scholarship for young people at Children’s Aid.

 

Athletics and Recreation
Kelsey Stevens: Harlem's Coach

Over the years, countless young athletes have found their start in Children’s Aid sports programs, and have been guided by a sports legacy that—whether they knew it or not—has been sustained by a veteran sports educator and fellow athlete from Harlem: Coach Kelsey Stevens.

“There’s a big social element to sports,” said Kelsey. “It builds so much character and sportsmanship.”

Kelsey has long realized and championed this larger understanding of the power of youth sports and athletics at Children’s Aid. He joined the organization in the early 1970s as the sports and recreation coordinator who engaged youth across all ages. To Kelsey, it was clear early on that he could tap into his students’ reverence for sports and show them how it connects to education. He drew from the lessons he learned coming up under other Children’s Aid titans like Herman Bagley and Roger “Buster” Bryant to help the program flourish.

“I’ve had terrific mentors and I’ve absorbed all the information from them. They saw the light in me,” he said. “That’s how it was taught to me and how I teach it to others.”

 

 

 

Staten Island Advance:

Staten Island community schools: Preparing kids for the future

The Hechinger Report:

Five elements of a good preschool

Time Square Chronicles:

Children’s Aid Raises Over $2 Million at Keeping the Promise Benefit