Each year, Children’s Aid employs nearly 2,000 youth ages 14-20 across New York City through the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), and place many in jobs with community partners, ranging from social services to local government. This past summer, through a partnership with the city Parks Department and Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice (YMPJ), a youth organization based in the South Bronx, 30 teenagers, many of whom were students from Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School, worked aboard Swale, a floating community garden docked on the Bronx River, as part of its maintenance crew.

“They were the ones really running the show,” Dariella Rodriguez, YMPJ’s director of community organizing and outreach, said of her team.

The crew planted medicinal and edible foods that were free to the public; gave tours to visitors both from and outside of their community; and learned about solar energy and water filtration systems from permaculture experts, both of which were used aboard the barge.

“We worked hard to put this together,” said Shanjida Choudhury, a recent Fannie Lou graduate who helped her younger peers navigate the summer experience as an YMPJ youth organizer. Together the group also discussed the impact of increasing access to fresh, locally grown foods in their neighborhoods and ways to further engage their Bronx community in food justice projects like Swale—a conversation Dariella was proud that her staff was having. “They live right in the area and are most impacted by these issues,” Dariella said. “They are learning to become leaders in their community.”

 

 

Mediterranean Shipping Company
Children’s Aid Corporate Champion

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is a world leader in global container shipping and a company that offers global services with extensive local knowledge. They are also a world leader in philanthropy, supporting global children’s causes including UNICEF, while engaging and supporting the local communities where Mediterranean Shipping Company employees live and work. Their New York City office, one of 480 located in 155 countries, has been a growing champion of Children’s Aid since 2015.

MSC is giving back through both their company and their employees’ significant engagement. They have supported Children’s Aid’s mission through:

• Sponsoring events, including our Annual Keeping the Promise Benefit as well as our Golf Classic at Baltusrol;
• Facilitating workplace fundraisers, ranging from charity breakfasts to holiday raffles to jeans days;
• Volunteering, including exposing teens to the world of work, and helping our elementary school students build model ships during an arts and crafts activity after school;
• Giving, donating critical funds to strengthen and expand Children’s Aid’s extensive programs and services.

While MSC has made an immediate impact on the children and families we serve, their enthusiasm and unyielding passion for promoting change continues to drive our growing partnership and our impact. Their company and team members are inspiring, and our gratitude for their friendship is endless.

 

Bracing for the Tax Bill
Effecting Change for Kids and Families

A couple of months ago, Congress passed the “Tax Cut and Jobs Act,” a massive piece of legislation to overhaul the tax code that we’ve learned holds serious short- and long-term implications for the work we do at Children’s Aid, and for the children, youth, and families we serve.

There are a number of concerning aspects to the bill:

• With increased standard deductions, taxpayers might not have the same incentive to make charitable gifts.
• The elimination of the Affordable Care Act Individual Mandate could lead to higher premiums and more uninsured people.
• The cap on state and local taxes could lead to reduced funding for human services.

Additionally, critical government-funded programs like Child Nutrition Programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and support for foster care youth and community centers will also be subject to further spending cuts that are essential to building a strong foundation for the well-being of children and families in our services.

We have always stepped up to the plate in periods of uncertainty for New York City families. This time is no different. Our Public Policy team is fully committed to advocating on behalf of the communities that need us the most. They are preparing for a busy season of working with elected officials at all levels of government to ensure that Children’s Aid is at the table to influence funding decisions that support kids and families. If you are interested in staying up to date, you can sign up for our advocacy alerts to learn how you can us take action.

 

Arnold Algeria
Children’s Aid Since 2014

Arnold Algeria, 18, remembers liking “the vibe” he felt when he first walked into Hope Leadership Academy, a comfort and warmth he attributed to the staff. Three years later, long after his IEP teacher in middle school connected him with the youth center in Harlem, Hope and the relationships Arnold has since solidified have kept him coming back.

“What they’re telling me [at Hope] is more of encouragement and wanting better for myself and being okay with the choices I’ve made,” he said.

Now in his junior year at Frederick Douglass Academy II, Arnold is receiving college and career support, academic tutoring, and also learning life skills that have helped him mature as a young adult.

“I used to fool around a lot, but now I feel like I have some control around what’s going on around me,” he said.

He’s decided to apply this focus to balancing his school work, taking his state regents exams, and preparing for a strong senior year that will propel him toward college and a future career. It means at least one more year of hanging around Hope after school, which Arnold knows will help him with one of his goals for high school. “I want to end it with a bang,” he said.

Many thanks to the Garden of Dreams Foundation, which made the holiday season special for Arnold and his mother by checking off several boxes on their wish lists, including new clothes for his wardrobe and a new cookware set for her.

 

 

 

 

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