Greetings!
With Spring upon us, we’d like to share some highlights from the HFH Winter 2023 season. Our staff, supporters, and families have been busy celebrating Black History Month, Valentine's Day, Women's History Month, and Social Work Month, as well as all the little moments in between. |
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Left to Right: A family at Clinton Family Residence attends a New York Public Library event while enjoying Valentine's goodies; Early Ed kids at Allie's Place draw portraits of the special women in their lives for Women's History Month; As part of their lesson on inventor Garrett Morgan for Black History Month, Prospect Afterschool students engage in a game of Red Light, Green Light.
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Aeroplanes, Art Exhibitions, and Celebrations in Afterschool |
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A highlight of Black History Month for Allie’s Place Afterschool was learning about American aviator Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman and the first Native American to hold a pilot license. To reinforce this lesson, the young aviators made paper airplanes and performed their own flying tricks in some friendly competition. For Women's History Month, they discussed women in science including astronaut Jessica Meir. For Valentine's Day, they crafted cards for their loved ones and decorated heart-shaped sugar cookies baked by the students in our Center for Culinary Education & Employment, which also gave the adult students an application of real-world culinary job skills.
Prospect Afterschool made heart-melting goodies and donned festive face paint at their Valentine's Day celebration and children throughout Prospect participated in a coloring contest where they decorated the HFH logo—a house with a heart based on the prompt, “What does love feel like?” The budding photographers in Prospect Afterschool have also been working diligently on their portfolios with Kids With Cameras and had a showcase of their work: “We Live in Art.”
Saratoga Afterschool showcased a program for their parents, "We are Legends: Celebrating Black History Month, More than One Month." The performance featured the "Liberation Dance" and "One Song Can't Hold Our History Dance" as well as a poem, "Hey, Black Child." Prior to the performance, Director of Afterschool & Recreation, Michael Chapman led the children in a discussion about being nervous to perform and the tools that they can employ to build confidence like practicing, breathing exercises, and self-love.
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Egg-cellent Science Experiments and More with Early Ed |
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The little ones in Early Ed got crafty and creative as they learned about many important historical figures during Black History Month. Saratoga Early Ed created traffic lights as they learned about Garrett Morgan—inventor of the yellow traffic light. Allie's Place Early Ed learned how to be ophthalmologists and conducted vision tests as they learned about Dr. Patricia Bath who invented a device that removes cataracts.
Allie’s Place Early Ed took part in “Read Across America”—a national tradition that celebrates and encourages reading. Over the course of March, various HFH staff, including administrative, culinary, maintenance, and Central office staff, visited the kiddos for storytime.
“It is so important to introduce our young readers to books, and what better way to do it than celebrating all together at HFH? Reading to our children improves literacy, language skills, brain development and cultivates a love of books. The children loved having all the reading volunteers!”
– Lisandra Santana, Director of Early Childhood Education at Allie’s Place
Saratoga Early Ed conducted a science experiment with eggs showing the different colors and sizes of the eggs, portraying that no matter what we look like on the outside, we are all the same on the inside. They also recently debuted a brand-new playground outside which the kiddos have not hesitated to explore. Stay tuned for more in the next issue!
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The Culinary Team is Cooking |
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In January, Allie’s Place Center for Culinary Education & Employment welcomed a new Culinary Intern from the community: Noreen, whose strong work ethic and willingness to learn new skills stood out to the Culinary Team. She helps set up for classes, assists the chefs with anything that they may need, and jumps in when she sees other students that may need additional one-on-one instruction.
Council Member Amanda Farías toured the Culinary Employment Center. They showed her the state-of-the-art teaching kitchen and talked with her about our job-training programming.
This free employment program is available to people in the community. If you know someone interested or would like someone from HFH to present to your organization, please reach out to Culinary@HFHnyc.org.
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Social Work Month Celebrates Family Services |
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Last month, staff from local New York Public Library branches visited Allie's Place, Williamsbridge, and Clinton Family Residences to share information about the many free resources that they offer & to sign families up for library cards. Case Manager Supervisor at the Clinton Family Residence Elizabeth Castillo emphasized the importance of coming together as a community to support the families at HFH.
“It’s a big help for us as Case Managers and the Family Services team because these families are depending on us. Having these types of events [reminds you] there is someone else here to help out.”
With Social Work Month, what better time to hold a Resource Fair for Family Services staff from our three Bronx shelters where organizations from the community, including Bronx Healthy Start, Housing Works Inc., Camelot Counseling of Staten Island, Inc., Morris Heights Health Center, and Destination Tomorrow joined our HFH Summer Camps and Culinary Center for Education & Employment to share information about helpful resources for clients. The HFH Policy Team also attended, sharing data and info on policies that impact their day to day work. Similar Resource Fairs will be coming soon to Saratoga and Clinton Family Residences.
Spotlight on: Camelot
For more than 30 years, Camelot Counseling, has collaborated with HFH at our family residences. They are a resource for our Family Services staff for direct on-site referrals, as well as residents who want to reach out to Camelot directly for assistance. Camelot services include: counseling services for adults, adolescents, children, and families whose lives have been affected by drug or alcohol use. Substance Abuse Counselors and Child Development Specialists work onsite with HFH clients who qualify for their services and social workers and medical professionals are also available onsite and virtually to assist clients. Camelot is available at Allie’s Place, Prospect, Saratoga, and Williamsbridge. To learn more, visit: http://www.camelotcounseling.com.
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Staff Spotlight on Noelle Roberson, Director of Family Services at Williamsbridge Family Residence |
“Ms. Roberson is always a few feet away with her never ending guidance. She’s always willing to share what she knows. If I have any questions, I never feel hesitant to ask her.”
- Senior Case Manager Raquel Alexis
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Recruitment for Summer Camps 2023 in Full Swing |
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Recruitment for campers at HFH Summer Camps is in full swing with events at all five family residences to assist parents with applying for camp and give the prospective campers a taste of what HFH Summer Camps 2023 has to offer.
“This is his first time going. I feel like the experience will be great for him to interact with other kids and not be around family…[to] branch out, see how life is, have fun.”
– Mother of 7-year-old at the Clinton Family Residence
The HFH kids at Camp Wakonda will be staying cozy in the upcoming summer camp season thanks to Blankets of Hope who collaborated with P.S.127 to make a generous donation of 200+ blankets, each with a personalized note.
This summer, we are offering three sessions for kids at HFH family residences ages 7 – 11:
Session 1: July 5 – July 12
Session 2: July 19 – July 26
Session 3: August 2 – August 8
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HFH and HFH Summer Camps are currently hiring for a variety of positions from education, safety, and family services positions to general counselors and head cooks.
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We are looking for talented, passionate members to join the HFH team. |
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