Dear Friends,
With our annual summer program just getting started, I am pleased to announce that our 2010-2011 After-school Program was a smashing success. We had a total of 75 participants enrolled, of which 80% attended at least 3 or more days each week and 75% received one-on-one counseling. The infusion of mental health based intervention with the best practices of youth development offers our participants the opportunity to develop healthy coping mechanisms and the capacity to appropriately reach their full potential. As one of New York City’s most unique and multi-faceted programs for children with incarcerated parents, staff members at Children of Promise, NYC teamed up with organizations and agencies that extended our reach and deepened our impact on the children and families we serve.
Earlier this year, CPNYC joined forces with the youth development organization STOKED, an incredible group that combines action sports activities with mentoring, after-school programming and community service as a vehicle for instilling the skills today’s youths need to succeed in school, work and life. STOKED immediately understood and identified with CPNYC’s credo of finding nontraditional ways of engaging a vulnerable section of the population and encourage participation in sports that they would normally not have an opportunity to take part in, such as skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding. Along with providing new and fun experiences, these programs deepened the students’ appreciation for their surrounding communities and affirmed important concepts like the “common good.”
We were also fortunate to find a supportive partner in Youth, I.N.C. Through this organization’s incredible commitment to improving the capacity of youth-serving non-profits, CPNYC received invaluable guidance on achieving long-term sustainability. They have worked with us to optimize our fundraising strategies, increase board development with corporate representation and improve governance practices. Youth, I.N.C. has helped our organization grow in a way that will allow us to expand and serve additional children in the future. As a result of this union, our children were given some extraordinary opportunities that included visiting the NASDAQ and attending a NJ Nets game, where they were honorary guests and CPNYC received a plaque during the first quarter intermission.
CPNYC really hit its stride this year with a number of inspirational visits from extraordinary individuals and celebrities that have contributed to the success and advancement of the agency. Our children met with and performed for the famed rapper Maino, spoke with former New York’s First Lady, Michelle Paige Patterson, film director Spike Lee and children’s author Ty Allan Jackson. These were once-in-a-lifetime-opportunities that personally inspired our children to imagine the diverse possibilities their own bright futures hold.
This past year saw CPNYC grow from a start-up non-profit to an organization poised for even greater success due to our collaborative model & partnerships that enhance our core services, extend community outreach efforts and expand our programs. With our continued mission and vision to develop a replicable model, it is with great enthusiasm that CPNYC has been gearing up for the biggest and most highly attended CPNYC Summer Program to date. The program (which runs from the 5th of July through August 31st, Monday through Friday, 8 AM-5PM) promises to be a summer that 130 kids will never forget!
I look forward to sharing developments with you later this fall.
Keeping the Promise,
Sharon Content
Founder & President
