Fall 2015 - Little Flower Children`s Services of New York

N EWSL ETTER
A Publication for Friends of Little Flower Children and Family Services of NY
Fall 2015
Foster Parent Spotlight
I helped raise lots of children and my life is richer because of it!
We are so used to hearing inspiring stories of foster mothers, but
rarely do we hear one of single-parent foster dads. We are very
fortunate to have the chance to share the story of William Conrad, an
incredible foster parent, who has provided a safe, warm and loving
home to many children in need of safety and stability.
William began his journey into parenthood over 15 years ago, fostering
over 20 children, eventually adopting two boys, Brian and Sean, now
21 and 22 years old. William was familiar with the foster care system
and environment as he began a career in child welfare as a caseworker
for a local social service agency. He knew he wanted to do more to
help the children he worked with day in and out and decided to take
the next step and became a foster parent with Little Flower.
William was very dedicated to the children in his home, changing
careers to accommodate the needs of his boys. The “kids went to bed
at night and woke up as brothers in the morning.” His mother also
provided a great support system; she was a retiree who lived with
William and the boys and was a tremendous help in taking care of the
children while he was at work.
William had not considered adoption until Brian and Sean, five and
six at the time, came to live with him. After their arrival it felt
inevitable—they were already like family. “I recall Brian being a very
bossy, dominant child. He was one demanding little boy at first!”
“Brian grew up to be an overachiever! Yes, he is still very dominant
but he is the single most determined person I’ve ever met! Brian will
go for weeks getting four hours of sleep a night to fulfill his dream of
becoming a doctor!” Sean, on the other hand, “was a very talkative,
timid child. He was afraid of so many things.” “All these years later,
Sean is now adventurous! I bought him trapeze lessons for his 22nd
birthday—he was a natural, the best in his class!”
He was reluctant at first to go through with the adoption process
because one family proved to be very difficult, but he pulled through
and kept his promise of keeping the families connected during and
after the adoption as well as allowing for open adoptions. Even
through the adoption, William continued to take in foster children.
Adopting Brian was a no brainer. Brian’s mother was very sick with
AIDS and she and Brian’s grandmother decided early on that Brian
would have the best chance of
becoming a doctor if William
adopted him. Both mother and
grandmother were confident
that Brian would achieve all the
great things he was destined to
achieve now that he was in a
safe, loving home with a father
who valued education as much
as they did. “It felt like it was my destiny to adopt Brian due to the
loss of my husband, Robert, to AIDS a few years before the adoption.”
They shared a tragedy and would help each other as only survivors
know how. Sean’s adoption was very different, taking seven years to
finalize, but it was worth it!
He allowed Brian and Sean to define the relationship with their birth
families (one of the boys lived with his birth mother for a year before
setting out on his own), using the insight and knowledge from his
years as a caseworker.
William experienced a bout of empty nest syndrome as the boys went off
to college but was all smiles as he attended their graduations this past
Spring. Brian graduated with his Masters in Cellular Biology with medical
school on the horizon and Sean earned a degree in Graphic Design and
will be entering the advertising field. William couldn’t be happier for his
sons—“they turned out to be great, dynamic young adults.”
With the boys out on their own and William no longer being able to
foster due to his work schedule, he admits to feeling odd now that
there aren’t any children
around the house, but
he has hopes that he’ll
hear the pitter patter of
tiny feet of future
grandchildren.
Until
then, there is no
shortage of fun for this
trio, especially on Family
Fun Mondays!
Message from the Executive Director - Corinne Hammons
Dear Friends,
With the first 6 months in my new role as Executive Director at Little Flower behind me I thought it only natural that
I share some of my initial thoughts with you.
It’s been a privilege to witness and be part of the innovative, caring work that is the essence of this organization!
As we plan for the future, my focus will be to continue to provide the highest quality service to those we serve and
to continue to effectively deliver high-impact programs that provide significant benefit to both the children and
families in our care and the larger community.
The commitment and dedication of the Board, staff and volunteers is evident throughout this issue. Yardley and
Anne were recognized for their dedication to foster youth by Borough President Eric Adams and Sister Madeline’s 50 years of service to the
children and mission of Little Flower is testament to the longevity of many.
I’ve been inspired by the generosity of our young donors who have demonstrated that it’s never too early to make a difference. And of course
by our own Little Flower youth who excel despite the many challenges they face.
I enjoyed meeting many of you at the various events celebrating our 85 years of serving those in need. As we look toward our 90th I hope
to get to know more of you and help you find additional ways to support our work.
It has been extraordinarily rewarding to work with members of this organization, many who have been with us for a decade or more and I find
myself inspired every day.
I hope you enjoy this issue of the Little Flower newsletter. I look forward to sharing great stories about our staff, clients and friends of Little
Flower with you for many years to come!
Sincerely,
Corinne Hammons
Executive Director
Our Kids
B2H Respite Activities
Little Flower’s Scholars
Planned Respite events are held monthly thanks to the proceeds from
the annual Bridges to Fun fundraiser, offering the opportunity for our
youth to interact with one another while building their skills and giving
their caregivers a planned break.
College may have seemed like an unattainable goal and
one in which so much would be required of them,
especially considering the hand they’ve been dealt. But
they did it!
On August 27th, 30 kids participated in
a trip to the Long Island Game Farm in
Manorville. Our kids had a great time
learning about the wildlife that reside at
the Game Farm and enjoyed feeding
many of them too. The group was able
to attend David Rosaire’s Pekingese
Dog Act whose energetic performance
made for lots of laughs!
Congratulations to our foster youth who have taken the
next step towards following their dreams and furthering
their education! We wish you the best of luck and will
be here to support you every step of the way!
On another outing, 15 youngsters
enjoyed an afternoon of fun interacting
with their peers while bowling and
eating pizza at Sayville Bowl. The kids
engaged in a friendly competition while
laughing and making lasting memories.
We are proud to announce that over 20 of our foster
youth have begun their college careers at the following
schools:
Borough of Manhattan Community College
College of Staten Island
Columbia University
John Jay College
Kingsborough Community College
Laguardia Community College
NY City Tech
Queensborough Community College
Schenectady Community College
Suffolk County Community College
SUNY Albany
SUNY at Old Westbury
SUNY Buffalo
Msgr. Bernard Quinn Way
The unveiling and dedication of Msgr. Bernard Quinn Way took place Monday
November 2nd on the Msgr. John T. Fagan Campus in Wading River. Msgr.
Bernard Quinn Way marks the road where Fr. Quinn walked toward his final
journey to open Little Flower House of Providence, now known as Little Flower
Children and Family Services of New York.
This historic event encompassed a simple ceremony attended by members of
the Little Flower Board of Directors, staff, friends and donors. Fr. Paul Jervis,
Pastor, St. Claire Catholic Church and Author of Quintessential Priest, the Life
of Father Bernard J. Quinn spoke about Msgr. Quinn’s journey to find a location
that could provide hope and peace to the neediest members of his community.
Despite great hurdles and much discrimination Fr. Quinn established Little Flower as a safe place for youngsters with nowhere else to
go. Fr. Jervis recalled “in 1983, as a newly ordained priest assigned to St. Peter Claver, I could not help being moved by the loving
recollections of Father Quinn by the many parishioners, more than forty years after his death. Their admiration was extraordinary.”
Delores Casey, Chairman of the Guild whose objective is to advance the Cause
for Canonization of Fr. Quinn stated that it is “because of Fr. Quinn that I became
a Catholic. Fr. Quinn truly was an inspiration to many, he led the way for others
to advocate for the rights and dignity of the marginalized members of society. He
fought for those who couldn’t fight for themselves, much like Martin Luther King,
Jr. who fought a similar fight many years later.”
RTC Youth Graduate from Transition To Work Program
Four Little Flower youth were recognized at their graduation by Legislator Sarah Anker on Monday,
October 26th at Saddle Rock Ranch. The youth secured internships through a collaborative
venture, the Transition to Work program, between Family Residences and Essential Enterprises,
Inc. (FREE), an agency that supports individuals with intellectual disabilities, mental illness and
traumatic brain injury and Little Flower, with the support of the Long Island Community
Foundation.
The collaboration between FREE and Little Flower enabled 20 youth from the Residential
Treatment Center to gain valuable hands-on work experience in a safe and friendly environment.
After completing the ten-week transition to employment workshop, four Little Flower youth began working at FREE’s Saddle Rock
Ranch. The interns gained job readiness skills such as communication, teamwork,
adaptability, problem solving, and time management and came away with tangible
occupational skills in construction, maintenance, property management, animal care,
agricultural and the culinary arts.
We appreciate the chance to work with FREE and the Long Island Community Foundation
and thank them for providing this opportunity for our youth. Huge thanks to Legislator
Anker for taking time out of her busy day to join us in congratulating the graduates!
Kids Helping Kids
Little Flower Staff
Academy of Innovative Technology
Young Philanthropists
We are proud to highlight a group of young men who decided to
raise money to help those less fortunate as part of their
community service project for their Youth Empowerment class.
The 9th grade class from Academy of Innovative Technology in
Brooklyn planned and conducted a fundraising bake sale at their
school and donated the proceeds to Little Flower! We thank
them for their generosity and goodwill! It’s stories like these that
are truly an inspiration!
Three 4th graders from Beekman Elementary School in
Poughquag, NY created the Loveys for Little Ones group
collecting stuffed animals to donate to children in need.
Angelina, Kaeleigh and Victoria did a great job with their stuffed
animal drive and showed amazing independence and initiative in
researching and selecting the charity in which they would make
their donation.
We’d like to
thank the girls for
their remarkable
fundraising
efforts and
congratulate
them on their
very young steps
towards
becoming
socially
responsible citizens!
P.S. 214’s Production of Annie
Lexxi Saal
Little Flower was very fortunate to receive support from some of
the city’s young and budding actors and actresses. Over 100
students from P.S. 214K in Brooklyn participated in a production
of Annie, ranging from casting, chorus or scenery and set design.
The Lexxi Loves Foundation
and its founder, Lexxi Saal
has once again brought
liveliness to the Monsignor
John T. Fagan campus!
Students on the campus
received new additions to
their music room in the form
of an electric drum set and
two electric guitars.
Reading through the script and learning about the themes and
messaging of the story helped the students decide to help
children in similar situations. A fee was charged as part of
admission to the show and then donated to help children in
need, which was crucial in teaching the children how they could
help local families and children in need and overall a lesson in
giving back to the community and making a difference. Huge
thanks to P.S. 214K for your generosity and for showing us that
no matter how young, you can make a difference!
The donation was made
possible through the Music
Makes the World Go Round
program of the Lexxi Loves
Foundation, which aims to
provide the musical tools to
underserved youth who just
may be tomorrow’s hit
makers and Grammy winners!
We’d like to extend our most gracious thanks to Lexxi and the
Foundation for their continued support and for providing our
youth with the means to help make their dreams possible!
Little Flower Staff Recognized at COFCCA Brooklyn Cares Awards
On Tuesday, April 28th two of Little Flower’s own foster care
staff, Supervisor Yardley Jean Calixte, LMSW and Caseworker
Anne Psolka-Green received recognition for their outstanding
commitment and dedication to the children in their care!
The Brooklyn Cares Awards, coordinated by the Council of
Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA) and the
Brooklyn Borough President, Eric Adams, identified Brooklyn
based child welfare agencies and their staff for their hard
work, dedication and for going above and beyond for children in need.
We are very proud of Yardley and Anne and thank them for exemplifying our mission of turning
caring into action for those in our care!
Celebrating 50 Years
On Wednesday, October 7th, Little Flower Executive Director Corinne
Hammons along with members of the Senior Executive Council presented
Sister Madeline Kanich with a Proclamation for 50 years of dedicated service
to the children and families in our care. Sr. Madeline, a member of the
Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, has lived and worked on the
Monsignor John T. Fagan Campus for that entire time, teaching, leading,
guiding and caring for the children.
The celebration of Sr. Madeline’s life continued at a luncheon served by youth
in the Culinary Arts Program on October 29th. Staff were joined by Rev. John
Barrett, Pastor of St. John the Baptist in Wading River, Little Flower Board
member Barbara Kullen and several retirees to celebrate Sr. Madeline’s
accomplishments, share stories and wish her well on her retirement.
As the luncheon drew to a close the guests were treated to a special performance of “This Little Light of Mine” by Little Flower youth. A
fitting close to a life of service enabling the "lights" of so many Little Flower youngsters to shine over the long years of her career.
Essentials for Education
Enormous thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s Essentials for
Education Back to School Supply Drive and helped in making it a tremendous
success!
Astoria Bank, Coldwell Bankers of Smithtown,
National Grid-Brooklyn, Pampered Chef, The
Prescott Fund for Children and Youth, Prime
Petroleum Corp., Charla Effron and Elizabeth Kohen.
Because of the generous and caring spirit of our donors, our youth were able to start the school year on
the right foot!
Recent Events
Little Flower-Packer
Family Day
Our foster families were treated to a
fun-filled Spring day thanks to the
students and families of Packer
Collegiate Institute.
Recent Events
Bridges to Fun Auction
Annual Golf Classic
Friday, July 24th, the Bridges to
Health (B2H) program held their
Second Annual Bridges to Fun
fundraising event at Napper
Tandy's in Smithtown.
On Monday, September 14th, Little Flower recognized Jack O’Connor of Newmark
Grubb Knight Frank at our Annual Golf Classic at Engineers Country Club.
Guests
learned more about B2H
directly from our youth speaker, Joe, who
talked about his experience in the program
and how the staff working with him helped
him learn more about himself. "They always
encouraged me to try new things even
though I was hesitant at times."
The kids had a
variety of activities at their fingertips,
such as sand art creations, the make
your t-shirt station, face painting,
decorate your own cupcake station, an
arts and crafts table, story time and
field games.
Our kids had a wonderful time
participating in the activities and most of all, making new
friends with the students from Packer!
Special thanks to the Packer Parent Association for thinking of
our families and for going above and beyond to create such an
inviting and exciting atmosphere for the little ones who
attended!
The event raised a record breaking $160,000, benefitting Little Flower’s programs
and services for those in our care. The program was emceed by co-chair of the
Committee Frank Tosto of Willis.
"With B2H's assistance I have been able to graduate from high
school and gain work experience. B2H has helped me improve my
socialization, which in turn helped me reconnect with my mother
and improve my relationship with her and my brother."
At the end of the night Joe and all the guests anxiously checked
their tickets as the winners were announced. Everyone showed
their enthusiasm by cheering as the winners collected their prizes.
The event was a
huge success and
could not have
happened without
the support of
donors, friends,
family and staff!
Monsignor John T. Fagan Awards Dinner
Wednesday, May 6, we gathered together at Guastavino’s in New York City for the 2015 Msgr. John T.
Fagan Awards Dinner to celebrate Little Flower’s 85 years of serving those in need and to recognize
the important work done by our honorees.
Little Flower and our Honorary Co-Chairs, Susan Lucci and Helmut
Huber and Co-Chairs, Alex Hesterberg, Barry B. Clarke, Larry Wohl
and Frank Zimbaro, were very fortunate to honor Liza Huber
Hesterberg, CEO and Founder, Sage Spoonfuls, with the Humanitarian Award and Patrick
J. Clarke, Owner, Celtic General Contractors, with the Service Award for their commitment to bettering
the communities around them and for their exceptional charitable work.
Thanks to News 12 Long Island’s Elisa DiStefano for emceeing and to everyone who attended and helped in
making it a very special evening for our honorees. Special thanks to our very own, Shakeria Rodriguez for
reminding us why we do what we do.
The evening, sponsored by EmblemHealth, Willis, and Cook Maran &
Associates, featured raffles, an elegant buffet dinner and award ceremony.
Guests had the opportunity to hear from one of our youth in the
Residential Treatment Center, Alex, about his experiences in the Culinary
Arts and Vocational Training programs. Alex remarked that “Little Flower’s
programs helped me discover that my passion is to serve others and my
community.”
Due to the efforts of people like Jack, we are able to offer our youth critical skill-building opportunities they might
not otherwise get. “It is my privilege to recognize such a generous and dedicated friend and partner of Little Flower.”
said Corinne Hammons, Little Flower Executive Director.
Thanks to our honoree and all of our sponsors, guests, volunteers and staff for making it a truly remarkable day!
Sanctuary
Kick Off
King Kullen
Golf Outing
The entire Little
Flower community
came together Wednesday,
September 30th at the Monsignor John T. Fagan campus to
celebrate and begin the journey to becoming a Sanctuary certified
organization. The day featured fun activities such as Sanctuary trivia
and word search, team building activities and dancing.
Little Flower is very fortunate
to have the support and
dedication of Tom, Brian and
Jim Cullen and the entire
King Kullen Community.
The Annual James A. Cullen Memorial Golf Outing is just one
of the ways the family’s generosity and unwavering commitment
manifests itself.
Staff from all locations met each other for the first time or reunited
with colleagues from other areas as well as learned more about this
monumental step the agency is taking. Corinne Hammons, Executive
Director, greeted everyone and summed up the meaning of
Sanctuary as "a way to make sure we are all safe and secure."
"Sanctuary changes our way of thinking, which changes behavior,
changes the organization and most importantly, changes the
outcomes for our clients" said Monroe Hale, Assistant Executive
Director of the Residential Treatment Center.
It was such an
uplifting and positive
day filled with great
energy which was a
perfect way for Little
Flower to begin
fulfilling our
Sanctuary challenge.
The outing was a huge success and
one of the highlights was hearing from
Israel Adam Burns, a former Little
Flower foster youth, who now owns his
own law practice. Israel’s story was
inspiring and several of the golfers
approached him to tell him how
hearing his story first hand was something they will never forget.
This year marked the 33rd golf outing and the 85th Anniversary
of King Kullen Grocery Stores
– King Kullen and Little
Flower were “born” in the
same year! We couldn’t be
more grateful to the Cullen
Family for being such an
integral part of the Little
Flower family.
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fLUSHiNg, NY
PerMit No. 1045
2450 N. Wading River Road
Wading River, NY 11792-1402
HOLIDAY GIFT DRIVE
Fall has only just begun, but we at Little Flower are well under way with
planning for the upcoming holiday season!
Thinking of supporting Little Flower and the children and residents in our
care? Plan a toy or gift card drive at your office, business, and church
or even amongst your family and help us ensure that those we serve
aren't forgotten this holiday season!
If you are interested in planning and hosting a toy drive and have
questions, please contact Maureen Fox at: 718-875-3500 ext. 5040 or
at: [email protected].
Help Make a Difference in the Lives of those We Serve
If you would like to make a donation, please make checks payable to:
Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York
Kindly mail to: Little Flower, Development Office, 2450 North Wading River Road, NY 11792
Donations can also be made online at: www.littleflowerny.org/donate