Year-End Report, 7/1/2004 -
6/30/2005
September,
2005 marks Mercy Center’s 15th anniversary of serving the women
and families of Mott Haven. Celebrating this wonderful occasion began back
in October, 2004 with a joyful parade through the neighborhood. Festivities
continued in April, 2005 when the Board of Advisors hosted a very successful
Cocktails and Silent Auction fundraising event at the Park Avenue Country
Club in Manhattan. Celebrations continue in the fall with our annual Mind,
Body and Spirit Health Fair on September 16th and a closing
convocation in October.
Our anniversary
presented us with the opportunity to reflect on how much has changed and how
much has remained the same at Mercy Center and in the community. In
selecting our theme for the year, “Open doors...open hearts,” we
reaffirmed the values that brought us to birth—a sense of welcome and
hospitality, inclusiveness and mutuality, empowerment, community, and a
reverence for the whole person. Ultimately, this is why we are here.
Our participants are a
gift to us. Each person has entered the doors of our “house” with her or
his own needs and gifts. They came to share themselves and their creativity
as well as to receive what we have to offer. They shared ideas and concerns,
their struggles and their hopes, and supported one another as they joined in
a shared effort to better their lives. Some program graduates returned to
teach new skills to others; for example, one Keyboarding graduate taught a
sewing class in the spring. This giving and receiving creates the energy
that makes our programs successful and gives cause to celebrating
anniversaries.
Family Alternatives to Violence
People came to Mercy Center seeking help to better manage the relationships
in their lives. 213 parents participated in ten Parenting Skills courses,
and 197 women and men participated in eight Anger Management Skills courses,
two of which were offered in Spanish for the first time. Whether
court-mandated or voluntarily enrolled, these participants shared in
learning a different, more respectful and non-violent way of communicating
with others and dealing with conflict. We continue to be awed by
transformation that happened; participants often begin classes with little
or no interest, but concluded with a real sense of the need to change their
lives and a sure confidence in their capacity to do so.
Upon completion of the Anger Management courses, for example, many
participants report a greater awareness of their internal anger level and
have learned to think before acting. Group members leave with a greater
understanding that a thought always precedes feelings of anger. A large
number of participants find the breathing and meditation techniques very
helpful.
Some of our graduates have
expressed the sentiments
of many:
“Going to this class has helped me a whole lot with my kids
– I understand them better and have learned different ways of handling
them. It has also showed me how to communicate with them – and also with
my husband.” –Madeline
“I learned how to identify a problem and admit when I am
wrong. Hold no resentments. Keep an open mind and positive thoughts.
Respect the rights of others.” –Louis
ESL/Immigrant Services
Mercy Center’s English as a Second Language/Immigrant Services Program
expanded this year as more than 500 participants were served, most Hispanic
women from Latin America. Mary Anne Sullivan joined our staff as Coordinator
of the ESL program. Over 40 volunteers served as teachers and teaching
assistants, allowing us to increase the number of classes offered. Other
assistance came from the International Center, and volunteer visits of the
St. Ignatius Parish Youth Service group and the St. Elizabeth JustFaith
community of Rocky Hill, CT.
As
our students’ knowledge of English grew, so did their ability and confidence
in themselves. They are able to express themselves to teachers, doctors,
employers and social service providers and understand what is being said to
them. Their growing knowledge of English began to unlock doors to new worlds
that had been closed to them, doors which lead them to fuller participation
in their families, jobs, and the larger community.
Immigrant Services efforts expanded last year, led by Sr.
Breige Lavery and the assistance of two
pro bono lawyers. Assistance revolved around various issues: domestic
violence, housing, bankruptcy, family law, creditor’s rights, tax law, jury
services, and patient advocacy. About 80 people were served, through
assistance with documentation issues, support at immigration hearings,
regular citizenship classes and individual tutoring in preparation for the
citizenship exam. More than 40 people attended information sessions, 15
people enrolled in citizenship courses, and nine people were granted U.S.
Citizenship. Rarely was there more spontaneous and deeply felt joy within
Mercy Center’s walls than when one of our students returned from her exam to
announce she was successful and had received a date and time for her oath of
citizenship.
Employment-Yes!
We know at Mercy Center that it is not possible to provide just one
service and ignore the other needs of our participants. Job training
alone is not sufficient for our low-income women to develop the skills,
confidence and proficiency necessary to enable them to enter the workplace
and achieve financial independence. Thus, the Business Training component of
Employment-Yes! included individual assessment, individual goal setting,
counseling and social services. Other services included updating resumes,
practicing interview skills, on-going counseling, and assistance in job
searches. On the job training was provided for recent graduates at Mercy
Center’s reception desk—a very demanding position in periods of peak
activity here!
Along with the 59 women who participated in the Business Training program
and the 56 who participated in the Keyboarding program, many others were
able to take advantage of shorter courses. These included Internet Training
(43 enrolled), Word Processing (7 enrolled), Job Search Skills (20 enrolled)
and Managing Money Matters (20 enrolled). Courses were directed towards
increased economic independence for participants.
To
round out the educational spectrum, Mercy Center hosted GED classes for as
many as 50 students with the cooperation of important partners: Grace
Outreach (2 evenings/week, in English) and NYC Department of Education (2
afternoons/week, in Spanish). A volunteer provided us the opportunity to
offer literacy classes 2 mornings/week.
One
measure of the success of Employment Yes! is the fact that 77% of the
graduates of the Business Training program are now employed. One
participant who formerly had a low paying temporary position is now employed
by the NYC Department of Education as a secretary with full benefits. Two
other graduates volunteered at Mercy Center as receptionists, and have since
been hired for full-time positions at not-for-profit organizations in
administrative capacities. Two others who were formerly unemployed now have
positions as a data entry clerk and an assistant teacher in a school for
developmentally delayed students.
But
another measure is the growth in self-confidence experienced by the women:
“Mercy Center is good at
what they do. Their goals are to make sure we reach our goals, and to
encourage us not to give up if we want something, but to go out there and
get it.” Vanessa
CHAMPIONS
Children's programs were expanded this year. Activities provided 257
children with a balance of education, social interaction, and fun! The
after-school program’s 12 children benefited from homework help and
one-on-one tutoring as well as activities such as yoga, arts and crafts, and
dance. The program was especially helpful for children of
immigrants. Students from Canisius College and Assumption College provided
105 children with homework help and fun in one-week Winter and Spring camps.
This year, Canisius students also helped to provide a two-week summer day
camp for 33 children. Girl Talk provided a safe forum for 14 junior high and
high school girls to discuss issues important to them. Fifty children
enjoyed a Hip-Hop and Jazz dance class; another 40 danced and drummed their
way to a performance filled with pride, led by volunteers from House of the
Roses. Added to this were events planned by volunteers from Ernst & Young:
field trips to theater productions, museums, and more. Because of this
expansion in programs and activities, Mercy Center hired its first
Coordinator of Youth Services, Yolanda Santiago, who is now returning to the
neighborhood she grew up in 20 years ago.
Body, Mind, Spirit
A 2004
survey of Mercy Center participants indicated that 77% had annual household
incomes of less than $12,500. At Thanksgiving 150 people were provided with
complete holiday meals. Another 100 people received food from our pantry.
At Christmas, 152 families (with 460 children) received Christmas gifts. On
a monthly basis, 18 families receive customized food supplies from 18
families in Demarest, NJ.
In an effort to provide holistic attention to the full range of our
participants’ needs, Mercy Center offered spirituality groups, seasonal
retreat days, yoga classes, an arthritis exercise class, a course in
nutritional cooking (Cornell Cooperative Extension), a movie discussion
group, salsa/merengue dancing lessons,
dancercise, knitting and sewing instruction, and counseling. These provided
an opportunity for over 200 participants to reduce stress, form community,
develop skills and grow in self-esteem. The knitting, sewing, arthritis
exercise and nutritional cooking classes were all new offerings this year,
made possible by the generosity of volunteer teachers. And because they
were bilingual, they were good opportunities for people to cross language
and ethnic barriers.
New Offerings
We continue to look ahead to the future and develop new programs to meet
emerging needs. The Family Development Program, which will be fully
implemented in early 2006, will help whole families set goals, make plans to
reach those goals and receive the support they need to get there. The
Women’s Entrepreneurial Program is in the early stages of design and
development, with the goal of assisting women to further their dreams of
economic self-sufficiency.
A number
of groups of people in particular enrich Mercy Center’s ability to be more
fully responsive to the needs and aspirations of the women and families of
Mott Haven. We could not do what we do without them.
Partners
We are a sponsored work of the
New York Sisters of Mercy, and we continue to reap manifold
blessings from their community. Sr. Agnes O’Grady served as our volunteer
bookkeeper this year, Sr. Betty Scanlon traveled periodically from
Philadelphia lead staff and participants in a Women’s Entrepreneurial
Project Feasibility Study, and Sr. Barbara McDermott taught summer ESL
classes while serving as chef for our summer camp counselors, a position
generously filled by Sr. Patti Donlin during Winter Camp. They grace us by
their presence.
We have been fortunate in recent years in having Mercy Volunteer Corps
members working full-time on staff, as Patrese Scott
did this year, working in social services and among the youth. As recent
college graduates, she and her colleagues have well complemented Mercy
Center’s Ignatian Lay Volunteer Corps (ILV) contingent, including
social worker Nancy Walsh and lawyer Gene Sullivan. They and their
colleagues in the ILV are people at the other end of the employment cycle,
retired professionals who commit their time and expertise 2 days/week to
people in need, while deepening their understanding of mission and the
practice of Ignatian spirituality.
It was magical to see the sadness and the gratitude in the
faces of Mercy Center’s children when they say good bye to
Canisius College
students in January and
Assumption College
students in March, on the last day of Winter and Spring camps. This year,
eight students from Canisius returned for two weeks in July to offer a day
camp for 33 children, allowing them to travel around the city (to the
Central Park Zoo and Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty) and to get out of the
city, for the fresh air and swimming pool of Marydell camp in Nyack.
The children’s joy at these opportunities is matched by their
delight when the volunteers from
Ernst
& Young’s
National Marketing Office came by for special activities with the children
during the year A summer picnic, the winter Christmas party, a bus trip to
a working farm – these were special moments of delightful fun and budding
friendships, with a dollop of solid role modeling added in.
On a weekly basis, children were offered the opportunity to
drum and dance with volunteers of the
House of the Roses
(‘where everyone dances and spirits grow’) , a heartening group of young
volunteers, inspired by Therese of Lisieux, whose spirituality is to do the
ordinary with extraordinary love.
Tommy Crisinati is a
Franciscan
seminarian who worked three days a week at Mercy Center this year, teaching
ESL Level 1 classes and Introduction to Computers. He and his colleagues
always bring a special presence to Mercy Center.
And we cannot fail to mention the
Redemptorist Fathers.
Fr. Francis Gargani and Fr. Ron Bonneau not only
encourage their community to give Mercy Center a very sizable grant each
year but also teach ESL on a weekly basis to groups of appreciative Hispanic
immigrants. Fr. Francis, by the way, even offered salsa and merengue classes
during the year just to make sure we remain sufficiently diversified in our
skills-based training.
And then there were the women who drove up in a rented van once a month
delivering over 60 cartons of food. This work of mercy was a labor and a
gift, as 18 families in Demarest, NJ personally shopped for 18 Mercy Center
families, who come that day to pick up the food and return home with smiling
faces and grateful hearts.
And there were countless other
volunteers,
all contributing their special gifts and healing energy within a Circle of
Mercy that has lifted the spirits and improved the lives of so many people
in this small but needy community in Mott Haven.
Supporters
The spirit of giving and generosity that funds and sustains
Mercy Center is extraordinary. We were particularly blessed this year with
the devoted work of our Board of Advisors in its first year of existence. To
celebrate the 15th Anniversary of Mercy Center – and raise funds – they
sponsored a Cocktails and Silent Auction gala in April, an evening marked as
much by its warmth, high energy and mercy spirit as by its fundraising
success. The evening marked an important step in growing the circle of
supporters and friends who assume responsibility for Mercy Center’s fiscal
stability. We are particularly grateful to Mary Theresa McCombe
and Greg Arcaro, who generously agreed to Co-Chair this group of friends who
are so important to our vitality and mission.
The solid grant writing work of Sr. Peggy Costa and Ellen Vopicka continued
this year. They accurately articulated the needs of Mott Haven women and
families, and powerfully communicated the ways our programs respond. We are
very grateful to the following foundations for their generous support of
ongoing operations and programs.
Alleghany
Franciscans, Lily Auchinclos Foundation, Rose M. Badgeley Residuary
Charitable Trust, Balm Foundation, Barker Welfare Foundation, Bronx Council
on the Arts through NYS Council on the Arts, Citibankers Community Fund,
Dammann Fund, Daphne Foundation, Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, Max and
Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Fleet Women’s Interest Network, Joseph and
Claire Flom Foundation, W. T. Grant Foundation, Heckscher Foundation for
Children, Emy & Emil Herzfeld Foundation, Hispanic Federation, Axe Hugoton
Foundation, Independence Community Foundation, Koch Foundation, Inc., The
Linden Foundation, George Link Jr. Foundation, Lisabeth Foundation, Marsh &
McLennan Companies Volunteer Grant Program, JP Morgan Chase Foundation,
Morgan Stanley, New York Women’s Foundation, Pascale/Sykes Foundation,
Patrina Foundation, Picower Foundation, Raskob Foundation, Redemptorists,
Clare Rose Foundation, RTS Foundation, Helena Rubinstein Foundation, Sarita
Kenedy East Foundation, The Sister Fund, Sisters of Mercy Maguire Fund,
Sisters of Mercy of Brooklyn Ministry Fund, ViBern Foundation, Vopicka
Family Foundation
Additionally, Mercy Center has been gifted with significant
lead gifts to reserve and endowment funds. The Institute of the Sisters of
Mercy of the Americas contributed $200,000, and the ViBern Foundation
provided $70,000 which was matched by other generous supporters. In the
spring, we initiated a grant writing campaign, made possible by the Hispanic
Federation, to solicit additional contributions from foundations for a $2
million Mercy Center Endowing the Future Fund, to provide a firmer financial
base as we embark on our next 15 years of service.
For a review of Mercy Center’s finances, please see our
Financial Overview page.
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