New York Life Insurance Company representatives congratulate the YWCA of Niagara on receiving a $10,000 Community Impact Grant for its Niagara Falls Summer Youth Program. Pictured (left to right) Teresa Martinez, director of the YWCA of Niagara’s Carolyn’s House; Dan Stoll, financial services professional for New York Life, Lockport; John A. Foster, managing partner of New York Life’s Williamsville office, and Kathleen Granchelli, CEO YWCA of Niagara..

YWCA of Niagara receives Community Impact Grant from New York Life for its Falls summer camp program

 A typical summer for 15-year-old Dequan Burch of Niagara Falls would be sitting in the house being lazy and playing video games, or wandering the streets.
   Not this year. Dequan got a taste last summer of the YWCA of Niagara’s Niagara Falls Summer Youth Program when he picked up his sister who attended the camp at Niagara Street Elementary School.
   “I started staying a little later and later and playing with the kids,” Dequan said. “It was a fun way to get out of the house.” 
   This year, Dequan attends camp as a junior counselor. He received a camp scholarship, as will other children who otherwise would not be able to enjoy the urban camp experience.
  The YWCA of Niagara operates summer youth programs in two locations. Its Lockport location has been in operation for over 20 years and has provided a camp experience for over 500 children annually. This is the second year for the Niagara Falls location but enrollment has already tripled from last year.
  This year, the YWCA of Niagara received a $10,000 Community Impact Grant from the New York Life Insurance Company to support its mission.
   “As a company, New York Life has long been committed to giving something back to the areas where our agents and employees live and work,” said John A. Foster, managing partner of the company’s Williamsville office. “New York Life strongly encourages our people to give their time and talents to help make a difference in our community.”
   The CIG program, which began in 2008, awards nonprofit organizations that are supported by New York Life agents, field managers and employees and address the needs of the community. Forty-three nonprofits were granted $500,000 through this program in 2009.
    “We are very grateful for New York Life’s investment in this program, which will have a lasting effect on the entire community,” said Kathleen Granchelli, YWCA CEO.  “New York Life’s continued participation in our programs has benefited many people in our community as we work to accomplish our mission.”
   The Niagara Falls camp provides recreational, academic and cultural enrichment for 75-100 children weekly in a safe and secure environment, regardless of financial circumstance.  The critically needed camp pilot program was launched in 2009 with an overwhelmingly positive response from school district personnel, parents and children. The 2009 camp was supported with a grant from the United Way of Niagara.
   Granchelli noted there are few opportunities for structured summer activities in Niagara Falls, an area plagued by poverty, urban blight and high crime rates. The Niagara Falls Summer Youth Program gives children the opportunity to join enrichment activities that they otherwise may not experience.
  To keep costs low, The Niagara Falls School District partners with the YWCA to use their facility for the urban camp; giving some children the chance to have their first swimming lesson, attend their first field trip to an amusement park, and perform their first play.
   Although this is a fee based program, the YWCA's commitment to inclusion necessitates scholarships, giving all the children the opportunity to attend. The added value to the community will be providing parents with a safe environment for their children during the summer months.  In addition, the added value to children's lives will be positive experiences, social interaction and lifelong memories.
   The interaction and memories are great but it’s the way the YWCA camp staff handles activities that keeps Phoenix Anderson’s attention.
  “I used to go to another camp and I didn’t like it very much because there was no option to choose (activities),” said the 11-year-old.
  Children are able to select the activities they want to participate in rather than a pre-determined schedule of events. Campers choose the activities they like including arts and crafts, gym, swimming and swimming lessons, outdoor play cooking and board games.
    Like most parents, Teresa Dyer of Wheatfield was looking for an experience that would keep her lively boys interested and exhausted.
  “They are at the age that they are not entertained enough when they are playing at home,” Mrs. Dyer said. “They come home tired, so I’m happy. They have made friends really quick.”
   Alex Vargas, 8, of Niagara Falls, is spending his first summer at the YWCA camp.
   “I heard there were some pretty cool things here,” said Alex. “I like swimming indoors, going outside, the arts and crafts and gym.”  He also thinks the camp trips are pretty great and is looking forward to traveling to Marineland in Niagara Falls, Canada, in the upcoming weeks.

Niagara Gazette
February 13, 2007
Safe at Home
By Michele DeLuca

NIAGARA FALLS — She was too young to have children. She knows that now. But she loves them too much for regret. And it’s really not her past that concerns her. It’s her future and theirs which holds her attention now.

Brandi is a 25-year-old resident of Carolyn’s House in Niagara Falls. Her last name cannot be used to protect her privacy, but one important note can be shared. Her life may have been saved by the support network available to her at Carolyn’s House, a residence for woman who are homeless or abused or simply out of luck.

Click here to read entire article ... Niagara Gazette
February 13, 2007
House director, staff provide recipe for success
By Michele DeLuca

Whenever Teresa Martinez helps a woman find a home, or when she guides a family toward a better life, she thinks of her mother.
Martinez is director of Carolyn’s House in Niagara Falls, a unique place where women and children can come to heal and grow. And she has a clear understanding of how important it is when someone extends a hand.
“I was raised in a single-parent home, and watched my mother work different jobs and struggle with issues of childcare and tight budgets,” she said recently during an interview at the house on Sixth Street.
“I think about how tired she must have been at 2 and 3 in the morning, when she was sewing clothes for us because she couldn’t afford to buy them,” Martinez remembers.

Click here to read entire article ...

   As a young girl living in the south, Khaleelah Shareef of Niagara Falls, remembers having to use a side entrance at a clinic instead of the front door. And when she went to the movies, she had to sit in the balcony area instead of the main theatre.
  Shareef has seen her share of racism and discrimination throughout her life and it’s those experiences that shape her commitment eliminate it.
  “Racism can fuel a society that will be motivated by hatred, hostility and danger, said Shareef, the YWCA of Niagara’s ambassador for the Stand Against Racism annual event. “It eventually will gnaw away and destabilize families and communities.”
  On Friday, Shareef, who works at the Niagara Falls Housing Authority, will join the YWCA of Niagara and the YWCA of the Tonawandas along with several individuals and organizations throughout Niagara and Erie counties to take a Stand Against Racism.
   The Stand is a YWCA movement with a goal of bringing people together from all walks of life – across the country – to raise awareness that racism still exists and send a message that it won’t be tolerated. The Stand is held each year in April and will involve more than 60 other YWCA agencies throughout the country working closely with about 1,500 organizations that will cumulatively attract about 200,000 individuals in the annual event, according to Stand organizers.
  In Niagara County, individuals, school districts, students and faculty on area college campuses, businesses and municipalities will Stand together at various times throughout the day.
   In Gaskill, teacher Frank Coney has organized poetry and poster contests to mark the occasion. Faculty and staff will sign a pledge against racism and several displays will be set up at the school.
   At 10 a.m. April 30 on the Renaissance Bridge, North Tonawanda Mayor Robert Ortt and Tonawanda Mayor Ron Pilozzi will proclaim the date as Stand Against Racism Day in the Tonawandas.
   In Lewiston, Mount St. Mary’s Hospital is inviting the public to come from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the lobby and sign a pledge against racism.
   Village of Lewiston Mayor William Geiben said he will be at the Freedom Crossing point from noon to 1 p.m. handing out Stand Against Racism buttons in honor of the event. 
  At 11:30 a.m., the YWCA of the Tonawandas will hold a Dialogues on Diversity Luncheon at its Tremont Street location, featuring a presentation by the National Federation for Just Communities.
   Each year, the local YWCAs tap an ambassador to speak on the issue and promote involvement throughout the community. The YWCA of the Tonawandas has asked Katherine Lucas to take on that challenge.
   Lucas said she experienced discrimination when she was young by watching how poorly people treated her father who immigrated to the U.S. as a result of World War II.
   “He learned a new language, new skills, and built a new life after losing everything – his family, his home, his country and his future – in the war,” said Lucas. “Despite his hard work, there were many instances of people treating him badly due to his accent. This from people who barely spoke their native language, much less the five languages he spoke. It always hurt, and was never understandable. I vowed to never behave like that and prevent such ignorance when I could.”
   Both ambassadors have some advice for young people on how to work toward eliminating racism and discrimination.
   “My message for young people is to arm yourself with the best education you can get,” Shareef said. “Have a willingness to work hard, be committed to self-discipline and self-respect and to always remember that knowledge is power.”
   Lucas said while young people seem more accepting of ethnic difference, there are still ways they can work to eradicate racism and discrimination.
   “My wish for young people is that they grow in acceptance, especially with new immigrants,” said Lucas. “The bias against foreigners, new Americans, is very widespread. I hope that we all grow in a desire for understanding and see how much more alike we are than we are different.”
    If young people are exposed to racism and/or discrimination, they should use the experience as a positive tool – a motivator to do well in their lives and commit themselves to make a difference for change.
   “Let it become your motivator to strive for excellence,” Shareef said.
  Anyone interested in signing up for the Stand Against Racism can do so at www.standagainstracism.org until Friday. Interested persons may also call the YWCA of Niagara at 716-433-6714 or the YWCA of the Tonawandas at 716-692-5580.
 

   The YWCA of Niagara's Niagara Award: A Tribute to Women will be held at 6 p.m. Sept. 28 at The Conference Center-Niagara Falls. Applications for nomination are available on the Carolyn's House website by clicking below. Nomination forms may also be obtained at the YWCA of Niagara, 32 Cottage St., Lockport.
  "It will be more exciting than ever. We will have a mystery guest speaker who is nationally known," said Kathleen Granchelli, CEO of the YWCA of Niagara.
   The co-chairs for this year's event are Jane Schroeder and Flora McKenzie, members of the YWCA of Niagara Board of Directors. In 2009, 32 women were nominated in eight categories that include Education, Entrepreneur, Front Line, Health and Human Services, Management, Public Service, Youth and Lifetime Achievement.
   For more information on the Niagara Awards: A Tribute to Women, call 716-433-6714.

Download Nomination Form

The Culinary Arts vocational class at Carolyn's House will feature its monthly luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. August 17 at Carolyn's House, 542 6th St., Niagara Falls.

 The menu will feature fresh spinach salad with hot bacon, turkey with peach stuffing, mashed potatoes, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce, peach cobbler, fresh brewed Columbian coffee, decaffeinated coffee and specialty teas with fresh lemons and honey. The cost of the August lunch is $10 per person. All proceeds support the culinary arts program.

 Reservations are appreciated. Space is limited. To make reservations, call 278-9662, Ext. 10.