NAC Newsletter - New Alternatives for Children

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Also in June, Morgan Stanley volunteers took NAC kids to the Bronx Zoo for a ... Stanley that NAC is able to give our ki
NAC new alternatives for children, inc.

NEWS

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fall 2017

Corporate Partnership We are so lucky to have such great corporate partners! In August, NAC kids participated in a fabulous, fun-filled day of activities at the Integral Ad Science headquarters in New York. They built dream homes out of LEGOS, received backpacks stuffed with school supplies, and had a blast with face painting and balloon animals. Each child also received a gift from the Toy Foundation, which supplied $10,000 worth of toys for the event. We are tremendously grateful to CEO Scott Knoll and all of the Integral Ad Science employees for hosting such a wonderful event. It is always a pleasure working with NAC. Their continued commitment to providing services and support to the children and their families is why we chose to sponsor a LEGO Day for them. Not only were we able to provide a day of activities, toys, and school supplies, but our company built a stronger sense of camaraderie and compassion. It reminded me of how fortunate I am to be the leader of an organization filled with great people.





-Scott Knoll, CEO Integral Ad Science

You are invited

HONORING ALEX GORSKY

NAC 35th ANNIVERSARY GALA BENEFIT

Chairman & CEO Johnson & Johnson

Thursday, November 2

6:30PM COCKTAILS Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda Rotunda

American Musem of Natural History

7:30PM DINNER & AUCTION

Purchase tickets: nackidscan.org/benefit

Milstein Hall of Ocean Life

Summer Fun at NAC

It was such a fun summer for our NAC kids! We offered over 20 different groups and activities to keep NAC kids busy and active over the summer and helped to send over 100 NAC kids to sleep away and day camps. We kicked the summer off with our annual NAC Kids Olympics at Chelsea Piers in June. NAC kids enjoyed a day of soccer, baseball, basketball, dancing, and face painting. , Our favorite part was the high five line at the end, where every child received a gold medal. Thank you to our Young Professionals and Junior Board for sponsoring this great day! Also in June, Morgan Stanley volunteers took NAC kids to the Bronx Zoo for a day of exploring and learning. It is through partnerships with companies like Morgan Stanley that NAC is able to give our kids the “extra” experiences that allow them to have fun and just be kids for a day. In July we hosted our first ever NAC Summer Social at Smash Studios in Manhattan. Our teens danced the night away, sang karaoke, and even formed an impromptu band! The Inkwell Foundation hosted several art workshops for NAC kids over the summer, with the favorite being the animations workshop! You can see just how talented NAC kids are by viewing their super cool animation videos on our Facebook page here: facebook.com/nackidscan. Our Reading and Growing Together program was also hit this summer. Each week NAC kids read a new book about plants, learned how plants grow, made tasty and nutritious snacks, and even took a trip to the New York Botanical Garden. The summer seemed to fly by, and before we knew it, it was time for our Back to School Giveaway! Thank you to all the companies who donated backpacks and school supplies for NAC kids: Time Inc., Jet Blue, High Water Women, Kohl’s, Skadden, and Grey Group. At a special Back to School day, NAC kids picked out their own backpacks filled with school supplies, and spent the day doing crafts, playing games on our computers, choosing books to take home, and picking out new clothes. We had such a fun summer, and the kids were outfitted and ready for the new school year!

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Adoptions Congratulations to all of our adoptees and their families! When foster care is done right, the trajectory of a child’s life can be changed forever for the better. It is NAC’s mission that every child in foster care is adopted or reunified safely with his or her birth family as quickly as possible. We are happy to have already celebrated 12 adoptions this year, including three children with cerebral palsy who require wheelchairs,

five children who are members of sibling groups and were adopted together, and four teenagers. Every adoption at NAC is celebrated with special adoption party where everyone from the NAC team of social workers, doctors, nurses, therapists, and education specialists celebrate with the children and their extended adoptive family and friends. At 17-year-old Justin’s adoption party, new adoptive mom Anita proudly beamed, “I can’t believe this day is here. Now I am just mommy.” NAC’s dedicated social work team continues to work around the clock to make sure every NAC child has a forever family.

College Bound NAC's College Bound Program is growing! Collaborating with NAC social workers, the College Bound Specialists provided support, advocacy, and resources to over 200 youth ages 13 and up. Specialists helped 8th graders apply for high school, disengaged students re-enroll and persist in school, and seniors apply to and enroll in college. From individual tutoring to college visits, College Bound youth were on the move toward achieving their dreams! We have had so many success stories this year! Current college students continued to make us proud, including freshmen Ana, who won grand prize in Represent magazine's annual Essay Contest for Youth in Care and Ashley, who passionately advocated for youth in care to the City Council at Foster Youth Shadow Day. High School senior Chris so impressed an FIT professor he was taking a class with, that the professor offered him private animation lessons, free of charge! College Bound youth also had the opportunity to once again create resumes and hone their interview skills at NAC's third-annual Explore Your Future Day sponsored by Goldman

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Members of our the NAC College Bound program visit Washington D.C.

Sachs. The highlight of the year, however, was when seven NAC youth traveled to Washington D.C. for two days of touring colleges and visiting historic monuments. This was the first time any of the teens had been to Washington D.C. or out of state. We are also proud to announce that eight students are starting college this fall, including two who, without NAC's advocacy, would have been placed in programs for the intellectually disabled and been unable to graduate. As part of our Louis Lipschitz Education Fund, all graduating high school seniors were given laptops, school supplies, and dorm furnishings to help them succeed as they take on exciting new challenges in college!

Announcing NAC’s first ever Junior Board! Members are encouraged to think big about innovative solutions to aid the organization, create and coordinate fundraising and volunteer activities, and involve and mentor future candidates. Are you interested in joining? Learn more here: nackidscan.org/juniorboard

The NAC Junior Board hosts Night for NAC

Art of the Spectrum As part of our new Vivian & Roger Farah Comprehensive Healthcare Center, NAC implemented an Autism Spectrum Disorder program late last year. The program, which provides myriad opportunities for kids on the autism spectrum to develop social and communication skills, offers group programming as well as individual therapy. The children participating in the program also have access to NAC’s wider recreation offerings, and benefit from educational services such as tutoring and homework help. To further support these wonderful kids, a monthly workshop assists their parents in developing skills they can use at home. Program Coordinator Maureen O’Grady, Board Certified and NY State Licensed Behavior Analyst, makes sure that all program activities facilitate and reinforce appropriate conversational give-and-take such as greeting groupmates, asking for help, taking turns, cooperating, and seeing another’s point of view. Older teens engage in thoughtful discussions about what it means to be ‘on the spectrum,’ and are very supportive of one another. The program culminated for the summer with a special art exhibit, the Art of the Spectrum, that allowed children to showcase their artistic talents. Each child created a self-portrait and card about themselves, which they proudly shared with everyone who attended the exhibit. And most importantly, all the kids felt comfortable being social and can’t wait until the next event.

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