April 2013 April showers may bring May flowers, but April also brought some new and exciting programs to the American Family Inns. Students from the Stephen Gaynor School visited the Prospect Family Inn Early Childhood Education Center, sharing stories, songs, and games. Thanks to Kidcare, the Saratoga Family Inn Early Childhood Education Center enjoyed a special performance by magician Bob Conrad. Young people at the Saratoga also had enthusiastic visitors from Hofstra University, who participated in one-on-one story time. Students from the Nightingale-Bamford School helped the boys and girls from the Clinton Family Inn complete spring-themed crafts! Members of the CUNY Creative Arts Team held a special storytelling session with the Williamsbridge Early Childhood Education Center. Volunteers from the Changing the Odds Program returned to spend time with school-aged children at the Williamsbridge Family Inn, playing board games, coloring, and reading books. Children from the After School Program at the Prospect Family Inn had the opportunity to attend Columbia Business School's Spring Carnival. While Saratoga Peewees kicked off their season with Rosedale Little League, Futurelink participants at the Prospect ended their season of chess with a first-place plaque at the final Chess in Schools Tournament.
March 2013 March began with a trip to the theater, as preschool students from the Williamsbridge and Clinton Family Inns visited the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College to see the Little Orchestra Society's performance of Meet the Maestro. Adult residents at the Clinton Family Inn attended a financial literacy workshop led by employees of First Republic Bank and sponsored by NY Cares. Adult-education participants at the Prospect are in the midst of a series of financial literacy workshops taught by longtime partner the Credit Advocate Counseling Corp. Students from Prospect Family Inn After School Program took a cultural excursion to Flamingo Dance Studio to learn basic steps in salsa dancing, sponsored by NY Cares Urban Adventures. The University of Wisconsin-Madison sent students on an Alternative Breaks Trip to New York City during the last week in March to volunteer their services with HFH. Various projects included: assisting staff in Saratoga Early Childhood Education Center, hosting a college info session for FutureLink students at the Prospect, and leading an Easter egg dying activity with school-aged children at the Williamsbridge.
February 2013 This February kicks off a series of special activities at our American Family Inns. Second and third graders at the Saratoga After School Program began interactive lessons that make science fun with Mad Science of Long Island, sponsored by partner Kidcare. The Saratoga Early Childhood Education Center will also be busy with a trip to the Long Island Puppet Theater later this month. Yogi Beans Yoga returns to the Clinton Family Inn to begin a 12-week session that teaches school-aged children about peace of body and mind. NY Cares Mom’s Club continues weekly at the Clinton Family Inn, giving mothers a chance to discuss parenting concerns as well as everyday challenges. Futurelink Afterschool students at the Prospect Family Inn will also enjoy weekly yoga lessons through the Lineage Project. And volunteers from the Changing to Odds Program resume their after school activities with school-aged children at the Williamsbridge Family Inn this month.
January 2013 This January, Clinton Family Inn children and mothers continue their weekly visits to the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. The Clinton also holds New York Cares Play and Read one evening per week for children through 10 years old. Homes for the Homeless welcomes students from the University of Wisconsin as they volunteer a week of their time assisting staff at the Williamsbridge and Saratoga Family Inns. High School Students from Temple Israel will visit the Saratoga to plant indoor seedlings in preparation for the children’s garden. The Prospect Family Inn After School Program will go rock climbing with New York Cares Urban Adventures. In addition, Prospect middle and high school students will compete in the Chess in the Schools Rookie Chess Tournament.
December 2012 NY Road Runner’s Dashing Whippets volunteered their time wrapping gifts for children at all of our American Family Inns. Children from our Prospect, Clinton, and Williamsbridge Family Inn early childhood education centers visited the Chapin School, as well as the Bank of Tokyo for holiday festivities. Kidcare hosted the Prospect After School Program for their annual holiday party andgift giving. Good Fellaz Auto Club surprised young children from the Williamsbridge Family Inn with a visit from Santa. Children at the Clinton Family Inn took a yoga lesson with Yogi Beans, learning about stretching and their muscles. Magician Bob Conrad visited the Saratoga and Clinton Early Childhood Education Centers for a special holiday performance. Children from Saratoga Family Inn After School Program attended the Hofstra for the Holidays party for children at the beginning of December and I Am a Kid that Gives and the St. Albans Lions Club were just two groups to visit the Saratoga Family Inn to spread some holiday cheer.
November 2012 This November, Williamsbridge Family Inn children continued their weekly visits with the Changing the Odds Program. The Saratoga Family Inn welcomed the organization Watch Over Me who presented a time management workshop to adults. Members of the 7th grade Mitzvah Corps at Temple Israel also visited the Saratoga to help children in the after school program complete Thanksgiving baskets to be donated to Calvary Senior Center. Students from the Nightingale-Bamford School visited young children from the Clinton Family Inn, completing aturkey-themed arts and crafts project. On Thanksgiving eve, Temple Emanu-El welcomed families from the Clinton to their annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Children from the Prospect Family Inn After School Program kept busy by visiting Columbia Business School for their Annual Holiday Party for Kids.
October 2012 Our American Family Inns welcome back many long-term partners this October. Middle school students from Temple Emanu-El will help complete fall arts and crafts projects with children at the Clinton, Williamsbridge, and the Prospect Family Inns. The Prospect will kick off their seventh series of Financial Literacy Workshops with Credit Advocate Counseling Corp. In response to National Fire Safety Week, children at the Williamsbridge will learn about fire safety with a member of the FDNY. Young children from the Saratoga Early Childhood Education Center will head to White Post Farms on Long Island to pick pumpkins, while the Williamsbridge Early Childhood Education Center will visit Harven Moon Orchard to pick apples. The Prospect after school program will also partake in this fall-themed activity to go apple picking during a NY Cares Urban Adventurers trip. Adults at the Prospect will learn to navigate the web with information sessions provided by the Fast Track Program. The Changing The Odds program will offer six sessions of activities for school-aged children at the Williamsbridge, all conducted by high school students, while the Clinton welcomes back student volunteers from the Nightingale-Bamford School for their monthly enrichment activity in our Clinton Early Childhood Education Center. October will wrap up with the annual afternoon of Halloween Trick-or-Treating for our youngest residents, hosted by the Bank of Tokyo.
September 2012 It's back to school for the children, and we are grateful to donors like the Brooke Jackman Foundation, Operation Backpack, and other community partners for providing us with school supplies for distribution at all four facilities. High school students from Winston Prep spent the day volunteering at the Saratoga this month, repainting our flower mural and helping weed the Children's garden. Children from the Futurelink After School program at the Prospect took part in the "Chess-in-the-Parks" chess tournament in Central Park. New York Cares supports two activities at the Clinton this month, including Mom's Club, offering mothers a support group to share parenting advice, and Play and Read, an evening activity for young children. Boys from the Saratoga have kicked off flag football this September with partner DePhilips Athletic Club, and are hoping for a successful season.
August 2012 The Prospect Family Inn Summer Enrichment Program kicked August off on a great foot with a trip to Green Meadows Farm in Queens. The group is also learning to play tennis, softball and chess this summer. They will also visit the New York Botanical Gardens, as will our Saratoga Family Inn Summer Enrichment Program as part of their Children's Gardening activities. The Saratoga Family Inn Summer Enrichment program will enjoy some fun recreation, going ice-skating at United Skates on Long Island, and enjoying a New York Liberty game at the Prudential Center. Parents and children at our Clinton Family Inn are keeping busy with New York Cares programming, Mom's Club and Art Explorer's respectively. Our early childhood education centers are also enjoying exploring local attractions: the Prospect Early Childhood Education Center visited the Children's Museum of Manhattan and while the Saratoga Early Childhood Education Center visited the Long Island Children's Museum. Wrapping up our August field trips are children from Williamsbridge Family Inn visiting the Bronx Zoo with their teachers and parents. And Homes for the Homeless is excited to welcome two large groups of volunteers to the Saratoga Family Inn from St. John's University and Hofstra University towards the end of August.
July 2012
As temperatures across New York City reach summer highs, our children and families continue to participate in a wide variety of activities. Children in the Prospect Summer Enrichment Program kicked off the month with a field trip to the Little Shop of Crafts, sponsored and attended by the law firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP. The Prospect Early Childhood Education Center also held their Moving Up Ceremony celebrating the children entering kindergarten this fall. Parents at the Prospect will keep busy throughout July by attending the Planned Parenthood Adult Role Models workshops, which teaches parents how to engage their children, keep open lines of communication, and share their values about sexuality, and healthy relationships. Watch Over Me, a non-profit that helps parents learn how to better manage their time, will hold workshops at the Williamsbridge, Prospect and Clinton Family Inns. The Clinton Family Inn will kick-off its special summer programming, Art Explorers with New York Cares for the young children at the facility, in mid-July. The Saratoga PeeWee's will take in a major league game with team sponsors KidCare after another successful season of t-ball. HFH is happy to welcome back the Tepper Family, local NYC dentists, who will conduct dental hygiene workshops at each the Williamsbridge, Prospect, and Clinton Family Inns, as well as the St. John's Episcopal Church from McClean, Virginia who will be volunteering at the Prospect the fourth year in row. And we welcome The Medici Project, youth volunteers from Georgia, who will spend an afternoon holding a "fun hour" at the Williamsbridge Family Inn.
June 2012
As the school year winds down, the children in our Saratoga Early Childhood Education Center will hold their annual Moving Up Ceremony celebrating their classmates heading to Kindergarten in the fall. Homes for the Homeless continued its work with the CUNY Creative Arts Team this spring, holding workshops at the Prospect Family Inn for both students and adults. Each CUNY CAT session uses the dramatic arts to teach participants how to negotiate difficult social situations and emotions that often lead to conflict. Planned Parenthood NYC will also host adult education workshops at the Prospect Family Inn, offering their Adult Role Models program, a series of peer to peer workshops aiding parents in how to have conversations with their children about healthy relationships and sexuality. The Clinton Family Inn will host another New York Cares Book Club for mothers, reading a different short story during each of the 4 weeks. The Saratoga PeeWees continue their t-ball season, with help of partners and volunteers from KidCare, and children from the Prospect Family Inn will visit Governor's Island as part of New York Care Urban Adventurer's field trip.
May 2012 Our partnerships with area schools continue this month at all four of our American Family Inns. The Prospect will welcome students from the Fieldston School, while the Saratoga will hold community service days with the Winston Prep School and Eagle Academy in Queens. High school students from Halcombe-Rucker High School in the Bronx will visit the Williamsbridge for two days of outdoor fun. Young children at the Clinton will work with students from the Nightingale-Bamford School, and also visit the Studio School with children from the Williamsbridge to see the student play "Something Wonderful." Meanwhile, with the weather warming up, children will head outdoors. Boys and girls at the Saratoga, grades K–2, will practice for the upcoming T-Ball season with Rosedale Little League, while the After School Program will wrap up dance lessons with DanceStreet at a final performance on May 11. Both activities are sponsored by KidCare. The Saratoga is also looking forward to another planting season at the Children's Garden, so check back soon for our new garden blog! Teens at the Prospect will attend workshops on resolving social conflicts by the CUNY Creative Arts Team, and the After School Program will end the month with a trip to Rye Playland with New York Cares Urban Adventures. Finally, as we celebrate Mother's Day, CUNY will also visit the Clinton to kick off a new four-workshop series on parenting challenges in the 21st century.
April 2012 April showers won't dampen our busy schedule at the American Family Inns! At the Prospect After School Program, children will take part in meditation and yoga workshops with the Lineage Project on Thursdays, and later in the month, they will visit the TADA! Youth Theater with New York Cares Urban Adventurers. We will continue our strong partnerships with schools around New York City, as middle school students from the Stephen Gaynor School visit the Williamsbridge Early Childhood Education Center for three special lessons on shapes, colors, and animals, and students from the Nightingale-Bamford School visit the Clinton Early Childhood Education Center for the third time. The Saratoga Family Inn After School Program will take an unconventional field trip to a local supermarket with Queenborough Community College students, to purchase nutritious foods for a cooking activity on campus. Saratoga FutureLink students are also looking forward to a JobHop with partner KidCare. Adults are staying busy, too: Adults at the Saratoga will take part in workshops, including Workplace Etiquette and Skills, and a HIV/AIDS awareness Lunch'n'Learn, hosted by the Mt. Carmel Youth Development Corp. Saratoga staff will man a table at the HRA Community Awareness Day Fair at York College. At the Clinton Family Inn, parents will finish reading House on Mango Street and complete their session of New York Cares Book Club!
March 2012 As spring begins, children and adults can look forward to a month full of educational programming. Our friends from Temple Israel on Long Island visit the Saratoga Family Inn for a joint service project with our kindergarten–third graders, creating placemats and greeting cards for the NYC Meals on Wheels program, which provides meals to the homebound. In additional to regular afterschool programming with ART Start, New York Cares Team Green, and Columbia University, the Prospect Family Inn Early Childhood Education Center welcomes college volunteers from Brevard College in North Carolina and Indiana University for arts and crafts. Adults at the Clinton Family Inn will begin a four-week book club with New York Cares in mid-March, while adults at the Saratoga will participate in empowerment workshops with Zeta Phi Beta and domestic violence workshops with Delta Sigma Theta. At the end of the month, children from the Saratoga's early-childhood education center will head over to the Kupferberg Center for the Arts to see "Caps for Sale and Three Billy Goats Gruff."
February 2012 The shortest month of the year is shaping up to be an especially busy one at Homes for the Homeless! Representatives from the group Watch Over Me will visit the Clinton Family Inn to conduct a time-management workshop and distribute new watches and day planners to participants. Two “tween-lead” activities will bring some younger volunteers to the CFI, and as we prepare for Valentine’s Day, the children will decorate sugar cookies and make cards for their parents. Students from Temple Emanu-El will help residents the Clinton and Prospect Family Inns beautify their rooms with homemade picture frames and pillowcases. Volunteers from the New York Cares Urban Adventure Program will lead children from the PFI on a Stage Door Tour of Radio City Music Hall. Residents at the Saratoga Family Inn, meanwhile, will stay busy with visits to the Weeksville Heritage Center, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, and Queensborough Community College for a lesson on environmental science. At the end of the month, we'll welcome volunteers from the University of Michigan for four days. The volunteers will spend time at the Williamsbridge and Saratoga Family Inns for an hour of Book Buddiesand a college roundtable discussion.
January 2012 Activities at HFH's American Family Inns continue despite the chilly New York temperatures! January kicks off with a special field trip to the Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center, provided to the children at the Saratoga Family Inn by the NYC Department of Homeless Services. The Saratoga Family Inn will also hold a series of classes for new mothers about breastfeeding. The Prospect Family Inn Adult Education Program FastTrack will start a new round of financial literacy workshops with partner Credit Advocate Counseling Corp., while children in the Prospect Family Inn After School Program visit the the Manhattan Plaza Health Club to wall climb with New York Cares Urban Adventurer volunteers. Finally, after a brief break for the holidays our Clinton Family Inn programs at the Children's Museum of Manhattan and with New York Cares have resumed!
