We are gearing up for the 2014 Casa Valentina Community Appreciation Luncheon, which takes place in just 10 days.

This annual event celebrates the partners, donors, and volunteers who make our work possible – and make a difference in the lives of our residents every day.

We are planning a terrific program, which will be both enlightening and educational.

We will present awards to several organizations and individuals who have helped us to succeed this year. These include the wonderful groups who deliver meals to our residents for their weekly life skills workshops, and the many people who helped with our recent renovations to our apartments and our community room.

Staff will provide an update on our program, and our residents will share their accomplishments. It is incredibly moving to experience their pride and share their success.

The Keynote Address will be delivered by Ms. Leticia Peguero, Executive Director of the Andrus Family Fund and the Andrus Family Philanthropy Program.

Ms. Peguero has more than 18 years of experience in social justice programming and philanthropy work. She has served as Regional Vice President for the Posse Foundation, Deputy Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Local Funding Partnerships, Manager of Community Relations for the YWCA of the City of New York, and Associate Director of Adult Education at Planned Parenthood of New York City. She is a graduate of the National Urban Fellows, and a Board member of the NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault. She holds a B.A. from Fordham University and graduated with honors from the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College with a Masters in Public Administration.

It promises to be a great event! Please contact us at [email protected] for more information or to register.

A recent publication from the Child Welfare Information Gateway aims to provide foster parents with the tips and tools they need to help youth in their care transition successfully to adulthood.

Organized as a series of factsheets, the Guide addresses: building supportive relationships and connections; managing money; pursuing educational and vocational opportunities; finding and maintaining employment; securing housing; maintaining health and wellness; exploring identity and culture; and developing life skills.

Research and experience with this population shows that youth are more likely to succeed if they are exposed to: close relationships with caring adults, such as foster parents; high expectations; and opportunities for positive contributions and recognition through participation in extracurricular activities, church groups, etc.

Foster parents are in a unique position to help the youth in their care prepare for a successful future, by helping them create a transition plan and build the skills they need to carry it out. Some tips from the publication include:

Empower youth to make decisions.
Communicate high expectations and recognize success.
Encourage youth to develop peer support networks through participation in group activities with youth who have had similar experiences.
Use everyday “teachable moments” to provide lessons about smart shopping, paying bills, and saving for long-term goals.
Talk with youth about their educational goals, how their goals fit with their talents and job interests, possible barriers to achieving their goals, and next steps.
Support youth in gaining firsthand experience through volunteer activities, job shadowing, technical classes that increase skills, internships and apprenticeships, or entry-level jobs.
Promote a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle and involve youth in meal preparation and physical exercise.
Assist youth in gathering medical records that list past health-care provider names, major illnesses and conditions, medications taken, immunizations and family medical history.
Expose youth to experiences and interests that will build self-confidence.
Discuss expectations for adult behavior, and model such behavior.

It is a terrific resource for foster parents or anyone helping young people build a foundation for a successful transition to adult life.

You can read the full report here.

Casa Valentina resident RD is spending her summer at Dade Legal Aid – but she’s not accessing legal services. She is interning as an office assistant!

In this capacity, she manages paperwork and work flow, and interfaces with Legal Aid clients. Her fluency in Creole has been a great asset. She has been serving as the translator and key liaison for all Creole-speaking clients.

We are so proud of her hard work, and we thank Dade Legal Aid for giving RD an opportunity to gain valuable work skills.

Our Program Director, Natalia Giordano, said: “This has been a great experience and opportunity for (RD) to develop professional skills and to gain exposure to a new field of work. She is really enjoying being a resource for her Haitian community as she is the only Creole speaker in the office. (RD) is a friendly, responsible and caring young woman who is loving her chance to be able to help.”