Kyle needed a few accommodations to really feel at home in class. With a little help from his teachers and social workers from Newark Day Center, Kyle was able to make the most out of his time at school. Now, he is on track to prepare for grade school.
Every child is unique and has different needs when it comes to their development. Our partner, Newark Day Center, helps families and kids succeed in the early years through supports, programs and training.
Learn more about their fantastic work at holidayfund.org
Families faced so much change and uncertainty during the back-to-school season. That’s why JFS sent out packages filled with tools to help students calm their mind and promote self-awareness.
“For children who enjoy art, the process of drawing and creating can be powerful. Listening to music or writing in a journal can help children explore their feelings. Fidget toys and stress balls can help reduce anxiety and improve focus. There are so many different ways to calm our minds and bodies.”
These small but powerful tools go a long way towards developing kids’ mindfulness skills, which will help reduce anxiety, strengthen self-control, improve sleep, and increase positivity and self-esteem.
“Through support received at Family Service League, Ms. Devlin has been able to process the pain she experienced, both physical and emotional, from the abuse she experienced as a child and as a vulnerable adult.”
“Now, Ms. Devlin can live independently, has engaged in educational activities that keep her grounded, and has been able to do part-time work despite the physical pain she sometimes experiences. She also can connect with her creativity, which gives her a sense of accomplishment and gratification.”
Your donation changes the lives of many others like Ms. Devlin. Learn how you can help at holidayfund.org
Lamont Rouse recently completed the Building Trades Specialist program at New Community Career & Technical Institute. He was a very hands-on student and wanted to get out in the field quickly.
Today, Rouse is part of his union’s three-year apprenticeship program and has his own construction business to have work in between union jobs.
He said, “Coming out, I had an opportunity that I wouldn’t have had going in. It was a success.”
Reunification programs at Family Connections empower parents to build up the skills needed to raise their children well.
For Isabelle, who was young and unexperienced, caring for her 2 adopted children with special needs proved to be far more difficult than she ever expected.
Here is her full story:
“I was raised in an emotionally abusive household. Then I married a man who was just like my father. We adopted our kids from the Ukraine when they were 15 months and 18 months old. It turned out both of them had pretty serious special needs.
At the same time that I was separating from my husband, we were charged with abuse and neglect and the State took the kids away. Stuff had happened that shouldn’t have happened. I wasn’t a strong person. The best thing was that they took my kids and got me to Family Connections.
When I got there, nobody else had believed I’d ever get my kids back. But I never missed a meeting and I learned to trust the counselors. They helped me learn things about myself. Every baby step of progress I made, they were there to cheer me on. They gave me my strength back.
I learned you have to take care of yourself first before you can take care of your kids. Now, for the first time, I’m really enjoying life and enjoying my kids. I’m capable of taking care of them in a calm way, even though they have very special needs.
I have great family and friends. And I have Family Connections. When I have a bad day, I talk to my supports and I just keep climbing up the hill. There’s not a day goes by that I don’t remember what it was like when I didn’t have my kids. So whatever I have to do to help them, I just do it. And the bottom line is, we’re together. And as long as we keep talking to each other and trusting each other, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.”
Have you gone to camp as a child? If so, you’ll know how much camps can make a difference for a young person.
One only has to hear the laughter of children swimming in a lake, hear them whisper to one another around the campfire that they don’t want to sing one more round of “Boom Chika Boom,” see them eagerly line up for my famous sloppy Joe or share in an anger management life skills group about how good it feels to know that they can be angry and to figure out the right way to act to believe that residential camping, day camp, or home stays are a crucial and important part in the improvement of a child’s quality of life.
says Sharon Baldwin-Montgomery, founder and executive director of Camp Winonah
Send more inner city kids in New Jersey to camp by giving generously to the Greater Newark Holiday Fund, which supports the Fresh Air Fund.
Sussex County has a high unemployment rate of 13.4%. When the pandemic hit last year, it rose to 17%. Among the unemployed are senior workers who face additional barriers to getting hired.
With the Urban League’s help, they enhance their skills and rebuild their job history through community service positions. And 90% of the program participants have kept their jobs beyond their placement period!
“What began at age 12 as sneaking beer with his friends had become, two decades later, a physical dependency.
Typically an outgoing, insightful person, Erick had become isolated and depressed when he was in active addiction.
One night, he was arrested as part of Operation Helping Hand, a law enforcement initiative in which officers play an active role in connecting individuals suffering from opioid addiction with treatment, recovery and support services.
At the police station, Erick spoke to Maria Alvarez, who said to him ‘This is what it’s like now, and this is what it can be.’
Erick says that his arrest was the push he needed to begin the process of recovery,
Erick entered a detox facility and then residential treatment. The program was highly structured, and Erick responded well to the intensive treatment. After he completed the program, he moved to New York and started rebuilding his life.
He is still in touch with Maria, and says they’ve built a trusting relationship and a friendship.”
When you give to Greater Newark Holiday Fund, you are a part of recovery, rebuilding, and second chances.
Your donation can make 10x the impact for families and communities in the greater Newark area. One gift is distributed among 10 reputable social service agencies who provide counseling, feeding and educational programs for the most vulnerable in their communities.
Would you give generously to the Greater Newark Holiday Fund?
