SPRING 2014 · VOL. 08 · NO. 01 From the President and CEORemember your first summer job?

Wasn’t it great to feel grown up and starting your career… cashing your

first check… deciding how to spend (or save) your own money?

As much as you enjoyed the cash, you also pocketed some valuable experiences that influenced you for a lifetime: You gained a first-hand taste of the real world, glimpses into various fields open to you, an introduction to mentors and an understanding of why education is so important.

Summer jobs and internships, coupled with meaningful learning experiences, lead to personal growth. And they are especially beneficial for the low-income teenagers that CAMBA serves, who too often lack entry into the job market.

That’s why CAMBA builds work opportunities into so many of our programs for teens, from our Learning to Work program for high school students, to Summer Youth Employment jobs, to our Beacon Centers, which hire young people as they develop leadership skills.

To meet the employment demand for more of our young people who seek a productive summer in 2014, CAMBA has launched our first annual Earn and Learn Fund. This campaign seeks support to create paid, meaningful internships for 25 qualified high school students and reaches out to companies to provide paid summer internships.

Turn to page 3 to meet some CAMBA students who’ve benefited from summer internships and let them tell you how these opportunities transformed their lives.

Please consider reaching into your pocket or asking your company to help a young person Earn and Learn this summer. You will change the trajectory of a young life!

Ronald had a hard life: He was estranged from his mother, lived on the streets, dropped out of school. That’s why he beams now when he reports that his 16-year-old daughter Felicia was named “Student of the Month,” made the honor roll and aspires to become a lawyer.

CAMBA Keeps Families Together

Against all odds, Ronald has become a successful parent—thanks to his unwavering determination, hard work, help from Case Manager Nicola Wills at CAMBA’s Myrtle Avenue supportive housing residence and a pilot project called Keeping Families Together (KFT).

Ronald and Felicia’s struggles embody some of the most challenging issues that confront families whose children are at risk of foster care placement. Felicia, who never knew her mom, rotated through homeless shelters as her dad fought to hold a job—and hold on to custody.

Their lives changed when the Corporation for Supportive Housing, Robert Wood Johnson and CAMBA implemented a new model program at the Myrtle Avenue Apartments in Bedford-Stuyvesant. This unique program provided extensive wrap-

Nicola Wills of CAMBA, left, with Felicia and her father Ronald

around services that ensured Ronald and his daughter remained together and thriving: safe housing, access to health care, counseling, legal services, job assistance, benefits, education, parenting classes—whatever they needed.

After the KFT pilot ended, Nicola says that CAMBA modeled services for all 11 families living in the Myrtle Avenue Apartments on this initiative—with impressive success rates.

“We’ve been fortunate in so many things,” Ronald says. “Nicola is what makes this program work so well,” he adds. “If you go to her and say ‘I need this,’ she is always ready to help.”

After life in a shelter, Felicia says she feels safe at Myrtle Avenue. “I’m comfortable in this building and I have friends here.”

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Thank You! We salute the following donors for your generous support (Dec. 1, 2013 – Feb. 28, 2014):CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION DONORS

For news and updates, visit CAMBA.org.

KATHERINE O’NEILL Chairwoman

CHRISTOPHER ZARRA Vice Chairman

REV. DANIEL RAMM Secretary/ Treasurer

JULIA BEARDWOOD

MATTHEW W. BOTWIN

PAUL GALLIGAN

TERENCE KELLEHER

ALLAN F. KRAMER II

BERNARDO MAS

MICHAEL ROSS

DAVID H. SCHULTZ

MOLLY WILKINSON

Board of Directors

CAMBA is a non-profit agency that provides services that connect

people with opportunities to enhance their quality of life.IN-KIND DONORS

INDIVIDUAL DONORS

Advantage Testing, Inc.Amazon Services LLCAmeriprise Financial ServicesBP Elevator Co.Citizens for LentolCorner News MediaDP Group General Contractors and Developers Inc.Dunn Development Co.Fidelity Charitable

Franciscan Sisters of the PoorGroupe SanglierHeidell, Pittoni, Murphy & Bach, LLPIGiveKord ConsultingLoralei Bed & Breakfast /Loralei LTDMadison Security GroupMaimonides Medical Center

Park Slope Parents, LLCRaich Ende Malter & Co. LLPResurrection BrooklynRidgewood Savings BankRY ManagementSchmutter, Strull, Fleisch Inc.TD Charitable FoundationThe Edouard Foundation, Inc.The F.B. Heron Foundation

The Parkside GroupTime Warner Inc.United Neighborhood Houses of New YorkUrban Architectural Initiatives, RA, P.C.Wells Fargo Bank. N.A.Wells Fargo FoundationWellSpring Advisors

Robert AitchisonClaudia AlbertKyle AncowitzKeenya AndersonAgnes AzzaraGregory BangserVanessa BasoraRobert J. and Pamela BassJonathan BerkRobert BerneDavid BixbyDaniel BodahMaryJane BolandPamela BoothDavid Firestone and Susan BrennaMichele BurkeRebecca CalamarEmily CampbellWill CarloughBeverly CheuvrontJahanara ChowdhuryMark ChungSonia ClarkeMary Jo CullinanDany CunninghamKimberly CunninghamMartin and Virginia DalyThomas and Jennifer DambaklySherry DavisJoel A. Siegel and Maria DeutscherJose DiazKara Donaldson

Meredith DrosJoy ElliottNeil FalconeEllen FarrellGregory and Catherine FarrellElizabeth FisherLana FolkRobert Buckholz and Lizanne FontaineKatherine GallagherShane GasteyerAndrea GermanettiMelissa GindinJessica GoldbergJanelle GooleyVera GordonJonathan GraboyesIrmatrude GrantAdam GreenIan HalbwachsSharon HaynesJames HeinemanFoster HenryGabrielle HernandezIsabella HiigelKenneth HillmanHungFei HoEmily HochHeidemarie HooverSascha IngramRichard IsaacsonKaron JohnsonKathleen Jones

Judith KafkaNancy Kassim FarranHeather KetonAndrew KraftAnika LarsenShay LehmannChoichun LeungKathleen LewisJocelyn Lucas Barrett MansfieldChloe MayMarjorie McKenzieAndie Miller-ChanAnna MinzerRegina MitchellCharles MorrisKevin MuirSharon MyrieRobert NewmanMaureen O’Brien Michael O’BrienRuth O’BrienRobert OhlerkingJohn O’NeillMarilyn PalmeriClaire PaulClaribel PearceLee PearceRebecca PhillipsJose QuinonesFitz RobertsonVern Bergelin and Mary Ellen Ross

David RoweRachel SchnollNatasha Sealy-DorvelusThomas and Dayna SessaSusan SharerRussell SharmanKathryn SharpKirsten ShawErica SimsSamantha SlarskeySusan SolomonJoshua SucherVictor TellezJlyn ThomasHazel TishcoffMeaghan TrentacostJohn TsevdosLance TukellErica Turnipseed-WebbJoseph UlittoDino VeroneseDeirdre Von DornumCatherine WallachBenjamin WalshCourtney WalshBrigid WaltersLauren WardLucy WarringtonMolly WilkinsonKathleen WilsonKatherine YangZhi-Da Zhong

Neysa AlsinaAmerican Musical and Dramatic AcademyMichelle BabbBeardwood & Co. LLCRicky BenjaminJonathan BerkSarah BlockJanielle BoncyMegan BrackneyCaitlyn BrazillBrooklyn Commune LLCBuchbinder Tunick & Company LLPCeleste CharlesErnst and Lashan Cochy

Lora Dela RamaClaudia DymondDaniel EisenbergEpoch FilmsErasmus High SchoolEtsyEva Gentry ConsignmentMargaret FouliseChristine FoxJason FrazerGannett Dheeraj GilhotraJanelle GooleyMHW Ltd. Hyco FoodsImani Culinary & Event Services

Sarah JenkinsJenelle JonesKathy JonesCassandra LeogeneCassandre LeogeneMaryann MallonMs. George Children’s Kingdom Daycare CenterP.S. 114 P.S. 139P.S. 181P.S. 269James PalazzaChristine PasquarielloNatoya RamongJorin and Alexandra Reddish

Residents of the Pythian CondominiumJohann RohlehrSchool of Democracy and LeadershipMarina SlepakNormel SmithCrystal Stewart-ClarkeSUNY Downstate Medical CenterThe Bell HouseRuby TorregrosaSanura WeathersCregg WilliamsWinners ChurchInson WoodAlice Ann and Claire Zaslavsky

Mark Your CalendarJuly 24: A Night at the Ballpark with the Brooklyn Cyclones. (Watch for details.)

Oct. 30: Hold the date for CAMBA Casino Night Out. Our annual Gala will be at the glamorous Tribeca Three-Sixty this year.

May 4: CAMBA’s Healthy Way 5k Details and registration at

CAMBA.org/5kRace

Project of the YearCAMBA Gardens I, our newest supportive housing development, on the Kings County Hospital campus, was named “Project of the Year” by CSH. The award salutes the unique partnership with CAMBA, the Hospital and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation.

PHOTO: VANNI ARCHIVE

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CAMBA helps 45,000 New Yorkers every year.

BookUp Creates a New Generation of Bibliophiles

In this digital age of short attention spans, what could inspire an 11-year-old boy to develop “a craving for books?”

Jeremiah, a sixth-grader at Brooklyn’s Andries Hudde Junior High School, will tell you: It’s BookUp.

“BookUp is a kind of book club for little people,” says prize-winning poet John Murillo, who teaches a dozen budding bookworms weekly in this program designed and funded by the National Book Foundation.

BookUp is part of CAMBA ExTRA, a unique extended school-day program that gives Hudde’s sixth-grade students supplemental tutoring and educational opportunities after the regular dismissal bell rings. It is funded by The After School Corporation (TASC), in partnership with CAMBA, Harvard EdLabs and New York City’s Department of Education.

“I signed up for BookUp because I have a craving for books,” says Jeremiah. “I noticed the people teaching it were really nice. They let you read and get your feelings out.”

Jeremiah has not been disappointed. Taught by published authors from their

CAMBA’s Earn and Learn Fund Gives Teens Paid Summer InternshipsAs a teenager, Pavereesh (Pav) Seepersaud was fortunate to have a summer internship. He worked as a mechanic’s assistant at an East New York police precinct, fixing emergency vehicles, repairing flashing lights, even taking test drives.

It was an enviable job for a teenage boy. But for Pav, the best part was gaining a valuable career insight: Mechanics, Pav learned, was not for him. He realized he is much happier working with people than with inanimate objects.

Pav spent the next summer as a camp counselor at CAMBA Beacon 269—an experience that opened a whole new career path. Now Pav works part-time at the Beacon and attends Kingsborough Community College, preparing for a career in physical education.

“I learned that I’m a people person. I like to work with people and communicate,” Pav says. “I really enjoy working with kids, and I’ve found my calling!”

Studies show that early work experiences help people obtain better and higher-paying jobs. Gaining real-world skills and experiencing a variety of industries and tasks helps young people like Pav set realistic career goals.

That’s why CAMBA has launched its new Earn and Learn Fund, to give more low-income Brooklyn teens the opportunity for a productive summer. The fund’s goal: to support meaningful, paid summer internships for 25 young people this summer.

For these teens, a summer internship will be transformative: introducing them to the demands of work, inspiring them to

Pavereesh (Pav) Seepersaud

communities, BookUp encourages kids to choose the books they want to read. BookUp pays for the books, and every student gets to keep them.

Four times a year, students go on field trips to a library, bookstore and restaurant. On each trip, BookUp gives students $25 to buy books of their choice, which they can keep. These trips reward and encourage students to read, expose them to cultural and literary institutions outside their neighborhoods and enable them to build personal libraries—which is especially valuable for low-income kids who often have a dearth of books at home.

Murillo says he challenges BookUp kids with sophisticated concepts, in terms they understand. He is assisted by CAMBA staffer and poet Simba McCray, who

Jeremiah, top right, works with teacher Simba McCray, while Kyle reads “Boxers and Saints.”

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aim for college and careers and giving them the opportunity to form new connections and networks outside of their communities.

CAMBA is asking businesses to provide paid internships that include constructive learning opportunities. CAMBA staff will screen the teens and provide support throughout the summer.

We also are raising $30,000 in direct funding to ensure that at least 25 teens have paid internships this summer.

Debbie Louis, a member of CAMBA’s Junior Board, is an enthusiastic spokesperson for Earn and Learn Fund.

A native of Haiti, her immigrant parents worked hard: Debbie’s father drove a taxi and her mother, who held two jobs, begged her to aim for a medical career.

But a summer job at one of CAMBA’s Beacon community centers transformed her. Debbie discovered that she loved organizing events and programs, and this led her to form her own image consulting business, A La Mode. She is now working on her masters in Industrial Organizational Psychology and aiming for a Ph.D.

“My mother still wants me to be a doctor. I tell her that I will be a doctor—just not the medical kind,” she laughs.“I believe that all young people should have the opportunities I’ve had,” Debbie adds. “That’s why I support Earn and Learn.”

observes that “I saw kids who aren’t fluent in English improve in their reading over the course of the program.”

Kyle, 11, says that BookUp “helps me improve my reading skills.” His books are hand-me-downs, so he values the ability to choose his own. “Now I have my own collection of books I will be able to pass down to my relatives or to my own kids.”

Christie Hodgkins, CAMBA’s VP of Education and Youth Development, notes that “at the middle school level, kids are losing interest in reading. BookUp gets them excited about reading. CAMBA strives to inspire a love of reading across all our school-based programs, thanks to partners like the National Book Foundation.”

“BOOKUP…” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

“CAMBA’S EARN AND LEARN FUND” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 Help a Teen Earn and

Learn This SummerPlease help CAMBA give a summer of earning and learning. You can provide a paid internship or support funding for an internship for a low-income teen.

Go to CAMBA.org/EarnLearn for details and to donate securely online.

For more information, email Claudia Dymond at claudiad@camba.org or call (718) 287 – 2600 x20321.

Help give 25 young people meaningful internships this summer.

Hadiyah, 10, earned a first-place trophy in CAMBA Beacon 271’s annual Battle of the Boroughs archery tournament, which drew more than 100 youth this year.