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Holiday Gift Roundup
This holiday season, Forestdale has been blessed by the warmth of friends and neighbors in Queens and beyond. We are happy to report that this year’s gift drive broke our record, with over 1,000 toys donated for children in foster care, preventive services and other programs. With 2010 right around the corner, we want to send a special shout-out to this year’s holiday supporters:
- Our local churches. On Christmas Eve, the Revs. Russell Marquis and Darrell Fennell took on the role of Santa, depositing 18 overflowing bags of toys on behalf of the congregations of Amity Baptist Church, New Deliverance Baptist Church, Shiloh Baptist Church, Majority Baptist Church and St. Luke Cathedral, all in southeast Queens.
- Baby Buggy. The nonprofit founded by Jessica Seinfeld literally came through by the truckload, with bounteous donations of new toddler clothes and toys.
- Forest Hills High School. A group of high school seniors raised funds to buy ten boxes of brand-new gifts for infants and children. The gifts were distributed at Forestdale’s holiday party on December 10.
- The Hollis Lions Club. Club President Pearl Roberts-Parris stopped by to donate children’s clothing for the holidays.
- The Rego Park Lions Club. Club member Sher Sparano delivered more than 600 comic books and graphic novels for Forestdale’s budding bookworms. The Rego Park Lions are also the sponsors of Forestdale’s annual summer carnival.
- Andrew Hevesi. Our local assemblyman, who represents the 28th legislative district in the State Assembly, delivered over 50 toys on behalf of his office and staff.
- Foster Pride. Forestdale has a long relationship with Foster Pride, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free classes and workshops in the arts for children in foster care. On December 21, Noreen Treadway of Foster Pride visited Forestdale to donate bags of toys to the Holiday Toy Drive.
- The Brandeis Association, Hellenic Lawyers Association, Latino Lawyers Association, Queens Women’s Bar Association and Queens County Bar Association all pitched in beautiful toys on behalf of Queens lawyers.
- Barry Chafkin. This longtime Forestdale friend donated over a hundred Nets tickets for young sports fans at Forestdale.
- Itochu, Inc. The New York office of this Japanese multinational hosted a “Angel Tree” for its employees, who donated gifts in response to requests from 50 Forestdale kids.
- Administration for Children’s Services.
- West Side Tennis Club.
- And more!
Thank you, everyone, for making this a bright and fun-filled holiday for our kids.
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Fox 5 Coverage From Playground Build Day
Fox 5 Coverage from Playground Build Day
Click the link above to watch the coverage of our playground build day from Fox 5 News.
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Foster Pride Contributes to Toy Drive
Noreen Treadway of Foster Pride presents gifts to Forestdale's Rosemarie Ewing-James
On December 21, Noreen Treadway of Foster Pride visited Forestdale to donate bags of toys to the Holiday Toy Drive. Foster Pride is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free classes and workshops in the arts for children in foster care. To carry out its mission of helping foster children develop skills, express themselves through art, and gain self-confidence, Foster Pride has worked closely with Forestdale’s youth. Ms. Treadway presented Foster Pride’s donation to Robert Rogan, Forestdale’s Associate Executive Director and Rosemarie Ewing-James, Assistant Executive Director for Foster Care and Adoption.
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Holiday Message from the Executive Director
Dear Forestdale families and friends:
As the holiday approaches let us give thanks for our strong community of families, staff and board of directors. None of us has gone through the past year unscathed by the economic turmoil rattling the world. Forestdale families and friends have experienced joblessness, foreclosure and anxiety about the future. And yet we have drawn the circle tighter to protect our most vulnerable and encourage resilience among all of us. We have so many reasons to be optimistic about the future:
- An unprecedented number of teens in foster care graduated high school and went on to higher education this year.
- All 75 of our families in the Preventive Services program stayed together.
- Our community partnerships – Jamaica CPI and the Faith-Based Neighborhood Initiative – are adding new members every day. We are blessed with strong leaders in both programs.
- Our Fatherhood Initiative has opened a new site and helped a record number of fathers reclaim a place in the lives of their children.
- We have forged strong partnerships with new foundations and corporations.
- JetBlue Airlines and KaBOOM answered our prayers and helped us build a safe, challenging playground in record time on our beautiful campus.
- We received an unprecedented number of toys, clothing and gift donations this holiday season, reminding us that we are a community that has no boundaries.
And so I give thanks to our birth and foster parents, fathers and youth who together build a community that strengthens every one of us.
With heartfelt thanks and hope for peace in the coming year,
Anstiss Agnew
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Rego Park Lions Club Donates Comic Books
On Monday, December 21, Sher Sparano of the Rego Park – Forest Hills Lions Club visited Forestdale to contribute the club’s donation to the Holiday Toy Drive. On behalf of the Lions, she delivered more than 600 comic books for Forestdale teens to enjoy. The two organizations enjoy a very friendly relationship, which extends several years. Ms. Sparano’s group has hosted a summer carnival for Forestdale children and families for more than a decade. She presented the donation to Robert Rogan, Forestdale’s Associate Executive Director.