McClancy Alum Provides $2 Million for New Athletic Complex

NONPROFIT NEWS MCCLANCY WILL GET NEW $2M SPORTS COMPLEX

MADE POSSIBLE BY DONATION FROM STEPHEN SQUERI (‘77)

BY KERRY MURTHA

Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School will break ground on a $2 million state-of-the-art sports complex this months, thanks to the largesse of Stephen Squeri, a school alum and CEO of American Express.

“This facility will be one of a kind in Queens, no other school will have one like it,” said president Nicholas Melito, a 1976 graduate who taught global students at the high school and served as the varsity baseball coach before taking the helm last year.

The complex will encompass three blocks of the East Elmhurst campus, according to Melito, and include new artificial turf baseball and softball fields, soccer field, running track, and a separate section for field events.

The new addition will add to McClancy’s rich athletic tradition. The school’s love of sports prompted the Alumni and Athletic Departments to create its own Hall of Fame in 1996.

The high school’s roster now includes around 90 students, coaches and others who contributed to the success of McClancy’s athletic programs throughout the years.

But the new facility will host more than sporting events, Melito stressed.

“It will be used for physical education classes as well, benefiting the entire study body,” he said.

The project, scheduled to begin this summer and be completed by October, will be fully funded by Stephen Squeri, a 1977 alumnus who played high school basketball during his time at the school.

“The truth is, he and I spoke about this once in the past and Steve was intrigued by the idea and it was something he wanted to do,” said Melito, a friend of Squeri’s for more than 50 years.

The corporate businessman has a reputation for giving back. He’s been on the Board of Directors at McClancy for the past 10 years and he’s served on the Board of Trustees at Manhattan College, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting and computer science and later an M.B.A. in Finance.

During Squeri’s time on the high school board, he’s assisted the administration in fundraising and implementing a master strategic plan.

“Our first priority was the infrastructure of the main building, then upgrading the classrooms with the latest technology,” he noted. “We then focused on the labs, media center, music room and art room, student center and gym. The last piece of the puzzle was the biggest piece - the sports facility.”

Three years ago, McClancy renamed its student center in honor of Squeri’s parents, Lorraine and Joseph, after he donated funds to revamp the space.

“His generosity and caring about his high school has been longstanding,” Melito added. He never forgot the education he received and the Brothers of the Sacred Heart who taught him. When you

Pictured from left to right is former New York Jet Marty Lyons, whose company Land Tek will be constructing the new $2 million complex, McClancy President Nick Melito and benefactor Steve Squeri.

talk to him he’s just a kid from Astoria, yet he’s so successful and runs a major corporation.”

Squeri said his McClancy education laid the foundation for his future achievements.

“When I look back at my experience at McClancy, I truly believe it had a huge impact on my ability to be successful in life and in business,” he said. “It is important to me that kids who grow up in the same community I did have the same chance at success that I did.”

NONPROFITS OFFER DIGITAL TRAINING

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

work with people who have been arrested for felony charges and try to reduce the chances that they end up with a prison sentence.”

Each year, 600,000 Americans transition out of incarceration and face barriers to reentering the workforce. The unemployment rate for returning citizens is five times the national average, and returning citizens who are Black experience an even higher jobless rate.

The increasingly digital nature of work presents another challenge to workforce reentry, making the employment process difficult for those who lost access to technology while in prison.

“Lack of access to digital skills training and job coaching puts formerly incarcerated individuals at a severe disadvantage when trying to reenter the workforce and increase their economic potential,” said Malika Saada Saar, Global Head of Human Rights at YouTube, a subsidiary of Google. “We are thrilled to work alongside program partners who have demonstrated true expertise and leadership in supporting successful reentry through digital skills training to men and women, mothers and fathers, impacted by incarceration.”

The program is part of Google’s racial equity commitments and builds on the company’s ongoing investments in criminal justice reform. Since 2015, Google has given more than $40 million to nonprofits advancing criminal justice reform, and $60 million to organizations working to expand access to hands-on computer science learning.

Any nonprofit organization offering training to the reentry population can join the Grow with Google Partner Program and access resources, workshop materials and hands-on help free of cost.

NONPROFIT NEWS DIGITAL TRAINING FOR FORMERLY INCARCERATED

BY SAMANTHA GALVEZ-MONTIEL

The Fortune Society is joining the Grow with Google Career Readiness for Reentry program, an initiative to provide free digital skills and job readiness training to formerly incarcerated individuals.

The program is in partnership with five nonprofits that have successfully developed and delivered high-quality job training to returning citizens, including Fortune Society, The Last Mile, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), Defy Ventures, and The Ladies of Hope Ministries.

The program’s training will focus on fundamental digital skills, such as how to apply for jobs online and create a resume, along with more advanced topics including entrepreneurship and business budgeting. In total, the program will train 10,000 participants this year.

“We have a job readiness program that is three weeks in length, so when people are either coming to us after serving time in jail or prison we put them through this training program,” said Ronald F. Day, vice president of Programs at Fortune Society. “We help them with job search, proper interviewing skills and attire, how to fill out job applications and we connect them with some of the employers we work with.”

Fortune Society has funding to provide fellowship opportunities to serve as transitional work for a program of ten weeks for 21 hours a week at a minimum wage and connect them with their long list of employers that work with the nonprofit.

Headquartered in Long Island City and founded in 1967, Fortune Society is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit reentry service and advocacy organizations, serving 9,000 justice-involved individuals in New York City every year.

“We don’t just do advocacy now, we provide alternatives to incarceration,” said Day. “We

Kenneth, a client with The Fortune Society, gains valuable digital skills for job readiness with the help of Fortune’s Employment Services department. Fortune helps clients improve their digital literacy and prepares them for life after incarceration.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

TM

Great for Social Media

StaRTING aT6 $275.00

OUR GRADUATES

have been accepted to many top colleges and universities over the last three years, including:

Amherst College Bates College Baruch College Binghamton University Boston University Cornell University Johns Hopkins University Massachusetts Institute of Technology Morehouse College McGill University McMaster University New York University Northeastern University Oberlin College Pace University Smith College St. John’s University The City College of New York Trinity College Tufts University Queens College Union College University of California Irvine University of Rochester University of Wisconsin-Madison Vassar College Washington University in St. Louis Wesleyan University Williams College

PRESCHOOL – GRADE 12

119-17 UNION TURNPIKE • FOREST HILLS, NY 11375 • 718.268.4667 WWW.KEWFOREST.ORG

Member

Affinity Benefits

Alibaba.com is the world's largest business-tobusiness ecommerce marketplace. We provide the tools & services to help you expand into new markets and connect with business buyers all around the world. Become an Alibaba.com seller and reach new buyers from around the world or in your own backyard. Visit : activity.alibaba.com/ggs/queenschamber.html Need to disinfect your facilities, but hate the idea of spraying chemicals on everything? We will fully disinfect your facilities—including viruses-using only Ultraviolet Light. We use no toxins or chemicals. We spray no liquids. We leave no residue or odor. If this sounds appealing, visit our website for a QCCoC member discount.

https://www.uvcommercialdisinfection.com/Qu eenschamber/

FAST, EASY, and AFFORDABLE Harassment Prevention online training. Our courses meet all NEW YORK CITY AND STATE requirements and include a certificate of completion. Learn how to recognize and prevent retaliation. How to appropriately report sexual harassment Bystander and third-party intervention. visit: https://ezlearnu.learnupon.com/store/611590 -queensny-workplace-harassment-andabusive-conduct-employee

Keep your business germ & virus-free with Denco’s Empowered Solutions. The CDC recommends disinfecting and sanitizing both air and surfaces in your facility to destroy Coronavirus.Empowered Air kills all pathogens, including Coronavirus either through your HVAC or with stand-alone units- Uses revolutionary NASA developed Photo Catalytic Oxidation Technology. https://www.dencoenvironmental.com/qcc

Optimizing technology with customer retention is an essential step to manage your business. Managing Payments properly will secure this reality faster than anything else. PaySwipe, Inc services thousands of NY Metro businesses since 2004. ALL Queens Chamber members receive Clear and concise pricing terms. Month to month option with no cancelation fees Unlimited resources to answer your questions. Visit: http://payswipe.com/queens-chamber-ofcommerce/

VIP Discount Program Contact Joe and Todd for details

Joe Morrone | joe.morrone@pcrichard.com Todd Costello | Todd@pcrichard.com Sesame Eat! AI VIRTUAL WAITER + ONLINE MENU + ONLINE PAYMENT + E-MARKETING service for restaurants, cafes, and bodegas. Built for contactless, and efficient operations. Special 6month complimentary service for members of the Queens Chamber of Commerce. Contact: Amy Leu, US Lead Business Development, amy@imago.ai Willie Lee, Project Manager, willie@imago.ai

Website:https://join.sesameeat.com/?pop=qnyc

Shiftyy Health is a division within Shiftyy Technologies Inc., an IoT solutions provider. Shiftyy Health provides innovative IoT solutions for temperature monitoring devices for all industries. Shiftyy Health has created innovative temperature monitoring devices to assist businesses with temperature monitoring that meet HIPAA requirements, are efficient, and reduce the time and costs in conducting manual temperature monitoring. Visit: http://queenschamber.shiftyyhealth.com/