Grants Newsletter October 2009

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getting RESULTS

Making your giving matter more...since 1924

October 2009 NEWSLETTER

The October issue of our newsletter reports on the results of past grants. Most of them were made possible by individuals who set up charitable funds with us during their lifetimes or through their wills. If you would like to learn more about how to do this, please contact our general counsel, Jane Wilton, at 212.686.2563.

We’ve also included reports on several recent grants made by our two suburban divisions, the Long Island Community Foundation and the Westchester Community Foundation.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 2

Testing for Disease

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Rolling Out the Welcome Mat to the Arts

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Early Grants Ease Hardship for New Yorkers

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A Van Lier Fellow in 1993, a Pulitzer Winner in 2009

One El of a Park*

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t’s not easy to find something that can win the hearts of New Yorkers and tourists, but you’d be hard pressed to find someone who has strolled along the High Line and was left uncharmed.

OUR SUBURBAN DIVISIONS

In its first week alone, more than 70,000 visitors walked through the Meat Packing District and Chelsea on this abandoned, elevated train track turned flowering urban oasis. But when the High Line was still just an architectural vision and the price tag loomed large, supporters and funders needed a bit more convincing. In fact, in 2002, the entire track was one court decision away from demolition according to Dan Doctoroff, then deputy mayor.

Offering the Evidence

Brooklyn native Wolfie Langway touches the native plants on a visit to the High Line.

Starting a New Chapter

Photo: Pete Langway.

*Headline borrowed from The NewYork Post.

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“The City wanted to see a successful program, one that would involve parents from the outset, educate teens, and identify and treat sexually transmitted infections. With the pilot program, we were able to prove success in these areas.”

— Meighan Rogers of the City’s Bureau of STD Control

With allies in City government and the preservation and funding community, the track stayed put. With a grant of $35,000 from The Trust in 2003, Friends of the High Line was able to hire a fundraiser to help attract public money for the park, resulting in commitments of $74 million in City and federal funding. Our support also helped the organization launch a capital campaign to raise private donations totaling $12 million that got the project off the ground.

More Testing in City Schools?

Testing for Disease Protecting New Yorkers from colon cancer and STDs People live longer, healthier lives—and incur lower health care costs—when disease is diagnosed and treated in its early stages. Unfortunately, Chlamydia and the early stages of colon cancer rarely have symptoms and many New Yorkers weren’t getting diagnosed until the diseases advanced. The alarming rates of sexually transmitted diseases among the City’s youth, along with the number of preventable deaths from colorectal cancer, especially in black and Latino communities, indicated precisely where more testing was needed. In order to help reach those most at risk, The Trust funded two pilot projects. The first was a Chlamydia education and testing program in high schools, the second a patient navigator program to help black and Latino New Yorkers over the age of 50 or with a family history of colon cancer get colonoscopies. Both were very successful in catalyzing public funding for these screening and prevention programs.

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Much to high school students’ relief, the tests don’t involve #2 pencils or multiple choice bubbles.

Common and easily spread in adolescents and teens, Chlamydia is a serious infection that if left untreated can cause infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease.

But it is also easily detected through a simple urine test, and cured easily with antibiotics—but only if the infections are caught early enough. Because these infections are asymptomatic, kids weren’t being tested, despite the fact that adolescents in general and young women in particular are most likely to catch them.

In order to make STD testing in high schools a reality, the City Department of Education and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureaus of School Health and STD Control needed to see if it would work. With an $85,000 grant to the Fund for Public Health of New York in 2005, the program was run in five high schools. Education and voluntary Chlamydia and gonorrhea testing was offered, and treatment was given to those who needed it. Meighan Rogers of the City’s Bureau of STD Control says that “the City wanted to see a successful program, one that would involve parents from the outset, educate teens, and identify and treat sexually transmitted infections. With the pilot program, we were able to prove success in these areas.”

Based on this success, the City committed approximately $900,000 annually through 2011 for the continuation of the program, which is now in 125 schools and tested more than 11,000 students for Chlamydia and gonorrhea in 2008. “Parents receive a letter about the program, and

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TRUST PILOT PROGRAMS RESULT IN EXPANSION CITY SCREENING PROGRAMS, 2003-2008

OF

Number of colonoscopies (thousands)

40 30 20 10 0

2003

2004

Sites Funded by NYCT

2005

2006

Former NYCT-funded sites

2007

2008

projected

Sites not funded by NYCT

Data from M.S. Krauskopf, “Hospital Based Screening Navigation: Launching the NYC Navigator Network” (PowerPoint presentation at 2008 New York Citywide Colon Cancer Control Coalition [C5] Summit, 8 June 2008).

can opt to not have their children participate,” said Ms. Rogers. “We have also been doing presentations at parent association meetings, but parents have been very open to it; we get about 15 to 20 opt-outs each year.”

and you’ve got a pretty tough sell, especially to people with no symptoms. But a colonoscopy can be a life saver, detecting pre-cancerous polyps that can easily be removed before they develop into cancer.

At some schools, teens have been tested annually and have come to expect the service. The City’s STD clinics have also seen double the number of teens come through their doors, indicating that the program is getting teens to be more responsible about their reproductive and sexual health.

“All men and women over the age of 50 should have this procedure done, but six years ago, too few blacks and Latinos in the City were getting tested,” says Len McNally, program director at The Trust. “To eliminate the gap in testing, we made five grants totaling $1.65 million to the Fund for Public Health beginning in 2003. The project successfully employed patient navigators to reach out to blacks and Latinos and help them get colonoscopies.” Now expanded from 1 to 16 sites, the program contributed to nearly half a million New Yorkers getting tested for colon cancer every year, an eighty-fold increase from 2003.

Taking the Fear Out of Colonoscopies Colon cancer is scary, but the prospect of getting screened makes most of us squirm. Throw in a clear liquid diet the day before and a gallon of laxative punch

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“...after a half hour of answering all of their questions over the phone, patients are much more likely to prepare for the procedure correctly, feel more comfortable, and most importantly, show up on the day of the test.”

— Rosemilly Ellakkis, patient navigator at Jacobi Medical Center.

Little understanding and a lot of fear about the process inhibits many people from scheduling and showing up for their tests. But navigators, such as Rosemilly Ellakkis at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, hold patients’ hands and help dispel misconceptions. “Many patients are afraid of starving, but you can actually drink broth and clear juices, eat popsicles and even some types of ice cream. We also let them know that they will be given a sedative and will be comfortable during the procedure.” The quality of care is spreading by word of mouth, and patients refer their spouses, cousins, and siblings to Jacobi, and are told to “ask for Rosemilly.”

Navigators start helping the patients as soon as a doctor suggests they get tested. “Connecting with patients over the phone and in person is the most important thing we do, though that’s not always easy,” continues Ms. Ellakkis. “Oftentimes low-income people and immigrants move frequently or use prepaid cell phones, so they can be very difficult to track down.

But we do the leg work, and it pays off—after a half hour of answering all of their questions over the phone, patients are much more likely to prepare for the procedure correctly, feel more comfortable, and most importantly, show up on the day of the test.”

Fewer no-shows mean a significant cost savings for hospitals. A Trust-funded study by the Department of Health found that the navigator program pays for itself, and even generates modest revenue. This increases the likelihood that even in times of budget cuts, this program is more likely to survive.

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Rolling Out the Welcome Mat to the Arts When ground was broken on Lincoln Center in 1959, its mission was to fill eyes, ears, and hearts with “all types of performing arts for a diverse audience from all walks of life.” Today, celebrating its 50th year, the largest performing arts center in the world has succeeded in setting the bar for the development and presentation of dance, music, and theater on a sprawling 16acre campus that houses 12 arts organizations. But as the years have passed, facilities have become outdated, and new visitors have found the campus to be overwhelming and difficult to navigate.

To help Lincoln Center stay true to its mission, The Trust has made three grants since 2005 totaling $275,000 that have helped plan a discount ticket center and other projects that will welcome diverse audiences onto the campus and into theaters. Two of these grants supported the transformation of the bleak and underused atrium in Harkness Plaza into a much-anticipated redesigned Lincoln Center visitors’ space. Opening in November 2009, the new space is projected to welcome five million visitors a year, and will house ticket booths, much like TKTS in Times Square. While there, visitors can learn about shows, purchase discounted day-of tickets, rest weary feet, meet friends, or grab a bite to eat.

The discounted tickets will also fill empty seats with an audience who may not otherwise be able to afford seats at the opera or symphony.

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The new Lincoln Center visitors’ space (above) will replace the Harkness Atrium (right) and offer discounted tickets.

Photo by Mark Bussell, Illustration by Dbox.

Reynold Levy, president of Lincoln Center, says “transforming its public spaces, expanding artistic facilities, introducing new technology, and addressing an aging infrastructure, Lincoln Center has readied itself to delight customers, thrill artists and highly satisfy the millions of visitors who are drawn to this campus each year.”

Our grants in 2005 also supported architectural fees and planning for the metamorphosis of Lincoln Center’s underwhelming stretch of 65th Street into a welcoming cultural corridor. Construction is currently underway for a pedestrian bridge over 65th Street, a restaurant, and

digital displays with current offerings. “There’s an incredible amount of performance going on in the theaters of Lincoln Center,” said Kerry McCarthy, a Trust program officer. “We want to make sure that it’s not just season ticket holders being ushered inside.”

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Early Grants Ease Hardship for New Yorkers The Trust made $8 million in grants to 12 City nonprofits in February and March of 2009 to help needy New Yorkers who are being devastated by the recession.

We’re impressed with what they’ve already accomplished—and they aren’t done yet. The nonprofits and the people they’ve helped as of the end of July are below.

Families Helped Bridge Fund of New York ($1,000,000) has given $472,000 in cash to 490 households and provided counseling to stave off foreclosure and eviction.

Cancer Care ($850,000) has distributed $412,000 in financial aid to 1,143 needy people with cancer.

City Harvest ($275,000) has delivered 1.3 million pounds of food to 69 feeding programs throughout the City.

Citymeals-on-Wheels ($500,000) has provided 35,000 emergency meals to homebound New Yorkers.

United Neighborhood Houses of New York ($1,300,000) distributed its grant to all 36 settlement houses in the five boroughs to maintain critical services for poor New Yorkers of all ages.

Nonprofits Strengthened Cause Effective ($100,000) has run 24 workshops for 290 nonprofit employees to help them increase and broaden their donor bases.

Community Resource Exchange ($400,000) has helped 400 staff from 66 organizations serving poor communities improve their operations to survive the recession.

Lawyers Alliance for New York ($200,000) has provided 385 nonprofit staff at 39 agencies with workshops and consultations on business law topics, such as debt restructuring and asset transfers.

NYCharities.org ($100,000) helped 219 new agencies find 13,100 new online donors and raise $3.4 million.

Food Bank for New York City, Food for Survival ($1,500,000) has helped distribute 21 million pounds of food and $410,000 for equipment purchases to 74 feeding programs.

Legal Services NYC ($1,200,000) has opened 400 new civil cases for low-income New Yorkers threatened with destitution by the recession.

New York City Financial Network Action Consortium ($560,000) has helped 21,000 workingpoor New Yorkers get $82 million in tax refunds and Earned Income Tax Credits.

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Lunch provided to the elderly at one of New York’s settlement houses.

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Edward and Sally Van Lier

A Van Lier Fellow in 1993, a Pulitzer Winner in 2009 Playwright Lynn Nottage lives in the same house in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn that she grew up in, but she has taken her career farther than most. A 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner for Ruined, professor at the Yale School of Drama, winner of the MacArthur Genius and Obie awards, and a Guggenheim fellow, Ms. Nottage is an inspiration to playwrights everywhere. But in 1993, long before receiving these honors, she received a New York Community Trust Van Lier fellowship with New Dramatists, an organization that helps playwrights develop their work.

We are certain that Edward and Sally Van Lier, the generous donors behind the fellowships, would be impressed. Passionate art patrons, the Van Liers delighted in taking young people with them to the opera, the Met, and the ballet. In their wills they created a fund in The Trust to help gifted disadvantaged young people who aspire to careers in the arts. To date, the Van Lier program has distributed almost $12 million to organizations that prepare students for conservatory or college and support dancers, visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, playwrights, and actors early in their careers.

The Trust spoke with Nottage about her career, the fellowship, and why time devoted to craft is so imperative.

“I had seen that the Van Lier fellowships were available through various cultural groups, but I thought that New Dramatists seemed a perfect fit for me. I applied and was accepted in 1993, and that marked the beginning of my playwriting career. However, these fellowships are never quite enough to live on, so I did have to keep my day

Playwright Lynn Nottage

job.” She continued, “what we do is such a solitary form, and this fellowship really offers a community that provides nurturing and traction in the theater world. It helped me tap into the wealth of resources that [New Dramatists] had to offer: guidance in the business, what theaters to send your plays to, feedback on readings, and peers that will read your plays and provide critical and creative voices.”

Since achieving success, she has given back to this community, serving as a mentor to recent Van Lier fellows.

Her advice to young playwrights? “Writing for the theater is a battle of attrition and you have to be persistent.

On average, it takes ten years of focus on craft to get your first break. It might seem obvious, but you have to make a choice to do this because it’s easy to get distracted by this city.” She also said that young playwrights today can put too much emphasis on getting their work out. When her students ask her where to send their plays, she may suggest a rework instead. “When you are sending out plays, it’s your calling card, you want to make sure that first play is going to serve you well, and that it’s not a first draft.”

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A DIVISION OF THE NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST

in Westchester

Offering the Evidence

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t’s easy to imagine that Westchester’s 237,000 children are well educated, fed, and cared for, but an alarming number of kids in the county are hungry, drop out of high school, suffer from asthma and obesity, or fear abuse at home or from gangs. In order to help these children, advocates in nonprofits and government need easy-touse, credible, current data to focus resources efficiently and garner funding and support.

Since 2006, the Foundation has made three grants totaling $300,000 to the Westchester Children’s Association to publish a comprehensive data book, Westchester Children By the Numbers, which provides statistics on everything from truancy to obesity broken down by neighborhood. “It puts cold hard facts at our fingertips, so that we can see the obstacles that are coming down the road for youth and families in Westchester County,” says Marlene Furtick, executive director of Westchester County Youth Bureau. “It is a good foreshadowing of where we should put funding. For instance, we have a lot of immigrants from Latin America in Port Chester and Yonkers, including 12- and 13-year-olds who immigrate here with nothing but a phone number for a relative. The demographic data in the report has helped nonprofits write successful grants to provide services for these children.”

The data revealed that a quarter of the county’s high school students were attending schools in which only half the students graduated in four years. “These data confirmed that we should increase funding to strengthen nonprofits serving youth in these communities,” said Betsy Bush, Westchester Community Foundation program officer. School districts have also been using the data to investigate why some kids are missing 50 or 60 days of school every year. “The crime, demographic, family stability, and income statistics helps educators and social workers pinpoint reasons children aren’t getting to school,” continued Ms. Furtick. Cora Greenberg, executive director of the Westchester Children’s Association, says “county legislators have used these data when arguing in legislative sessions highlighting areas in need of funding and resources.” The funding is also enabling the Association to put the information online and keep it updated.

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Eddie Frangos, 16, being seen by Dr. Dozer.

Photo: Westchester Community Foundation

Where Doctors are Detectives When Eddie Frangos has an asthma attack, he says it “feels like I am coughing my lungs out.” These attacks have sent this Chappaqua 16-year-old to the emergency room, along with thousands of other Westchester children. In fact, Westchester Children By the Numbers revealed that asthma and other lung problems are the number one cause of hospitalization for kids under the age of 12.

symptoms,” said Dr. Allen Dozer, director of the Health Center. He recalled a case involving a six-year-old boy referred to the Center for his bad allergies and asthma.

Although the family had taken the typical steps to minimize his exposure to common allergens, the boy was not getting better. Using an environmental history screening developed by the Center, doctors learned that the flooring in the family’s home consisted of carpeting glued to concrete. At their suggestion, the family pulled back the carpeting, revealing a layer of mold along the entire living room floor. “Indoor mold is a big problem in the Hudson Valley, where there are high water levels and a great deal of moisture,” noted Dr. Dozer. “Once the mold was removed, the child’s symptoms improved.”

By the Numbers Grants totaling $18,000 from 2005 to 2007 to El Centro Hispano resulted in more than 1,500 immigrants receiving health information and blood pressure, vision, and skin and breast cancer screenings at health fairs.

With a $30,000 grant from Westchester Community Foundation, the new Children’s Environmental Health Center of the Hudson Valley has held educational seminars focused on identifying environmental causes of ailments for more than 160 pediatricians, health commissioners, community leaders, doctors, and nurses in the lower Hudson Valley.

The Center has also taught 3,900 patients and families how to reduce their children’s exposure to toxins and avoid common asthma triggers such as mold and car exhaust.

A 2007 grant for $15,000 to Family Services of Westchester provided tutoring and homework help, counseling, and family planning support to 58 newly arrived immigrant girls at Port Chester High School, preventing pregnancies and drastically reducing the dropout rate.

Pediatrician Dr. Jeanne Marconi says “environmental medicine is a huge component of what we need more training on so we can address issues such as exposure to radon, lead, and other toxins.” Dr. Peter J. Acker, who attended a lecture by the Center’s associate director Dr. Y. Cathy Kim, says that “Dr. Kim gave us a list of possible environmental questions to ask at checkups to go along with the developmental, nutritional, and other questions we already ask . . .

I, for one, felt energized by Dr. Kim’s lecture.”

A 2007 grant for $15,000 to Pace Women’s Justice Center helped 227 women file child support claims from absentee fathers and obtain orders of protection from abusers.

“By asking the right questions, we can often determine whether environmental exposure plays a role in a child’s

Grants totaling $15,000 over three years to Hello Friend/Ennis William Cosby Foundation distributed more than 45,000 new books to elementary schools.

Grants in 2007 and 2008 totaling $20,000 for Teatown Lake Reservation led to the designation of George’s Island Park as a “Wildlife Management Area” because of its importance as a nesting and roosting site for the Bald Eagle.

A $5,000 grant in 2008 to Youth Theater Interactions brought together nearly 700 young people to attend and perform in talent shows around the county.

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A DIVISION OF THE NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST

on Long Island

“I have come to understand that we all need to hear the words of these women; they are our mothers, sisters, wives, and friends. The women who raise us, love us, and support us deserve no less.”

— Jonathan Scherr, director of Suffolk Jail DWI Facility.

Incarcerated women read from their memoirs in the Herstory Writers Workshop.

Starting a New Chapter: Women Inmates Use Writing Workshop to Heal

“B

eing molested was as normal as changing my underwear, but it was the most frightening, shameful part of my life,” writes Suffolk County Prison inmate Cherlene in the memoir she wrote in the Herstory Writers Workshop. She continued, “I am so tired of playing hide and seek, hearing footsteps coming closer and closer. I yell, ‘Stop! Leave me alone! You’re hurting me!’ He would say. ‘Shut the hell up.’ And so I learned to cry without making a sound.”

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With eight in ten women in prison reporting being abused as children, this is tragically where many of their stories start. A lack of education is also a common problem: more than half of women entering prison don’t have a high school diploma or GED. The Herstory Writers Workshop has helped women on both fronts— providing them with an outlet to develop their voices while also helping to improve their reading and writing skills.

Each year, 150 women enroll in one of three weekly workshops where they write and share personal memoirs, often reflecting on the violence, poverty, addiction, and other obstacles that have ensnared them. With grants totaling $60,000, the Long Island Community Foundation has supported Herstory Writers Workshop since 2007, helping to expand the memoir-writing program for women incarcerated in the Riverhead and Yaphank prisons.

The impact of the program on the inmates, the guards, and other prison staff has been tremendous. “Everything I write sets me freer with every page. I want to be truly free, ’cause this cross I carry is too heavy. I’m done dying everyday… I want to take my disappointments and turn them into a success story,” offered Addie, another Herstory writer. “I want my words to inspire someone else who has lost a child after loving them, to be able to move on without turning to negative influences. I want to touch young kids so they never touch heroin.”

In an otherwise dehumanizing prison system, this therapeutic project has helped women face their demons and start new chapters in their lives. As a result, only three percent of women who have worked with Herstory have returned to prison, compared with the 22 to 24 percent general recidivism rate for female inmates in Suffolk County. “While Herstory is not a direct ticket to a new life, those of us who have worked deeply with this process can attest to its power in shedding shame, self-hate, and memories that haunt and destroy our best intentions,” said

Linda Coleman, who helps lead the workshops and edit Voices – Memoirs from Herstory Inside Prison.

The publication of this collection has helped guards, wardens, and other prisoners gain a better understanding of these women and has transformed the attitudes of those who guard them. “At first it was uncomfortable to listen to these women share their lives, fears, and needs,” said Jonathan Scherr, director of Suffolk Jail DWI Facility. “But I have come to understand that we all need to hear the words of these women; they are our mothers, sisters, wives, and friends. The women who raise us, love us, and support us deserve no less.”

As the mind-set of prison officials changed, so did the rules and policies that regulate the lives of incarcerated women. While busing inmates from one prison to another had only previously been permitted for medical emergencies, Suffolk County began busing members of the Yaphank writing group to the Riverhead facility for a shared Herstory reading. Mr. Scherr continued, “Many of our women come from a dark place and Herstory allows them to shed some light on their true beauty.”

Excerpts from memoirs written in Herstory workshops “I thought if a man beats you, he loves you. This is what I’d learned. I even used to do bad things on purpose just to test out this crazy sick love.” — Cherlene “It’s so easy to drop back into addiction lane. No matter where my addiction took me…hotels, motels, next door, living room, bedroom, on the block or in the bushes—all the way to nowhere and everywhere.” — Joy “I had never been able recognize the story I read [in Herstory] and my life as one and the same. I’ve spent more time running from my life than actually trying to have one, and I just want to thank Linda [Coleman] and Lonnie [Mathis] so much for giving me the chance to be free of my past and start a brand new chapter in my book.” — Cara

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909 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022 (212) 686-0010 www.nycommunitytrust.org Address Service Requested

getting October 2009 NEWSLETTER

A brief look at what’s been accomplished by Trust grants To get this newsletter by e-mail, or read past newsletters please visit our Web site at www.nycommunitytrust.org OUR SUBURBAN DIVISIONS Long Island Community Foundation Nassau Hall 1864 Muttontown Road Syosset, NY 11791 (516) 348-0575 www.licf.org Westchester Community Foundation 200 North Central Park Avenue, Suite 310 Hartsdale, NY 10530 (914) 948-5166 www.wcf-ny.org

RESULTS

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