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Community News/April 2009
issues, ideas and insights affecting the 15,000 at-risk children and families we serve every year
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A Window on Our Programs:
TIPP (Teen Impact Prevention Program)
TIPP is a youth-development-training program which prepares teens and young adults, ages 14-21, to reach out to their peers and spread the word about AIDS prevention and dating violence, and inspire other teens to become active in their communities.
Peer pressure has taken on a positive meaning with TIPP, a Child Center program that trains teens to spread the word to their peers that HIV/AIDS is a preventable disease. Peer educators, who conduct workshops, presentations and lead collaborative projects, are in the same age range as their target audience so the message hits closer to home. Since nearly half of new reported cases of HIV are of youth between the ages of 15 and 24, the message could not be more timely.
Social worker Amanda Etienne, project director for the last four years, is a visionary advocate who sees hope in every situation, even the dire risks facing young people today. In Etienne's first year, TIPP trained 21 peer educators who counseled 110 teens on HIV prevention. Last year, it trained nearly five times that number who reached out to more than 2,200 youth. Since its founding six years ago, TIPP has grown to include outreach on dating violence and self-esteem, and provides expanded opportunities for community service--all with a peer-to-peer model.
"The work is very empowering," says Etienne, "both for those who are doing the outreach and those who are its recipients. By helping prevent the spread of this virus that has caused so much chaos in our communities, we can have a direct impact on someone whose life is just beginning. It's also empowering for our recipients, so often misunderstood and overlooked, because they learn the skills needed to help control and protect their future."
"For most teens, this is their first 'job' experience. As they learn they are able to teach, and they develop a passion for helping other people, and can become great role models," says program leader Brian Davis, (behind the camera).
Our peer educators use media and the arts as intervention tools to showcase participants' talents and illustrate creatively how to provide positive options and solutions. Collaborative projects have already included the creation of a video on HIV/AIDS prevention, written produced and directed by peer educators and participants, as well as two public service announcements (PSA's), which have appeared on local cable networks.
For TIPP, "social media" on the Internet, including Facebook, texting and YouTube, is an instant connection to thousands of youths in the metro area who cannot be reached face-to-face. "This medium holds tremendous potential to motivate young people to take better care of themselves--in a non-traditional, non-confrontational way," says Etienne. "The possibilities for delivering our message in this way are staggering."
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What else is TIPP doing to save lives?
- TIPP at the mall: Every month, TIPP peer educators provide
mini-assessments at the Jamaica Coliseum
Mall. Teens can talk one-on-one with peer educators to
assess what is risky, receive condoms, and get education right on the
spot.
- TIPP Testing Day: An annual community HIV testing day that draws over 400 attendees.
- TIPP on the air: Winner of a Cable Positive Grant to create a PSA, which was
aired on 32 Time Warner cable channel networks, totaling over $112,320.00 worth of free airtime.
The TIPP Experience
"Focus on your goals, instead of living just for the moment. Consider
carefully when the time and place is right for you." ...Jacqueline S., former peer educator
In
2005, 14-year-old Jacqueline S. was a vibrant but shy teen from the neighborhood with a fear of speaking in public. She was intrigued by
TIPP but requested to work strictly behind the scenes. Through the
weeks of training, her reserve began to melt when she realized the
impact she could have on kids her own age, and she emerged
as one of the group leaders her peers most looked up to. Now a sophomore at
Temple University, she talks about bringing the TIPP
message to the Philadelphia teens near Temple! |
Annual Dinner Dance Exceeds Expectations
A
drizzly night did not deter spirits on Saturday evening, March 28th as
we welcomed nearly 300 guests to Terrace on the Park in Flushing
Meadow Park for our annual reception and dinner dance. Thanks to our remarkable network of friends and supporters we surpassed last year--raising more than $250,000. It's an achievement we are particularly proud of in these difficult economic times. The services we provide for kids-at-risk in our community are even more vital now when the most disadvantaged among us are being placed under increasing strain.
In addition to raising key funds, we had four extraordinary honorees. From left to right: J ames Carpenter, chief lending officer at New York Community Bancorp; Steve Chen, operating officer at Crystal Windows and Dr. Jatin Shah, chief, Head and Neck Services at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Hank Auffarth, senior managing director at Herald Bank and our former president, was awarded the Sonia Strumpf Humanitarian Award for his extraordinary service to The Child Center of NY over the years.
Great thanks to our dinner chairs Paul Lamas and Bhupendra Patel, MD; journal chairs Gigi Fernandez and Diane Macari; raffle chairs Philomena Freed, Carol Gresser and Merrie Shinder; Jan Ledbetter for her work on our new Child Center video and slide show, and our development team, led by Linda Henley, with Susan Gleason and Chris Colica.
Our dinner dance is our key fundraising event of the year, but as we plan for fiscal year 2009-2010, which begins in July, we are forecasting larger shortfalls on all fronts than in past years, and will continue to look to our supporters to stand behind our work with continued generosity.
Special thanks to our new president, who presided over the event with great spirit. Under the leadership of Dick Jay and the board, we are making The Child Center of NY one of the premier resources for children-and-families-in-need in our city.
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