| Get Your Tickets Now! | |
 Our 20th Annual Gala Benefit and Auction is just around the corner! Please join us on June 10th at The Waldorf=Astoria. Enjoy an elegant evening of cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Bid on live and silent auction items that include once-in-a-lifetime experiences, dream vacations, sports tickets and more!
This spring also marks a milestone event for Project Renewal: Ed Geffner is retiring after 33 years of leadership as President and CEO. Our Gala Benefit & Auction will honor this remarkable leader in the field of homeless services.
Proceeds from our benefit will directly fund life-saving programs that help homeless men and women leave the streets and return to health, homes and jobs. We hope to see you there!
If you are unable to attend, but wish to make a contribution, click here. |
| Community Honors Shelter Director | |
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On March 25th, The Police Athletic League (PAL) honored  one of our own at their 4th Annual Women's Appreciation Night. Fort Washington Program Director, Etta Graham, was one of ten honorees chosen for the distinctive award coupled with a City Council Citation honoring those who have greatly served their community.
PAL announced that Etta "has played a monumental role in the productivity of her clients while maintaining the safety of the surrounding Washington Heights community. She is respected by all and a positive influence to those she encounters. Etta is one woman leading a team to empower a whole center of men. The diligence, courage and expertise that Etta displays is honorable".
We congratulate Etta on her exciting achievement. As part of the Project Renewal family since 1988, she has made a difference in her community and to the 200 Fort Washington men under her care. |
| Clients Get Tax Prep Help | |
For the past four years Next Step Employment Program has teamed up
Next Step Alumnus Jonathan Perez  | with Food Bank for New York City to provide free tax return preparation for our clients. This year, free sessions were held at Third Street and Holland House .
A mobile team of trained tax preparers who do New York State and federal tax returns was brought in to serve clients whose incomes fall below a certain threshold ($50,000 for clients with dependents and $18,000 for those without dependents). Over one hundred individuals qualified and received the service.
Jeanette Castillo earned her GED after taking classes at Next Step.  |
The program ensures that our clients are taking full advantage of, and getting all the tax credits for which they qualify. We hope that this will allow them to build savings or investment accounts for a solid financial future. |
| Your Voices Made a Difference: An Update | |
| Last month we reported on the Governor's proposed cuts to homeless services. There are promising signs that the State legislators are responding to our advocacy. Both the Senate and the Assembly voted in late March to restore funding for homeless shelters. But these votes are not binding, and the State budget has been overdue since April 1st.
Until a budget agreement is reached we will continue to remind our legislators and the Governor of the importance of maintaining a safety net for the State's most vulnerable residents. |
| Capital One Volunteers Plant Roof Top Garden | |
Clinton Residence Director, Jim Mutton with Capital One Volunteers |
Capital One Bank employees "reached out and gave back" as part of their one week of service to the community. Six volunteers broke out shovels, gloves, and pruning shears to bring life back to the roof garden at Clinton Residence. Clinton residents joined in the spring gardening that took place April 16 th. The result? A beautiful, flowering roof garden where residents can relax in the summer sun. |
