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Two Fantastic Charities! One Common Goal! Helping!

Preparations have begun for the Seventh Annual Community Challenge Weekend (CCW), which officially takes place on October 20-22, 2006.  This year the Boston Chapter ALA’s charitable efforts during the CCW , and fundraising efforts throughout the year will go to support The Home for Little Wanderers and The Finex House.  In an effort to show members the impact that their efforts can have on the community Trina Goodale of Goldberg & Weigand LLP spent some time with The Home for Little Wanderers and The Finex House to find out more about who they are and what they do.  This year’s target is to exceed last years financial and volunteerism donations. 

Home for Little Wanderers

Thanks to the hard work of the Community Challenge Committee and the commitment of the members of the ALA, our Boston Chapter successfully met the goal of raising $20,000 for the Home for Little Wanderers as part of our community challenge for 2005.

 

The Home is the nation’s oldest and New England’s largest, private, non-profit child and family service agency. It was formed on January 1, 1999, as a result of the merger between Boston Children's Services (BCS) and The New England Home for Little Wanderers (NEHLW).

 

The Home for Little Wanderers is nationally renowned providing services to thousands of children and families.   In its history, the Home was strictly an orphanage but has since grown and evolved to be more than an orphanage.  The Home's services include: Prevention and Early Intervention, Adoption, Foster Care, Clinical and Family Support, Residential Care, Special Education, and Case Management.

 

On October 15, 2005 several members of the Boston chapter traveled to The Baird Center in Plymouth to participate in the Volunteer Community Day.

 

“The Baird Home is one of 10 residential homes that we have.  It sits on 50 acres of land and has 32 children between the ages of 10 and 18 who live there full time, attend school there, do their homework there and eat there,” described Stephen Warrington, Corporate Relations Office for the Home for Little Wanderers. 

 

ALA members put in 120 hours of service including renovation and expansion. Several classrooms were painted by volunteers while other members broke off to help some of the children fix their bikes.  Volunteers enjoyed a lunch with the kids, and then participated in recreation time. 

 

The Home for Little Wanderers operates yearly on a budget divided between government funding and donations.  They are funded as part of the Departments of Social Security, Education and Mental Health.  It is up to the home to raise the remaining 15% of their budget. 

 

“All of the money donated goes into a general fund and is dispersed where it is needed most.  In addition to our residential homes, we have 20 other programs that we fund and 700 employees.  At any given time, we are committed to 250 children,” said Warrington.  

 

Whether the child participates in a residential program or an alternative school programs, it is the goal of The Home to ensure that the children are cared for within a family environment. The Home is committed to making each child an integral member of a community.  Its singular focus for the past two centuries has been helping children achieve independence and success from seemingly insurmountable difficulties.

 

“All of our children have suffered from some type of neglect and abuse.  Our employees, from the CEO to the line workers, are all committed and compassionate.  We know the kids we work with and believe in what we do.  Our staff really stands out,” said Warrington.

 

In the future, the Home hopes to continue to be a leader in children's services. They believe that by attracting and retaining a pool of talented, diverse staff and volunteers, and by developing an array of collaborations with public and private organizations, and by creating a work environment of continuous learning, The Home will be able to ensure the most effective services for children. Its services will span the continuum of prevention, direct care, research, and advocacy, all aimed at ensuring that children have the best possible opportunity to succeed.

 

Stephen Warrington himself has been with the home for eights years.  He began his career at Spring Park Place as an overnight counselor.  After completing his degree at Northeastern, Steve took a position in the development department.

 

“I enjoy being a Corporate Relations Officer.  I choose to stay in this position as it gives me a close connection with the kids.  It also allows me the opportunity to be an advocate for the kids,” said Warrington.

 

The staff, the children and the families of The Home gratefully acknowledge the unfailing and generous support of our donors.  You can find additional information regarding this organization at www.thehome.org.

 

The Finex House

 

The Finex House is a women's shelter for battered women and their children who have disabilities.  The house was developed in 1983 by three formerly abused women.  They are located in the Boston area and have a secret address to protect their residents.  Different than other shelters, the Finex house is designed to accommodate woman and children of any age, race and handicap.  They provide emergency shelter and a comprehensive array of services for the most vulnerable of battered women.

 

“Our mission is different than that of other shelters.  We look to serve the women that have been screened out by other shelters, mostly because of disabilities.   Many woman become disabled because of the abuse and some of the disabilities are hidden.  They range from traumatic disabilities to actual physical handicaps,” said Chris Womendez, Executive Director for the Finex House.

 

The Finex house is nationally know for their accessibility and acceptance of all persons.  They are wheelchair accessible with two concrete ramps and an internal lift and have a light coded signal system for deaf battered women and their children.  Staff members at the house speak a variety of languages, including sign.  

 

Two years ago, the kitchen of the Finex house suffered damage from a fire.  Instead of closing their door, the staff worked to put a kitchen together to keep them up and running.  They even painted over the charred walls. With needed funds, the house recently did a major renovation of the kitchen.

 

“We tore out the sheet rock and went down to the wires.  Because the sheet rock was out, we were able to rewire and bring our kitchen up to date.  The funds raised at the (2005) Golf Tournament paid for a double door oversize commercial fridge for our kitchen.  We really needed it and the money helped a lot,” said Womendez. 

 

All residents of the home are limited to a three month stay.  During this time the house works to make women feel included and independent.

 

“Our kitchen is now fully handicap accessible.  Someone in a wheelchair can pull right up to the table with other residents and are not excluded to their own table because they are in a wheel chair.  We all take turns cooking and everyone is integrated right in,” said Womendez.

 

The ALA was also able to raise over $9,000 for the house in the silent auction held at the all day educational conference on November 17, 2005.

 

“Our doors and windows are over 24 years old.  They have been here since we opened in 1983.  The money raised from the silent auction will be used to purchase new doors and windows.  The doors are so old they are very ugly making he rooms look terrible.  It will look great to have nice new doors,” said Womendez.

 

The shelter operates on funds through the DSS, Massachusetts Office of Victims Assistance and donations.  They received assistance for heating bills and approximately $6,000 a year from FEMA towards food costs that actually run between $25,000 and $30,000 a year.

 

A few of the services provided at the shelter include an emergency safe shelter with 32 beds; a 24 hr hotline; attorneys to go with battered women to court; housing advocacy; crisis intervention; emergency response services; special needs advice; child advocacy and support programs (CASP); 9 housing vouchers for sheltered families; parenting groups; day care; substance abuse counseling; AA groups; elder services and much more. 

 

“We currently have 15 staff members including part time people.  Some of our staff even have disabilities themselves.  Jerry Bello is extremely helpful to us with his advice and guidance.  Although we have administrative people here, everyone is hands on helping in any way they can,” said Womendez.

 

The Finex house accepts and appreciates donations year round. Donations can be sent c/o the Finex House, PO Box 300670, Jamaica Plain, MA  02130.

 

On behalf of the Boston Chapter we would like to thank all members for the generosity and encourage everyone to keep up the great work.