Celebrating the Global Day of Giving at Draftfcb

We had a wonderful time today at Draftfcb's Global Day of Giving - a world-wide event to celebrate the nonprofit organizations that the company works with, and to encourage its employees to give back and volunteer. Draftfcb has been such a vital partner to First Step for so many years, providing jobs, funding, internships, corporate days, volunteers, books, clothing and so much more. They are currently working pro bono to update our marketing materials and have created a fresh new logo for First Step, to be unveiled soon. Thank you Laurence, Teresa, Steve, June, Pat, Marisol, Elis and all our friends at Draftfcb. All that you do is making a significant impact in the lives of our First Steppers.

Corporate Day Hosted by Credit Suisse

On Tuesday, October 27th, Credit Suisse hosted a corporate day at their offices for First Step's Class 96. Dozens of Credit Suisse staff participated in the event, which included a Q & A and presentation, a tour of their trading floor, and round table lunch discussions. The Q & A provided an overview of Credit Suisse's businesses and touched upon career tracks of several of the staff. The tour was exciting for our students, and many marveled that some staffers have 5 or more computer monitors to track current events in the markets they work with. The round table discussions were the highlight for many of our women as it provided them with an opportunity to interact at length with some very successful staff. It was a wonderful day and all of us at First Step and Coalition for the Homeless extend our warmest appreciation to our partners at Credit Suisse.

What a Corporate Day at NBC Universal!

This week NBC Universal hosted our First Steppers at their offices for an exciting corporate day. More than a dozen employees of the company met with our students one-on-one to provide feedback on their resumes, conduct mock interviews and network. They even provided a large van to transport our women to and from their offices at 30 Rock. After a nice lunch, we were taken on a tour of several studios including Saturday Night Live and Dr. Oz. We even met some members of the hip hop group The Roots - they are the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. We are so appreciative of Heather and her team at NBC Universal. Thank you again!

New First Step LinkedIn Group

If you're on LinkedIn, please join the First Step Group.

Credit Suisse Partners with First Step and Raises Over $15,000

On September 9th Credit Suisse had a staff appreciation event on a cruise around Manhattan. As part of the event, they organized a creative fundraiser around a Wii boxing tournament for their executive staff. Credit Suisse employees would make donations to benefit First Step in the name of the executive they wanted to see participate in the Wii boxing tournament. This fun event raised over $15,000 for First Step. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Advisory Board members Ralph Sutton, Barbara Kolsun and Jane Singer for their efforts in making this fundraising event happen, and look forward to continued partnerships with Credit Suisse.

Class 96 Begins

Recently 24 remarkable women of Class 96 began their journey towards self-sufficiency. They are in their second week now and beginning to work on their PowerPoint presentations. The focus of the presentations are their short- and long-term goals. This exercise serves multiple purposes, including learning computer software and improving presentation and public speaking skills. Possibly even more important, is thinking about long-term goals. For many First Steppers, it's difficult to focus on the long-term as they face so many daunting obstacles, including domestic violence, homelessness and/or mental health issues. This exercise can begin the process for many of thinking about life 5 years and 10 years down the road, and putting a plan in place to achieve their goals. First Step is here every step of the way, as once our clients become graduates, they are entitled to lifetime services from us. We look forward to continuing to work with Class 96 and all our First Steppers.

New First Step Partner - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Today we met with staff members of the New York Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Through an introduction by First Step Advisory Board member Susan Lerner, we are excited that JDRF will now be an internship partner of First Step. We look forward to a long-lasting partnership with JDRF.

Graduates - Summer Session is here!

Graduates! As I've written to you in letters and emails, I am also writing on this blog to invite you to participate in the third annual First Step Summer Session - two weeks of workshops and activities just for First Step graduates. All First Step graduates are welcome to attend – free of charge. Summer Session is a great opportunity to reconnect with your classmates and network with alumni from other classes.

Summer Session will run from August 17th – August 28th, Monday – Friday. Programming will include Computer Classes, Job Search Workshops, One-on-One Career Coaching, Goal Setting, Seated Meditation, and Literacy Workshops.

We will provide MetroCards and a light continental breakfast each day. If you are currently not working or if you have some time off, Summer Session is the ideal way to jumpstart or reenergize your job search and career. Here is the list of classes:

• Welcome to Summer Session (required) - Monday, 8/17/09, 9:30-10:00
• Computer instruction MS Word -Labels, Mail merge, Editing Large documents, Styles & Formatting - Monday, 8/17/09, 10:00-12:00
• Computer instruction MS Word- Updating Resumes and Cover Letters - Monday, 8/17/09, 1:30-3:30
• Intro to Graduate Job Search - Participation Guidelines - Tuesday, 8/18/09, 9:30-10:30
• Intro to 60 Second Pitch with Elizabeth McGowan - Tuesday, 8/18/09, 10:30-11:00
• Resume Repair Workshop - Tuesday, 8/18/09, 11:30-12:30
• Literacy for Work and Life with Ellen Bogart - Tuesday, 8/18/09, 1:30-4:00
• Computer instruction Internet- Cookies, Pop up Blockers, Spam, Customizing the browsers, History - Wednesday, 8/19/09, 9:30-11:30
• Computer instruction Internet- How to post your resume, Job searches - Wednesday, 8/19/09, 1:30-3:30
• 60 Sec Pitch Practice / Meet the Volunteers - Thursday, 8/20/09, 10:00-11:00
• One-on-One Career Coaching / Computer Practice Time - Thursday, 8/20/09, 11:00-12:30
• Goal Setting - Thursday, 8/20/09, 1:30-2:30
• Cover Letter Workshop - Thursday, 8/20/09, 3:00-4:00
• Cover Letter Drafting - Thursday, 8/20/09, 4:00-5:00
• Computer instruction MS PowerPoint- Creating an album, developing a template, downloading/uploading graphics, adding music and narration - Friday, 8/21/09, 9:30-11:30
• Interviewing Strategies - Friday, 8/21/09, 2:00-3:00
• Interviewing Skills Practice - Friday, 8/21/09, 3:00-4:00
• Computer instruction MS Excel- Creating an inventory database, basic formulas - Monday, 8/24/09, 9:30-11:30
• Computer instruction MS Excel- Statistical formulas, if statements - Monday, 8/24/09, 1:30-3:30
• Professional References Workshop - Tuesday, 8/25/09, 9:30-10:30
• Preparing a Professional Reference Sheet - Tuesday, 8/25/09, 11:00-12:00
• Literacy for Work and Life with Ellen Bogart - Tuesday, 8/25/09, 1:30-4:00
• Computer instruction MS Access- Creating tables, forms and reports, Importing data - Wednesday, 8/26/09, 9:30-11:30
• Computer instruction MS PowerPoint- putting presentations on websites - Wednesday, 8/26/09, 1:30-3:30
• One-on-One Career Coaching / Computer Practice Time - Thursday, 8/27/09, 10:00-12:00
• Body Language Workshop - Thursday, 8/27/09, 1:30-2:30
• Seated Meditation w/ Sri Lalitambika - Thursday, 8/27/09, 3:00-4:00
• Computer instruction MS Outlook Creating user groups, email groups, meeting requests and schedules - Friday, 8/28/09, 9:30-11:30
• Thank You Notes / Follow Up Workshop - Friday, 8/28/09, 2:00-3:00
• End of Summer Session - Come back Tues for Job Search - Friday, 8/28/09, 3:00-4:00

Please call us at 212-776-2074 or e-mail firststepadmin@cfthomeless.org to register. Looking forward to seeing you.

We Welcome New First Step Staff Member Takiyah Weekes!

We are very happy to welcome our new Assistant Director/Manager of Job Development - Takiyah Weekes. She started in First Step this week. Takiyah has over 6 years of experience working in workforce development programs, most recently working at The HOPE Program in Brooklyn. She brings an energy and passion to assisting others achieve their dreams. She will be graduating in December with her Masters in Public Affairs.

Takiyah will be working with the students during Phases 2 and 3 of the Program and then continue working with them as graduates to find the long-term career opportunities they need. If you'd like to reach her, you can call her at (212) 776-2072 or email her at tweekes@cfthomeless.org.

We welcome Takiyah to our team.

First Step Video from 1998 Posted - Inspiring and Amazing Graduate Diana Olaizola

You can view the video here.

Class 95 Started Today!

Today was orientation for Class 95. Twenty remarkable women begin their three month journey towards empowerment and economic self-sufficiency.

Volunteer Fundraising Event brings in $500 for First Step

Volunteers of First Step and Grand Central Feeding Program at Coalition organized a happy hour fundraising event that took place last week. The event brought in over $2,000 (including $500 for First Step). Thank you!

A Message to Friends of First Step

I'm writing because we need your help. As you know, I'm the Director of the First Step Program at Coalition for the Homeless. First Step is a 14-week job-training program that empowers homeless and low-income women to achieve employment and educational goals through computer training, case management, literacy building, internships, job-placement assistance, empathy and hope. Here's the new 5-minute video that chronicles a First Stepper.

Due to various factors including the current recession and the challenging job market, we've faced the same challenges that everyone is facing in terms of finding jobs for our students. Also, we're near the end of our current funding contract (June 30) and are looking for as many job placements as possible to meet and surpass our goals, and hopefully ensure continued funding.

Here's where you come in --- hire one or more of our students as a temp. Even short-term, temporary work can provide a very real benefit to First Step and our students. It can also be a very real benefit to you at a minimal cost. Our students are eager to work hard and can assist you in your office duties, including filing, faxing, photocopying, data entry and other administrative matters. By you providing one or more of our students with this opportunity, you are making a tremendous difference in their lives. You build their self-esteem, they earn some money, and gain work experience. And you get some paperwork done that's been piled on your desk for months!

I do recognize that times are tough right now. Whatever you are able to do is very much appreciated. When you get a chance, please let me know your thoughts.

Take care,

Rich Lombino, J.D., Esq.
Director - First Step Program

Another Reason to Stop by........Our New Library

On April 23rd, volunteers assembled book cases and sorted through the dozens of boxes of books for the Coalition Library. Future book drives will be planned. The Library has been dedicated to Carolyn Rodgers, a beloved Coalition case manager who passed away in 2001. We would welcome Graduates to stop by on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9:00am and 5:00pm and pick up a book. This is a "free book store", so you can keep the books.

Take care,

Rich Lombino, J.D., Esq.
Director - First Step Program

Article Mentions First Step

Check out this article by the newest Board member of Coalition for the Homeless - Rich Russo. In discussing First Step, he says: "I also saw the Coalition's phenomenal First Step program. It's an employment program for women who are down but not out, possibly abused and raising multiple kids alone in shelters with little hope and even less money. The First Step program teaches these women business skills of various kinds, then helps them get placed with participating companies. The results are stunning. Their personal transformation is nothing less than inspiring. Special credit goes to their employers as well. Nicely done. It's a creative idea that is changing hundreds of lives."

Take care,

Rich Lombino, J.D., Esq.
Director - First Step Program

2009 First Step Video Posted!

You can view the video here.

Women Mean Business Luncheon - March 31, 2009

The 15th Annual Women Mean Business Luncheon benefiting First Step is on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 from 11:30AM to 2:00PM at The Pierre Hotel, Fifth Avenue at 61st Street, New York City. PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS ONLINE TODAY! For more information about sponsorship opportunities, click here.
Please contact 212.776.2056 or Redelman@cfthomeless.org for more information.

Welcome Back Carla!

Carla Parris will be rejoining First Step as our new Clinical Supervisor beginning on Monday, March 2nd. Carla began her time at Coalition as a Social Work intern in CAP nearly five years ago and I supervised her for the year. She was later hired and worked in First Step as the Clinical Supervisor/Associate Director for a year and half, before leaving to pursue a more intense clinical career. Now she's back! Carla is extremely intelligent, caring and hardworking and I know she will be a great fit in our already outstanding team. As she is already very familiar with Coalition and First Step, we are hopeful that this will be a relatively smooth transition.

Rich Lombino, Esq.
Director - First Step Program

Everyone is a Poet

First Step’s curriculum offers a wide range of training for our students, ranging from the hard skills of resume drafting and interviewing to softer skills such as time management. Our overarching goal is to view our students in a holistic way so as to highlight an individual’s unique potential and strengths. We do this by providing a variety of workshops.

Most recently, we created a Poetry workshop to encourage free thinking and creativity. Sybil Kollar, published poet of Water Speaking to Stone and other works, volunteered to facilitate the workshop. The workshop was a rousing success!

In order to lay the groundwork for exploration and creativity, the students first read aloud selected poems from Lucille Clifton’s Blessing the Boats. Two poetry exercises ensued that fostered the student’s imagination and also allowed them to express current struggles or feelings in a different modality.

The first poem required that the writer only tell lies. Below is an example from Yvonne L., Class 92.

I am tall
statuesque, agile
the gazelle in me
sprints to life
jumping the cliffs of adversity!

The second poem followed the formula of “I seem to be…, but I really am….”. Sandra N., Class 92 wrote:

I seem to be capable, but I really am slightly functioning.
I seem to be floating by holding on to the life boat, but I really am reaching out for support.
It seems hope has arrived. Am I really ashore?

First Step strives to empower students and to increase their ability to set and obtain goals in both their personal and professional lives. For the novice as well as the more experienced poet, this workshop presented a therapeutic mode of self-expression.

Emily Goodman, LMSW
Clinical Supervisor - First Step Program

Volunteering: A Way to Expand Your Nonprofit Career

Networking is an invaluable tool that can expand the horizons of your organization or program…...and your career. Especially in tough economic times like these where every day it seems there's another article about a company cutting tens of thousands of jobs or a nonprofit organization cutting staff or programs. As the Director of a job training program for homeless and low-income women, I stress to our students the importance of networking in getting your next job.

Volunteering can be a useful way to network at a nonprofit and advance your career. It's one of the reasons (and I think the main reason) that I got my first job in nonprofit five years ago. In my "previous life" as an attorney at a law firm in Manhattan, when I was looking to make the move into nonprofit I was finding it difficult getting any response to jobs I had applied for at nonprofits. Well, it was more than difficult…..I wasn't getting any interviews. I could just imagine the staff person at the nonprofit looking at my resume and saying "Who's this lawyer trying to run a program at a nonprofit? He has no nonprofit experience." What I did have, however, were transferable skills. I had been managing projects and supervising junior attorneys, paralegals and administrative assistants for years. This was just not getting through.

I had a rough idea of what type of work I wanted to do (assisting the homeless and/or working on civil liberties issues), so I did some research and found a handful of organizations that I thought I'd want to work for. None of them were hiring at the time. I sent emails and made phone calls and said I was interested in volunteering my time and helping out in any way. Rather than volunteering at one organization for extended periods of time, I thought it would be a better strategic move to volunteer at multiple organizations for a few hours every other week, that way I was expanding my possible network. Each time I volunteered, I made it a point to say hello to the Executive Director and/or Deputy Executive Director at the organization to keep me in the forefront of their mind if any opportunities ever arose. And, I didn't say no to any level of work. Most of the volunteer work I was doing some would probably consider "too easy" or "beneath" my skill level, but I felt at the time (and still do) that it's just important to be helping out in whatever area the organization needed it, whether it was stuffing envelopes or answering phones, because it showed that I was committed to the mission.

After a few months a position opened up at Coalition for the Homeless and the Deputy Executive Director approached me about applying for it. I believe this would have never been possible had I not been there week after week helping out. My resume would have just been added to the pile, and I would have possibly not even been called in for an interview because their preference was to hire someone with an MSW, which I didn’t have. Five years later, I'm still working at Coalition and was promoted to another larger program two years ago.

Regardless of your career stage and whether or not you are working right now, I believe that volunteering can be an important way to expand your network and your career potential.

Rich Lombino, Esq.
Director - First Step Program

Film - A Way to Connect

Film is an important tool that we use in our program to connect with our students and market our program to potential partners. Here are some of the ways we use film in our program:

First Step Short Film
At the all-day orientation of a new class, which is the first time the entire class is together, we watch a five minute film about First Step. This film chronicles the experiences of one graduate throughout the program. After the viewing, the students discuss the film and many share their difficult stories. There are laughs and tears.......which lead to hugs and cheers. The students visually see what lies ahead, hear an inspiring story, begin to bond with each other, become a team and form a support system for each other. It also allows the social service staff and other team members to get a sense of where each client is at so we can better serve them.

We also utilize this film in our outreach to potential partners (i.e., companies, law firms, nonprofits, foundations and individuals) in order to further expand the resources of the program, including funding, job placement, internships, corporate days, donations and volunteers. It's an additional tool that allows these potential partners to get a good feel for the program and what we do. A PowerPoint presentation is fine, but through the medium of film our potential partners begin to become part of the program through the stories of our remarkable women.

Freedom Writers
One important aspect of First Step is literacy. We have no education requirements for admitting new students, and usually at least a third of the class do not have their high school diploma or GED. (Looking for a job right now is difficult for someone with an MBA and experience at a financial firm. Imagine if you don't even have your GED. It's nearly impossible). One of the workshops we provide to our students is a literacy workshop that is led by our volunteer Ellen B., a retired teacher. She meets with the students once a week for two and a half hours during the first five weeks of the program. In the first two sessions, the students watch the film Freedom Writers, write about it and discuss it. One of the main goals of the literacy workshops is to get the students excited about reading and writing. The film is an exceptional tool to achieve that goal and it makes the workshops even more interesting and engaging.

I highly recommend incorporating film into your work product. Whether you're a program director, development director or executive director, this multi-media tool can be an effective way to connect with your clients, obtain new funding sources and expand your resources.

Rich Lombino, Esq.
Director - First Step Program

Our Clients Inspire Us

On Tuesday, we had a literacy workshop that was focused on the inauguration. The students watched the main events and then met for a couple of hours with our volunteer Ellen B., a retired teacher, to write about and discuss what the inauguration of President Barack Obama meant to them. There were tears of joy shed by students and staff as we watched the ceremony together.....and lots of cheers. Their written responses were so moving I wanted to share some of them on this Blog and the students generously agreed:

"The inauguration today was a big flag of unity for all waving high for everyone to see! We are going somewhere now that is worth traveling. Especially after the last 8 years. Hopefully this inauguration has a totally positive impact on each and every one of us as Americans. It was a dream and is now a reality! It gave me a sense of pride to be an American and a sense of dignity. And also the strength to understand that above all we can unite and be as one and from the looks of things we will!" - Ariann M.

"The inauguration of President Barack Obama means to me that my ancestors who were enslaved and died did not do so in vain. This inauguration means my young Black sons see in their lifetime what my grandmother who picked cotton could never imagine." - Debra H.

"I felt so emotional and proud to see and be a part of history. Today's event proved that goals can be achieved." - Sandra N.

"There will never be another day in my life that I will feel as proud to be an African-American woman as I feel this day." - Charlotte W.

"Today everyone gets to live the American dream!" - Ebony D.

"I feel this Presidency is going to let other countries look at the US with dignity and respect again. At the end of the day people all over the world will realize that it doesn’t take one race to rule a county or to succeed in life. We are all one." - Sandy L.

"We all know we need a change around the world; a change to accept people for who they are: not their skin color, but for being a human." - Marlene S.

"The people of American elected the best man. A man who happens to be Black. Children as well as adults can reach for the stars and achieve it. It has been proven that it is achievable." - Jackie W.

"I just hope that this brings all races together to help each other." - Ama S.

"Today I have very high hopes and expectations from not only a new President but the whole political administration of this Country." - Yvonne L.

"I feel good because I voted to put in him office. If I was still using drugs I would not have been able to vote or see the inauguration." - Carol B.

It's really a privilege for me to work with such incredible women. Every day, they inspire me.

Rich Lombino, Esq.
Director - First Step Program

First Step's New Site

Welcome! So glad you made it. The First Step staff wanted to create a website to organize all of the resources and content that we have to better serve our clients and future clients. And so, this Blog was born. Feel free to let us know your thoughts and suggestions.

Rich Lombino, Esq.
Director - First Step Program