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
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
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
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
Monday, February 9, 2009
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
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
Sunday, February 1, 2009
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
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
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