Program News 2008
Honoring Those Who Help Us Make A Difference
On October 14, Good Shepherd's 2008 Annual Benefit Dinner was held at the world-renowned Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park. Over three hundred guests attended the Benefit, which is our largest fundraising event and has been held annually since 1987. In a true testament to the devotion of our donors, and the esteem in which our honorees are held, we have already exceeded the funds raised at this event last year, despite the difficult economic climate.
This year we honored two very special partners in our work: Credit Suisse and NYC Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda Gibbs. Credit Suisse has long provided support to Good Shepherd in countless different ways. Many Credit Suisse employees have given of their executive expertise in service on our Board of Directors. Members of the Credit Suisse community also helped to launch and still today form the backbone of our mentoring activities for adolescents in the foster care system, through individual mentoring and group projects such as an annual fiscal literacy conference and summertime job readiness program. Additionally, the Credit Suisse Foundation has been an extremely generous funder of our work.
Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs has likewise been a great friend to Good Shepherd Services and those we serve over the years. As Commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services, she was an early and ardent supporter of our Chelsea Foyer program. In her current role she oversees the Center for Economic Opportunity, with which Good Shepherd partners on several initiatives designed to reduce poverty throughout the City. These include our YAIP and LIFE Transitions programs, which work, respectively, with disconnected youth neither working nor in school and those who are involved with the juvenile justice system.
Good Shepherd employee Moses Weah also addressed our guests. Moses, a refugee from Liberia's devastating civil war as a child, originally came to Good Shepherd as a resident of the Foyer. During his time in the program, Moses went back to school and began working with youthful offenders, work he continues today as a Life Skills Counselor in our LIFE Transitions program. "Living at the Foyer allowed me to become the person I knew I could be," he said, "and now I have the power to make that difference for the youth I work with."
October 23, 2008
