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Carey's Corner
An update from the Executive Director especially for you
"Not all of us can do great things. But we can all do small things with great love." - St. Teresa of Calcutta
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DearMalta House Friend,
We hope this update on some of the things that have been happening here at Malta House will bring you great joy in knowing what you make possible each and every day in our "house that love built".
While it is easy to get swept up by all the activity and our endless list of "to-dos," I try to start and end each day in quiet reflection in our beautiful chapel by giving thanks for all you have made possible.
During this season of Lent when many of us are encouraged to fast, how blessed are we to have this beautiful work to turn to and to be filled with the presence of Christ in this very special home.
May your Holy Week be a sacred time and may God bless you as we journey toward Easter.
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Carey Dougherty
Executive Director
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Staff, volunteers, mothers, and children at Malta House wish to let you know we pray for your intentions.
Donor special intentions, and those left at the foot of the Lord via social media or email- even those unspoken- we are praying for you.
We pray for your hopes, worries, and gratitude every day at Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, O'Rourke prayer list, and the Lourdes Grotto. Thank you for sharing your prayer life with us.
Your prayers are OUR prayers at Malta House.
Please email Pamela Shilling, Malta House Spiritual Director/Chaplain, to submit your prayer request at pshilling@maltahouse.org.
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Impact Stories: Stories You Have Made Possible! |
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Kerry Cassone and her son, Dolan Cassone ("D.J."), lived at Malta House shortly after opening our doors 18 years ago. Kerry's son D.J. is one of Malta House's earliest success stories.
Last June, DJ graduated from the Sport and Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford, CT. He wasn't sure what he would do after college but had played football since he was five, and his mother saw his potential and took a chance.
She made a video of him and sent it to some colleges close to Hartford, CT. One college was so impressed with his skills that they offered him a football scholarship! While studying Criminal Justice, D.J. is now attending Nichols College and plays football for them. His mom lives in Maine and couldn't be prouder of her son – the first in her family to go to college.
And we are so proud of them both -- of Mom, for believing in her son and doing all she can to see him thrive, and of D.J., for following his dreams and being such an excellent example of hard work paying off!
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Thanks to people like you, Kerry Cassone and her son, Dolan Cassone ("D.J."), lived at Malta House shortly after opening our doors 18 years ago. D.J. is now following his dream of playing college football and studying Criminal Justice. He has a bright future ahead. |
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Although she was born in Connecticut, Christie spent her childhood in Pennsylvania, raised by her great aunt and uncle. During her teen years, she moved back to her home state to reconnect with her birth family, where she graduated high school and got a job.
After a long struggle with an addiction, six months in a New Hampshire rehab, and the birth of her child, Christie was referred to Malta House. Despite the trials of being a single mother to a one-year-old and the aftershocks of hardship and addiction, Christie used this opportunity to make a lasting change in her life.
Christie has taken advantage of our financial literacy training and has started building up her savings account, developing a steady routine, and planning long-term goals for her future. She has also learned how to care for herself and her child and for those struggling around her, having seen firsthand during her stay at Malta House just how many women need basic advocacy and care.
Christie and her daughter have been residents since mid-summer 2021 and will move back to Pennsylvania and into an apartment with the baby’s father.
“Without Malta House, I would not be where [I am], and would not have as bright a future as I do today,” said Christie. “[It’s] been really great… People are very supportive - [it’s been] a huge blessing, and I am grateful for it.”
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Donor Highlight: A Malta House Community Fundraiser |
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Meet Damien Vega.
“My mom and I hold a special place in our hearts for the Malta House, as she gave birth to me at 16 years old and began her struggle as a teenage mom.
Had Malta House existed just four years before its founding, she and I would have had a place to rest our heads at night. Our team (Be Monumental) is choosing Malta House as the recipient of our fundraising efforts for our 50-mile ultramarathon!”
We are so fortunate to have young people like Damien inspiring to give back through our Community Fundraising Program.
He has raised close to $2,000 to support our mothers and babies at Malta House.
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We love our Community Fundraisers like Damien and his “Be Monumental” team fundraising to support Malta House!
You, too, can be like Damien!
Whether you host a gala ball, ask for donations for your birthday, do a fun run, or sell cupcakes at school, you can choose to fundraise your way in your own time.
Community fundraising can be a great excuse to get your family, friends, schoolmates, or co-workers together to support Malta House and help provide for our moms and babies. The options for how you can fundraise are endless, and we’re here to help you all the way:
- Host an event and donate a percentage of the profits to Malta House
- Pledge your birthday
- Organize a garage sale for Malta House
- Start fundraising in your school or workplace
- Choose a sports challenge and get active for Malta House (just like Damien did!)
It’s easy to get started today: Contact our Volunteer Coordinator and Community Relations Manager, Susan Zelman, at szelman@maltahouse.org.
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Social Ambassadors Raised Big on Fairfield County Giving Day |
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Fairfield County's Giving Day is our region's largest annual philanthropic event! Powered by Fairfield County's Community Foundation, Giving Day is made possible by thousands of generous people who care. Each year, families, businesses, colleagues, classmates, and neighbors join to support Fairfield County nonprofits and show the power of giving. This year's Giving Day was held on February 24.
Malta House would like to express a very heartfelt thank you to all of its Giving Day Social Ambassadors, Peer-to-Peer fundraisers, and donors who gave.
Our ambassadors shared "our" Giving Day within their "social" networks, and others set up their own "Peer-to-Peer" Fundraising Pages, raising money from their friends and family during this one 24-hour period.
Our "top" ambassadors were
- The person raising the most money: Rosemary Ryan-Degrado
- The person who had the greatest number of donors: Conor O'Rourke
- The person who socially shared the most - Leslie Welke
However, everyone taking part has earned "tops" in our books!
This year, our Malta House Social Ambassadors team raised over $7,500 to support our moms and babies, the most amount ever raised on that day by Malta House. Thank you!!!
To learn more about how you can become a Malta House Social Ambassador, please get in touch with Robin Cabral at rcabral@maltahouse.org.
It's simple, easy, and an effective way to help our moms and babies.
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Grateful for our Community’s Support of Our Moms and Babies |
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Malta House director Carey Dougherty had a lovely afternoon with the Westport Woman’s Club on Thursday. The Westport Woman’s Club is a longtime supporter of the Malta House mission and has donated a grant for our moms and babies for $2,000.
Carey notes, “We are so grateful for your continued support and prayers for our moms and babies.”
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We love our community supporters, like the long-time support by the Westport Women’s Club. Thank you for taking care of our moms and babies! |
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Inspiring Confidence in Your Giving |
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Malta House is pleased to announce the development of a new financial page on our website in a move for transparency and accountability.
All our yearly financial reports show our wise stewardship of your investment in our mission.
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We Would Love Your Feedback on Your Donor Experience at Malta House! |
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Here at Malta House, we dedicate ourselves to providing our moms and babies with the best home. We are proud of all that we have accomplished in the last twenty-five years, but we look to the future as we serve even more women and children in our new home.
You are a friend and a supporter. Because of you, we have been able to achieve great things. This year has been one of the busiest years in our history as we completed our Capital Campaign and moved into our new home. We could not have done this without you.
That is why I am coming to you now with this special request.
As a friend and supporter, we would like to know how you feel about us and our organization’s fundraising efforts. We hope you will be candid with us. We will listen!
The result will mean even greater things for our “home built with love.” We want to understand better why you are such a valuable friend and what we can do to improve our relationship with you.
Thank you for your help.
Please take our short Donor Experience Survey HERE.
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Resident Update: Because of You, We Happily Celebrate Some of Our Mom's and Babies' Milestones. |
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Birthdays
Cheyann - 10/7
Justin - 10/15 (child)
Desiree - 11/16
Ashley -12/29
Antonio - 1/1 (Child)
Rose - 2/3
Kasemwana - 2/8
Births
Jared - 12/9
Angelo - 2/26
Harmony - 3/12
Baby Showers
Nyisha and Sandy - 2/23
Because you care, we have welcomed 370 babies and 355 mothers since opening our doors in 1998!
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Your support is changing lives through a variety of new programming.
Now that our house is resuming somewhat regular operations, we have been extremely busy on the programming front with new initiatives for our moms.
Malta House recently held a Homeownership 101 Seminar with Realtor Samuel Ambroise, began the GriefShare Series, restarted the Empowerment Group with the Rowan Center, started an Organizing Group with Pam Dedona, held a Basic Handwriting and Calligraphy Course with Audrey Corrozin, and participated in The Hub's Mental Health Suicide Prevention Seminar, in addition to regular weekly groups.
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Your support of financial literacy is key to breaking the cycle of homelessness.
Financial literacy and job training are critical for empowering women on their path to self-sufficiency.
Of those living in poverty, the majority continue to be women. Life skills training helps these women to rise above the poverty that keeps them trapped in the cycle of homelessness.
In Fairfield County alone, over 300 moms living below the poverty line need a place to call “home” for their unborn child. Over 110 women a year who receive homelessness/housing services are pregnant or parenting and between the ages of 18-24. This accounts for just 30% of those experiencing homelessness. Approximately 80% of women who request housing are put on a waiting list.
Malta House has nine core competencies for its programming. Central to these competencies is financial literacy and job training. This past winter, as part of its curriculum, we began a 4-week virtual life skills series led by A.W.A.R.E. Classes were geared towards resume-building, interviewing skills, and budgeting tips.
Your support provides training such as these life skills classes that help build strong foundations in our moms for a bright future.
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Check Out a “Day in the Life” of a Malta House Mom That You Made Possible |
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Your support is changing the lives of moms and babies throughout Fairfield County.
This past fall, we released a feature video, Dear Future Mom, showing what a “Day in the Life” of Malta House is like.
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Let’s welcome!
Malta House welcomes several new members to its staff.
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CLAUDIA ESCALANTE
Receptionist / Administrative Assistant
Claudia Escalante has worked in the Marketing and Event field for about nine years for multi-level marketing companies. She has worked for clients with small and larger events, virtually and in person.
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Claudia has also worked in the hospitality field, specializing in social events. She is bilingual in Spanish, has an Associates in Liberal Arts from NCC, and plans to continue her education at UCONN. Claudia lives in Stamford with her husband and children. She enjoys being outside and spending time with her family as much as possible. Claudia has a positive attitude and enjoys learning new tasks while helping others. |
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BRIANNA GIBBS
Nursery Assistant
Brianna was born in Springfield, Ma, and moved to Connecticut in 2010 after graduating high school. She joined Malta House as a Nursery Assistant in April of 2018 with over 12 years of experience in childcare. She attended Norwalk Community College taking courses for Child Development and has worked with many children ranging from two months to nine years of age. Briana also has "Parent as Teachers" training with a certificate for completing the program and CPR and First Aid certification. She looks forward to continuing her journey working with children and helping nurture and love them as much as she can at Malta House.
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DENISE IMBROGNO
Human Resources Manager
Denise Imbrogno comes to Malta House with over 20 years of experience delivering strategic and operational human resources support to clients, business leaders, and teams. In her former position as Director, Human Resources at Cengage Learning, Denise focused on leading the development and execution of company-wide HR policies and programs and restructuring and change management initiatives. Her key talents include building collaborative teams and meaningful working relationships.
In 2013, Denise left the corporate sector to focus more on her family, faith, and community. She started her own consulting business, and it was during this transformative period she was introduced to Malta House and fell in love with the warm staff and the mission of supporting pregnant moms and their children. Following her lifelong mantra of “giving back” to communities, Denise has been committed to her support of Malta House, community and school fundraising events, and women’s ministries.
Denise is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and an active member of St. Philip Church and currently serves as co-coordinator for the Walking with Purpose Bible Study for women. As a native of Norwalk, Denise and her husband, along with their two daughters, can sometimes be seen at the Norwalk Green tossing the ball with their friendly cockapoo.
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MARIA VELA
Nursery Assistant
Maria was born in Venezuela to Portuguese parents and immigrated to the United States 25 years ago. She is married and has two sons.
Maria attended Norwalk Community College, where she received her Associate Child Development Associate's and began working with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers shortly after graduating. Her passion is to love children and help them grow into the wonderful explorers and thinkers they are destined to be. She loves to share her bilingual background and often incorporates it in the classroom.
In 2000, Maria began working at a Childcare Learning Center in Stamford and transitioned nine years later to open her home daycare. She is excited to join Malta House as a Nursery Assistant, where she can continue to learn and pursue her passion for teaching and providing the best care to children.
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SUSAN ZELMAN
Volunteer Coordinator and Community Relations Manager
Susan Zelman brings to Malta House over 15 years of experience in community engagement and volunteer management. She first became involved in non-profit work as a very active volunteer in her children’s schools, serving on PTO Boards, supporting fundraising and enrichment events, organizing classroom volunteers, and leading community engagement efforts and publicity.
She then worked for a non-profit organization managing their food pantries and emergency assistance programs overseeing a network of over 4,000 volunteers. Just before joining Malta House, Susan was responsible for a portfolio of over 75 private foundations supporting the administration of their philanthropic activities.
Professionally and personally, she is a firm believer in engaging the community and volunteers in meaningful work and believes her strength lies in her “matchmaking” skills. Susan is passionate about bringing together people who want help with people who need help.
Susan lives in Norwalk with her husband, two boys (now young men), and her feisty rescue beagle, Henry. Susan enjoys spending time with friends and family, exploring new cities and places, and taking long walks with Henry. She loves to create things, especially in the kitchen, baking, or using power tools to re-purpose wood and other found objects into something fun or functional.
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We Are Looking for a Few Good Malta House Team Members! |
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Our home has expanded, and so is our team!
We have vacancies in several key program positions, including Resident Advisors, a Case Manager, and a Nursery Supervisor.
If you or someone you know may be interested in joining our growing and dynamic team, please let us know!
And please share these positions within your networks and help us spread the word!
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I want to take this opportunity to say hello and introduce myself as the new Volunteer Coordinator and Community Relations Manager for Malta House.
I am a local Norwalk resident with several years’ experience with nonprofits, having previously managed over 4,000 volunteers. Since joining Malta House on March 14th, I’ve been busy getting to know Malta House, our residents, staff, programs, and volunteers. I plan to continue my learning throughout April and meet as many volunteers as possible so we can open our doors again to new volunteers in May.
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Our generous volunteers preparing for a Malta House Community Outreach event. |
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I want to take this opportunity to say hello and introduce myself as the new Volunteer Coordinator and Community Relations Manager for Malta House.
I am a local Norwalk resident with several years’ experience with nonprofits, having previously managed over 4,000 volunteers. Since joining Malta House on March 14th, I’ve been busy getting to know Malta House, our residents, staff, programs, and volunteers. I plan to continue my learning throughout April and meet as many volunteers as possible so we can open our doors again to new volunteers in May.
In my brief time at Malta House, I can already feel all the love from those who work here and live here and those who graciously give or want to give to Malta House. I am very excited to be joining Malta House. April is National Volunteer Month, and now, as always, we are so grateful for and blessed with the help and support of our volunteers.
We could not do all we do without our volunteers!
With our expanded capacity comes many more opportunities to engage volunteers and the community in our good work. Stay tuned to learn more. My door, phone line, and inbox are always open.
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UPCOMING EVENTS: Come Join us! |
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Gala
Join Malta House on Friday, May 6th, for our Annual Gala at Woodway Country Club.
Enjoy an evening of cocktails, dinner, and Gifts of Love, all to benefit our mission.
2022 honorees - The Peter & Adeline W. Ruffin Foundation.
This is our biggest fundraiser, and we need your support more than ever.
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“THAT’S A WRAP”: Thanks for supporting our recent past events! |
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Mystery Dinner
Thursday, October 28th, friends and supporters joined Malta House for our first ever Mystery "WHODUNIT" Dinner Experience. The evening was hosted at the Italian Center in Stamford and featured an interactive dinner show, program, etc.
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Casual Friday Dinner
Friday, March 4th, guests gathered to celebrate Malta House at our Annual Casual Friday Dinner! Thanks to our "Celebrity Waiters" for making the night a big success.
Guests enjoyed a 4-course family-style Italian dinner provided by St. Ann's Club, Teacup Ticket Auction, and special Malta House Program.
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Please Join Us! Shop and support Malta House -- perfect for Mother's Day! |
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Please Support These Businesses that Support Our Moms and Babies! |
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We are so grateful at Malta House to all the local businesses and organizations who are generously providing us with in-kind contributions, employee volunteering, and raising money to help our moms on their path to self-sufficiency.
Please be sure to frequent those who support our Malta House mission.
This quarter we feature…
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To find out more about how your business or organization can get involved in our efforts, please email rcabral@maltahouse.org.
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Thank YOU for your help in providing Hope for Life as our Malta House family continues to grow.
– the Board of Malta House
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Our Mission: Malta House promotes the dignity of God-given life by providing a nurturing home environment, support services, and independent living skills to pregnant and parenting mothers of all faiths and their children.
Mothers at Malta House receive on-site counseling, financial education, and parental development, followed by transitional and post-residential support.
Providing 'Hope for Life' for pregnant and parenting mothers and their children
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Don't forget to follow us on social media! |
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