Welcome to Cristina Connections
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Anyone can be cool, but awesome takes practice.
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"
This place saved my life. I’d probably be dead or serving some great amount of time in prison somewhere. They gave me a second chance at high school, a gym to work out in, as well as substance abuse counseling. Since coming here there has been major progress in my life and a big change in how I see life.” (Jose)
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We strive to fill our children with hope.” said Stephanie Hinkaty, Children's Village's senior communications officer. Conversing with Stephanie Hinkaty is a very heartwarming experience. The Children's Village has offices in Dobbs Ferry, New York City, and in Newburgh, New York. A highly regarded child welfare agency, its mission is to work in partnership with families to help society’s most vulnerable children so that they become educationally proficient, economically productive, and socially responsible members of their communities.
Through a whole range of community-based intervention
programs
,
residential support and schooling on their campus for boys 6-17, they touch the lives of up to 10,000 children every year. They have been doing this work since 1851.
For the children and the families who need help, Children’s Village’s targeted interventions are designed to build productive outcomes -- not only to overcome crisis -- but also to provide tools to help them prepare for independence.
Opening doors to opportunity is what
The
Children’s Village
is all about!
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Congratulations to Tech for Troops in Richmond, Virginia and its Executive Director, Mark Casper, who were honored at the 23rd annual RVATech Gala with the Richmond Technology Council’s
Community Impact /Nonprofit of the Year Award
. Selected from a group of five finalists, the recipient of the award is an individual or team from a non profit or civic organization in central Virginia that displays innovative use of technology to deliver services, advance their mission, or impact their community.
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A nonprofit organization, Tech For Troops is dedicated to empowering veterans in need through computer skills training, free computers and IT workforce training. It is supported by dedicated partners, computers contributed from generous corporations and a growing and enthusiastic volunteer team that refurbish and prepare donated computers for distribution to veterans. Tech for Troops is a member of
AFTRR
-
Alliance for Technology Refurbishing and Reuse, a project of the National Cristina Foundation.
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We asked Mark Casper how he got connected to Tech for Troops and what this organization means to him. He described his first visit to the organization after he had been invited to serve on its board of directors. He tells what it was like for him that day. “When I walked in, it felt as if something powerful had hit me. This is a place that changes lives! The idea that at the end of the day we know we are making a difference punched me in the face.” You know his answer when Tech for Troops founder who was giving him the tour turned to him and said “How would you like to be the executive director here?”
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“Being a veteran myself serving as a Marine, I have a lot of interactions with veterans,” he explained. “ I know what it is like not to have tools to be able to help yourself apply for benefits, apply for a job, or even play a computer game.” He has thought hard about what barriers a veteran faces as he transitions out of the military into civilian life.
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“We are a band of brothers. Our service in the military means we experience things in common,” he noted. Transitioning from the military into civilian life is a 180 degree turn. Agencies do not understand military experience in the civilian world. Veterans will be hard pressed to be successful without training."
"I know ", he said, "we in this organization are changing lives. At the end of the day we know we ARE making a difference." Visit
techfortroops.org
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Each issue of Cristina Connections will highlight our partners in the Cristina Network. You make it possible for people in need to overcome the barriers of the Digital Divide. In honor of your important work, we dedicate this newsletter to YOU.
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