The national resource for the support of children who are caring for
chronically ill, injured, elderly, or disabled family members.
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AACY's High School Graduates Celebrate In Style |
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June means graduation season, and our high school seniors got the chance to celebrate their accomplishments in style. Hosted at Palm Beach State College, this year's graduation party was a great display of their goals and ambitions. As students, making their way through high school is challenging enough. With the added responsibility of caregiving and often part-time work as well, the journey is even more demanding. However, our high school seniors focused on their priorities and made it to the finish line. The celebration was complete with projector screens showcasing student plans for college. The students and their families got to enjoy a delicious dinner, as well as the opportunity to listen to a speech from AACY Board Chair, Rosie Inguanzo-Martin, among others. The graduation marked a milestone our high school seniors' lives, and we wish them the very best in their endeavors. |
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FROM DR. CONNIE |
We had good news from the Washington office of Congresswoman Lois Frankel - the recommendation from their office along with Reps. Barbara Lee (CA) and Bobby Scott (VA) to the GAO to conduct a national study on the prevalence and impacts of caregiving by youth was accepted. Let's work towards getting it expedited!
Roy Miller, President of American Children's Campaign has suggested that we initiate a FL Caregiving Youth Act. We agree and Rita Solnet of our AACY National Advisory Council has offered to help with its writing. Stay tuned!
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CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEWLY ELECTED 2022-2023 BOARD OFFICERS! |
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AACY would like to thank Board Member Rosie Inguanzo-Martin (pictured) for her time and services as AACY Chair. Rosie will be stepping down as Chair effective July 1st.
AACY appreciates Rosie's contributions during her time as Chair, and will look forward to working with her in a new capacity. Debralyn Belletieri will be stepping in as new AACY Chair effective July 1st. Jeff Gordon will continue on as Vice Chair.
Isabel Parrado will be taking the position of Secretary, and Angela Stevenson will be filling in the position of Treasurer. We want to once again congratulate our Board Officers on their new positions, and thank them for their time and commitment towards furthering our mission at AACY.
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'Saddle up' For Hearts & Soles 2022! |
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We need your help to make this year's Hearts & Soles a success! We are excited to be bringing our star-studded gala back this year but we need donors and supporters like you to help us make this event as great as can be. Our proceeds will benefit programs and services for Caregiving Youth, and this hootenanny is guaranteed to be a great time! Here are some ways that you can help support us with this event:
- Save the Date & Spread the word!
- We are calling on all of our supporters to spread the word of this event, particularly to those who may have connections to legislators, educators, researchers, and healthcare professionals who could help our cause and may want to participate.
- If you would like a copy of the flyers and links for the event to share with your contacts, please reach out to our Communications Manager, Aimee DePalma.
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AACY Awarded Grant from Honda Classic Cares! |
We at AACY were ever so thankful to have been chosen as one of the charities to have received a grant from The Honda Classic Cares! Presented by leaders of The
CouTOURe Club, this $5,000 grant will go towards funding our programs and services for Caregiving Youth.
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AACY would like to thank the Palm Beach County Medical Society for their kind donation of 3 for our Caregiving Youth as they downsized their office space. As you can imagine, the need for new computers is substantial. Help our efforts to supply our students with new technology by checking out our Wishlist.
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Our youth thrive with support! Delaney Dalton was awarded the AACY Scholarship by the George Snow Scholarship Fund. A member of the Caregiving Youth Program since the sixth grade, Delaney is excited for what the future holds and plans to pursue a college career in addition to her caregiving responsibilities. |
AACY's work and mission was recently discussed in News Radio WINA's "A Graceful Life" Podcast! Join Dr. Richard Lindsay, AJ & Charlie Poole, and host Jeanne McCusker for an insightful discussion on what it means to be a young caregiver, and how we can raise awareness of this underserved population. Follow this link to listen.
We are so grateful for the recent coverage we have received from several different news outlets! See our most up-to-date AACY News, articles, coverage, etc. on our website! Additionally, make sure you follow us on our social media platforms to see our news coverage as soon as we post it!
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Here are a few ways you can support AACY!
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Attend our upcoming events
- Become a corporate sponsor
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Share AACY News with your legislators and representatives
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Invite the AACY team to educate others in your life and/or work
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Shop on Amazon! Please consider signing up for the American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY) when you shop on Amazon! Select AACY as your charitable organization and Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. Sign up today at smile.amazon.com
- Donate HERE
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Check out our Wishlist!
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AACY is pleased to announce the newest addition to our Board of Directors: Penny Westberry. Penny Westberry is retired after a 40 year career in a variety of human services roles, in both charitable, governmental, and quasi-governmental settings. Throughout her career, she also performed consulting work in the areas of board, team, and organizational development. Penny received her BA degree from Duke University and a Masters in Social Work planning, administration, and research, with a concentration in children and families, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was born and raised in New York and moved to Florida in 1998, living in Boca Raton since 2000.
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AACY's Caregiving Youth Connect |
At the close of the 2021-2022 school year, 512 Palm Beach County caregiving youth were enrolled in the American Association of Caregiving Youth's (AACY), Caregiving Youth Project (CYP) program. The CYP provides a plethora of services to the youth and their family in need, at school, in home and the community. The Caregiving Youth Project focuses on providing supportive services to youth for he/she to get the well-deserved respite and know they are not alone in their caregiving situation. The CYP has been able to provide mentoring opportunities of which thirty-nine successful and blossoming matches have been made.
Over eighty students have received tutoring assistance from the program to ensure students are staying on track and being promoted to the next grade level or graduate high school. Forty-eight seniors graduated this year with 90% reporting they will be purpose tertiary education. During the summer months, the Family Specialists continues to engage with the youth and family through home visits and follow ups. Scheduled sponsored in person and virtual activities such as: camp, Marlins games, workshops, and field trip activities etc. are provided and well attended by our youth who need a break and the special opportunity to just be a kid!
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AACY wishes you and your family a safe and happy 4th of July weekend! |
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Planning for the Year Ahead |
- Thanks to funding partners, we continue to directly serve Caregiving Youth in 35 Palm Beach County middle and high schools, in addition to students in 22 other local middle and high schools where the Caregiving Youth Project (CYP) has yet to expand to!
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Further the four pillars of the Caregiving Youth Institute (CYI): Connect, Advocate, Research and Educate
- Educate legislators to include Caregiving Youth in legislation and policy
- Support child caregivers in military families
- Develop the AACY Network of national partnerships & affiliates
- Create recurring revenue streams to support sustainability
This is just a few of the many tasks we are working on. We are excited to continue our work for AACY and all of the children and families we serve.
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We Are Most Grateful to Our Funding & Supporting Partners: |
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