December 2022 News & Happenings
In this issue:
  • A letter from the CEO: Joanne M. Oplustil
  • CAMBA Night Out Recap
  • Thanksgiving Meals for CAMBA Residents
  • CAMBA Residence Receives West Elm Makeover
  • CAMBA Learning To Work Internship Program
  • CAMBA Small Business Services News
Dear Friends,

For more than 45 years, CAMBA has provided New Yorkers in need with the critical services, programs, and opportunities to empower them to create a stable and self-sufficient future.

As we prepare for the holiday season and look forward to 2023, we're continuing to meet the critical needs of our communities: from the increase in families relying on our emergency food pantry, to families living on minimum wage and struggling to stay in their apartments with increasing rents. Our after-school programs support hundreds of students still working through the impact of the pandemic and remote education. Since May, we have also begun helping Ukrainian refugees trying to rebuild their lives after fleeing a devastating war.
 
While your generosity has allowed us to continue helping people through incredibly trying times, many remain at risk –
  • Over the past year, our homelessness prevention programs successfully helped more than 99.7% of their clients (representing more than 8,200 individuals and more than 3,400 households) remain housed in their communities and out of the shelter system – but there are many more people who need our help.
  • Over the past two months, CAMBA has met urgent needs of more than 1,200 Ukrainian asylees. More arrive each day. Many have spouses serving on the front lines back home. Most have close relatives still at risk in Ukraine. All are trauma survivors.
  • We are still averaging a 50% percent increase of clients at our food pantry today, and as the economy shifts, the numbers are rising again.

We're incredibly thankful that neighbors like you always have our back – especially so we can keep helping those in need.
Warmly,
Joanne M. Oplustil
President/CEO
CAMBA/CHV/CLS
Katherine O'Neill
Chairwoman
CAMBA
Thank You for Helping Make CAMBA Night Out 2022 Such a Great Success!
Thank you to everyone who helped make 2022 CAMBA Night Out on Thursday, November 3rd such a great success!

We were thrilled to come together in person for the first time in three years for a fun-filled evening in support of the 65,000 New Yorkers in need CAMBA reaches each year. Our largest fundraiser of the year, CAMBA Night Out enables us to fund critical programs that help our communities grow and thrive.
This year, we were pleased to honor New York City Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz (second from left) and Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (accepted by President & CEO Jose Gonzalez). CAMBA President & CEO Joanne Oplustil (third from left) also presented community leader Edward Powell (far right) with the first ever Beverly and Charles Morris Community Service Award. You can watch all of the honoree videos by clicking here.
We were also joined by Abulai Jalloh, a CAMBA program alumni who is now a successful business owner. Abdulai inspired the audience with his personal journey of coming to the United States as a young boy from Sierra Leone, and how CAMBA helped his family from the moment they arrived.

“From teaching me the English language to helping us with our immigration appointments, medical check-ups, learning about our new city, and finding good schools for us — CAMBA did it all. For that, me and my family are forever grateful.”
With the support of CAMBA and his family, Abdulai worked hard throughout school and soon began working himself, which has paid off. Along with his brother Husamatu, Abdulai co-founded Border Nation, a full-service film and video production, brand strategy, and online marketing company based in New York City.
Two Area Churches Give CAMBA Residents a Happy Thanksgiving
Two area parishes — St. Lawrence O’Toole Church in Brewster, NY and St. Anthony of Padua Church in the Bronx — teamed up and donated 1,160 cooked Thanksgiving meals to four of our homeless family shelter sites, including: The Park Residence, Evergreen Family Residence, The Kings Inn, and The Landing.

In addition to the Thanksgiving meals, the parishes also donated coats, diapers, canned goods, personal hygiene products, and cleaning supplies for our families.
CAMBA Park Avenue Residence Receives West Elm Makeover
Many thanks to our partners at west elm for giving the recreation room in our Park Avenue Residence family shelter in the Bronx a much needed makeover!

CAMBA’s family shelters provide holistic support focused on ending generational cycles of poverty and homelessness. While families are living in shelter, staff provide parents with the skills they need to transition out of shelter including job training and placement opportunities for unemployed parents, and assistance in understanding and supporting their children’s health, emotional well-being and development.

Each family has an individualized service plan that outlines their unique set of strengths and needs, along with the steps needed to stabilize family functioning and transition to permanent housing as soon as possible. Emphasis in securing active benefits, employment, searching for permanent housing and securing a better quality of life when returning to the community is paramount.​ CAMBA is one of the first NYC shelter operators to bring in after-school programs for middle school youth, and mental health services to young mothers living in shelter.
CAMBA Learning To Work
Program Internship Developers
Internship Developers work to pair young people with internship experiences that align with student interests. To prepare our young people adequately for post-secondary realities the internship program is designed to develop work readiness skills (resume building, financial literacy and money management, interview techniques etc. We currently have students working in a variety of businesses including real estate offices, schools, barber shops, restaurants, clothing stores, and pharmacies just to name a few.
Pictured from left to right: Cindy Vasquez, Internship Developer, Lower East Side Prep; Emmeline Loubeau, Internship Developer, Brooklyn Bridge Academy High School; Natasha Garcia, Internship Developer, Cascades High School; Elisha Ramos, Former Program Director, Independence High School; Shelley Hampton, Internship Developer, James Baldwin High School; Tiffany Palomeque (front row in black), Internship Developer, Franklin K Lane High School; Chayla Walters, Internship Developer, Brownsville Academy High School; Phil Edwards, Internship Developer, Brooklyn Academy High School.

Thanks to your continued generosity, programs like CAMBA’s Learning To Work and College Bound help young people turn their interests, skills, and passions into successful futures.
CAMBA Small Business Services
Pitch Competition
CAMBA’s Small Business Services helps aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners plan and reach their goals through one-on-one consultations, business plan workshops, start-up or expansion loans, and technology training.

CAMBA Small Business Services recently held its "Pitch Competition" at Brooklyn Commons' annual Small Business Pop Up.
During the event, start-up entrepreneurs had the opportunity to pitch their visions of success to a panel of accomplished business professionals. First Place was awarded to Shantini Alleyne, who pitched her idea for Shantini Alleyne Skin (pictured left); Second Place went to Ashley Marrero and Charles Asante (pictured center), who pitched their idea for Kente Cones; and Third Place was awarded to Courtney Stern (pictured right), who pitched her idea for Park Watch.
Two CAMBA Small Business Services Participants Win Big at Brooklyn Public Library's Power Up! Competition
Two participants of CAMBA Small Business Services 10-week Business Plan Course won First Prize ($20,000) and Third Prize ($5,000) at this year's Brooklyn Public Library's Power Up! Business Plan competition.

We are proud to continue establishing and developing start ups in Brooklyn that have a positive impact on the residents of this great borough. 

First Place Winner Busola George is a professional dancer who will open a dance studio in Brooklyn so fellow artists have the space to be creative and master their craft.
Third Place Winner Daniel Katz is a Chief Historian who offers history tours across NYC, with a focus on historic events having taken place in one of the five boroughs and the effects those events have on local residents today. 

We congratulate our winners and look forward to continue working with them with the goal of growing their businesses and having lasting positive impact on Brooklyn residents.  
Support CAMBA this Holiday Season!
There’s still time to make a difference in the lives of struggling New Yorkers with a gift to CAMBA this year!

As the end of the year approaches, please consider making a gift to CAMBA today. Your support will help those who need it the most.
CAMBA, Inc.