What's going on with staff at Palladia?

1. Julio Ruiz was among the
clients from the FUSE
program treated on June 15th
to a shopping spree of sorts
at Stratford’s Career
Closet, where they were
allowed to select off the rack
clothing appropriate for
upcoming job interviews.

2. June 28th was the opening of the Poetry Café under the Stars, 2012. We had warm air, blue skies and a standing room
only capacity crowd. The poetry was deeply felt creating waves of enthusiasm and spontaneous applause. The special
guest was Judith Baumel who is an accomplished poet and resident of the Bronx. On the judges’ panel she was joined by
Alison Brown from Damian FCC; our occupational therapy consultant, Suzanne White; Diane Bonavota/ VP for Program
Planning and Development; alumnus Tracy Smith and Eugene Layne from VESID. Thanks also to Jane Velez and Debbie
Pantin for joining us. Carmen Alvira and her crew did a great job transforming the patio into a performance space, Philip
Mallory shone as the evening’s MC and DJ Victor Moczo kept the sound and music going. We hope you can join us at our
next Poetry Café event scheduled for July 26th at 7:00 PM.

3. Whole Lot of Things Happening at Stratford House Family/Youth Specialist Ms. Denise Williams has
been instrumental in coordinating and ensuring that the following program activities are available
this summer at Stratford House
• Fresh Air Fund summer camp program. 12 children have been enrolled into the program.
Eleven of the children will be going out of the city. One of the children will be returning to
Canada.
• Summer Youth Employment Program. Seven teenagers have completed applications and
applied for employment this summer.
• Reading is Fun program is scheduled to begin this summer at Stratford House. This program
encourages parents to read books to or with their children throughout the summer. Children
attend reading programs and educational activities at the community library.
• Computer Room. Thanks to MIS all computers are operating again. The computer room now
operates daily for homework research, educational projects, and on-line job applications for adults.
• Summer enrichment program is scheduled to begin this summer at Stratford House. This
program helps children, teenagers and parents that are attending school stay abreast of and
review academic achievements.
• Pre-K/Kindergarten program is scheduled to begin this summer at Stratford House. This
program provides children ages 3-5 the opportunity to become familiar with the concepts of
letters, numbers, colors, and social skills in preparation for Kindergarten.

4. City Parks Foundation provides FREE
sports instruction to over 13,000 kids
and 1,000 seniors annually, at over 60
parks citywide. Whether its tennis, golf,
track & field or fitness - the name of the
game here is FUN for all ability
levels! Summer programming begins
today and includes free use of required
equipment.
For more information, check out:
http://www.cityparksfoundation.org/sports/

5. This handsome family
was one of the families
from the FUSH program
who had lots to smile
about following the
Cleveland Indians vs.
Yankees game on June
27.th The Yankees edged
out the Indians in a final
score of 5 to 4 despite the
loss of the Yankees’ ace
pitcher Andy Pettitte
who fractured his ankle
during the game . Four
other tenants and Crystal
Foy, director for the
FUSE program, also
attended the game.

6. Our very own Bernadette Lewis was one of 350
volunteers who participated in the June 23rd simulated
JetBlue plane crash at JFK airport. The drill also included
a car bombing and explosion into a passenger terminal.
Smoke machines were used to add to the effects Over
200 firefighters, police, doctors, EMS paraprofessionals
and federal agents responded and reacted to the crash
providing evacuation maneuvers and medical attention
to the volunteer victims. The drill was planned a year
ago with the purpose of establishing coordination and
communication across different agencies. Standing by
were evaluators who were on hand to record the
emergency drill and prepare an assessment report.

7. On June 27th staff at Dreitzer House celebrated their
2nd annual “Recognition Day” in honor of the
tenants’ children whom were awarded certificates
for their scholastic achievements in school. After
the presentations were made lunch was served to
the recipients and their families.