It has been said that good things come in little packages. In the case of nonprofits, the four finalists in the Claire Friedlander Foundation Rising Star Award prove that great things can come from small organizations. The Claire Friedlander Rising Star Award recognizes organizations with budgets under $2 million that embody leadership and innovation through social impact. This year’s finalists are: Child Abuse Prevention Services; Literacy Nassau; Momma’s House; and RotaCare, Inc.
Child Abuse Prevention Services (CAPS): With a goal of “keeping every child safe from harm,” CAPS impacts over 40,000 children with programs that deal with such issues as bullying, internet safety, date rape, and sexual harassment. While CAPS focuses its services to the children being abused, it also has developed programs for parents and school officials to help identify trends and change patterns for future generations.
Literacy Nassau: Literacy Nassau helps people learn how to read. But what they really do is help build confidence and self-esteem while assisting individuals to become contributing members of society. Tutoring is done one-on-one and is designed around the specific needs of each individual, helping each individual reach their own personal goal.
Momma’s House: Started as an organization dedicated to providing housing for young women and children, the focus of the organization is now “teaching women how to create a family and how to survive as a family.” Momma’s still provides housing, but it also provides a diverse level of family assistance programs such as babysitting, job training, education, and support … Momma’s is a lifeline holding families together.
RotaCare, Inc: Occupying 10,000 square feet of a county nursing facility in Uniondale, RotaCare provides free medical services to the poor through a network of volunteer healthcare professionals and partnering hospitals. In addition to what you would normally expect to find in a walk-in facility, RotaCare has a full pharmacy, EKG machine, social workers, and more. Through its efforts, RotaCare has been able to lessen the burden on area hospital emergency rooms.
Big results for agencies with such small budgets. The winner of the Claire Friedlander Foundation Rising Star Award is … Join us on May 6th at the Crest Hollow Country Club to find out.