Children's Village was a tough place during the early 70's. I was approximately 10 y/o when I was admitted. I can tell you that it taught me many things in life but a difficult place to live during those days. Thank God I had a great social worker by the name Connie who really helped me during those time. The rating has nothing to do with today. Only from my time in there during early 70's.
PS: Connie, if you are still alive contact me. Thanks~
Raphael Velez~
203-410-9530
CV is clear in their mission to launch these children into productive adulthood work and living situations. When I applied to mentor a student, I saw, firsthand, the stringent vetting process to ensure that the students privacy and human integrity were taken into consideration. The main goal of the mentor program is to expand the students reach beyond the social & educational services that CV provides. I feel honored to have been trusted to take on a role which allowed me behind the scenes of the organization for better or worse. It enabled me to help my mentee navigate the multi- functional regulations that these young men are not necessarily equipped to manage. These kids are at a difficult age under the best of circumstances yet CV provides a safe nurturing environment giving them opportunities they would not have had otherwise. I truly believe the dedicated team at CV are committed to changing the trajectory of these kids lives in the best way possible.
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I mentor a 20 year old 'young adult'. We have been together for one year and I plan to continue on with him. Children's Village has been a wonderful, amazing place for him. He has matured there with the support of educators and cottage supervisors who held him accountable for his actions, teaching him that his future is in his own hands. This is a major transitional period in his life. Knowing the odds that he has going against him, I cannot overstate the value of the guidance that CV has provided. I am also very impressed with the Connections team and all of the support they have given to me as a mentor and their mission to support the boys and young men in every way possible.
I mentor a 17 year old boy through a volunteer program where community adults can mentor young residents at Children's Village. For a variety of reasons, these kids lack positive adult role models in their lives. The young man I mentor has suffered far too much by his age, and has previously been in 12 foster homes. At Children's Village he has finally found the safety and support he needs. Safety and support are simple things many of us take for granted, but he doesn't. Now he can finally learn and grow and succeed.
Recently when we were returning from an all day off-campus outing, he said: "When I got here I never imagined I'd say this, but it feels good to be home!"
As a decades long volunteer at The Children's Village, I have always been impressed by the professionalism and dedication of the administration and staff. They truly have the best interest of the young people and families that they serve. As a volunteer I Have always appreciated the great amount of support and encouragement that I have received. The young people at Children's Village have a lot of needs and Children's Village give them a lot of what they need.
Lou Codella
I serve on the Leadership Council of this wonderful organization. Through my volunteerism and fundraising for Children's Village, I've come to know the staff, community stakeholders, and, most importantly, the children. I've learned that Children's Village fosters a safe, caring learning community for the children its serves, and helps to enrich the community at large through its programming. I feel lucky to be part of the CV community!
I've been involved with the Children's Village for the past several years first through my employer and more recently as part of the Children's Village Leadership Council. Throughout this time, I have both organized and participated in several volunteer events getting to interact with many of the boys there. CV is a wonderful organization that is truly making a difference in the lives of so many who are really struggling and I’ve been honored to be a part of it.
I've been involved with the Children's Village for the past three years and am continuously surprised by the broad reach of programs they deliver to youth in need in our community. My involvement is through the Children's Village Leadership Council. We participate in fundraising activities and active volunteering. Through this involvement, I have seen first hand the patience , kindness and effort given by the staff members to the youth at the Dobbs Ferry campus.
I have been tutoring young people and helping with in-kind gifts and community support for The Children's Village for about eight years since my retirement from secondary school teaching. . CV serves the most vulnerable among us: young people who have been denied what any child should expect: a stable, safe, decent home; an intact family; a good education; proper nutrition, and protection from violence. Despite the challenges, these young people respond with awe-inspiring determination, resilience, courage and decency. The first boy I tutored at age 15 had been in foster care since he was five and had never been in the same school for a full year. Nevertheless, he was determined to go to college, to make a productive life for himself and, as he told me last summer at age 20, to take care of his mother, though she had never been able to care for him.
CV serves their families,too, with preventive services and support. All of this is provided by a staff that is underpaid, as are so many in the not-for-profit sector, and burdened by immense challenges, yet they serve with love, and as the theologian Paul Tillich taught us years ago, there is no true help without love. Love and commitment are evident throughout the agency from the CEO Jeremy Kohomban to the security staff who seem to know each youngster and respond to him or her as they would to their own children.
I am honored to be able to serve as part of this agency.
I have been volunteering at The Children's Village for six years. I am part of a group of parents who visit the youngest 'Cottage' of boys at CV every month. These boys are age 6-14, and some are experiencing their first stable 'home' with the help of Miss Meggie and the other Supervisors of their Cottage.
The boys are living together, learing all of the big and small lessons we were given without a second thought by our parents: sharing, saying 'please' and 'thank you', shaking people's hands when you meet them. But the hugs we get when we walk in the door for a visit are something that cannot be taught, they are something that comes from the heart. The feeling of being loved. Along with discipline, education, and life skills, these little boys get love at Children's Village.
As president of Interfaith Caring Community of Greenburgh I organize ( and participate in) many projects with Children's Village -both on its Dobbs Ferry Campus and at the Sanctuary. I am at the Sanctuary several times a month either for an event or to bring donations. The staff is absolutely amazing !!! They are dedicated and effective -- reflective of their kindness and compassion. This is the pervasive atmosphere and it comes from the top down. The effect on the youth is so positive !! CV really makes a difference,
As a lifelong educator, I have always considered our children our greatest resource. Unfortunately not all children have the same opportunity to be nurtured in a safe, positive, and loving environment. Thankfully, Children's Village, Inc. has been there for many years for those who need special help at a critical point in their life.
I have had the pleasure to witness and participate in many Children's Village programs and community wide initiatives. As a long time mayor in the Village of Dobbs Ferry (location of the main campus), I was invited to visit the campus often. I never declined the opportunity to learn about new programs and speak with students and staff. I always came away with a very positive feeling regarding how these vulnerable children were being assisted to get their life back on track.
I have also been a Children's Village Community Advisory Board member. In this capacity I have been able to learn about specific programs and services Children's Village offers. Once again, I always come away with tremendous respect for the professionalism and dedication of the staff.
Children's Village continues to serve children in need with respect, love, and dedication. We all benefit by it's commitment to improve the life of those who need it the most..
I have been doing volunteer work at the Children's Village for 15 1/2 years. The boys are so needy and I find it very rewarding to help them. Some of them have
No family to speak of and I feel I can give them some of the love that I have to
Spare. I'm a surrogate parent there and I also sit on the Committee for Special
Ed. And I advocate for the boys. I've watched them grow and graduate. It's amazing that with the right guidance that they can accomplish so much. I have
Also been active in the classrooms as an aide. I now am on the Community Advisory Committee. We'd like the community to know all of the positive things
That are going on here. I think that any extra help that they can get monetarily, can Only help make it even better.
Children's village is a fantastic organization that I have been involved with for many years. Primarily I work on the leadership council and have had the privilege of really getting to know a group of the kids through events such as softball games, sporting events and our annual holiday party on campus.