We hope that you enjoy the trailer for the upcoming documentary Up for Debate featuring Catalog member program NYC Urban Debate League and their efforts to utilize debate as a vehicle for self-advocacy and social change.
Up for Debate – sample work-in-progress from Judy Lieff on Vimeo.
Dr. Robert Gore, the Executive Director of Catalog member program Kings Against Violence Initiative (KAVI) has been selected as a CNN Hero. As a Brooklyn native and emergency room doctor Dr. Gore recognized the need to create a hospital-based violence intervention program at Kings County Hospital and launched KAVI. This January we were delighted to welcome KAVI and Dr. Gore to The Catalog. We couldn’t be more delighted that their work is being honored by CNN! Watch the video below to find out more.
On Thursday April 27th The Catalog convened a capacity-building workshop for its 7th Cohort Member Organizations. The workshop was presented by communications consultant Marti Fischer and provided participants with skills to perfect their organization’s elevator pitches and cut through all the noise that non-profit messaging is often lost in. A key goal of The Catalog is to expand the technical, fundraising, and communications skills of its member programs so that they are better able to survive in the current non-profit climate when they leave the Cohort. Thanks to the support of The Meringoff Family Foundation The Catalog will provide a number of capacity-building workshops to its member programs this year.
On July 20th Catalog Executive Director, Florence Wiener and 2016 Urban Heroes co-honoree, Ed Adler and his wife Cheryl visited Catalog alumni program Row New York at the Peter J. Sharp Boathouse on the Harlem River, home to the program’s Manhattan site. During the early morning visit they went out on boats to watch coaches providing instruction to prepare participants for a regatta in Philadelphia. They also talked to students about their intensive physical training and the academic tutoring and college readiness that are hallmarks of the program. Row New York, which began as an all-girls program in Corona Park, Queens, and opened its coed program in Manhattan five years ago, is poised to open its third location in Brooklyn. The program is especially proud of its record of sending all of its graduates on to college.
On June 29th The Real Estate Committee of , led by James Nelson (Cushman Wakefield), convened a breakfast panel on the state of NYC’s commercial real estate market, hosted by L&L Holding Company and sponsored by Cushman & Wakefield, RESA, W Financial, McGowan Builders, CrowdComfort, and Crown Architecture and Consulting. All ticket proceeds benefitted The Catalog. Over 100 attendees listened to Paul J. Massey, Jr. provide opening remarks highlighting the importance of the New York City real estate community continuing to invest in programs and organizations like The Catalog that provide vital support in underserved communities. The panel was moderated by Steve Kohn (Cushman & Wakefield), and featured Catalog Board Members Rob Lapidus (L&L Holdings), Richard Wagman (Madison Capital),and Marty Burger (Silverstein Properties). The panelists provided guests with insight into the opportunities and challenges that commercial real estate market, and in particular the special challenges of large retail spaces in NYC’s current market. Sponsorships and ticket sales from the panel raised nearly $20,000 to benefit The Catalog’s 15 member programs and the youth they assist. Future panels are being planned for the fall and winter on other topics of interest to the real estate community.