Philanthropy in Phocus

The Book Fairies is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that collects reading materials for people in need throughout metropolitan New York. The reading materials foster literacy and academic success, provide a respite from personal struggles, and nurture a love of reading across age groups.

Amy Zaslansky is the founder of The Book Fairies, a nonprofit organization that provides books to people in need across metropolitan New York. Since its inception in 2012, The Book Fairies has donated more than 2.7 million books to underserved schools and nonprofit organizations including hospitals, homeless shelters, soup kitchens and correctional facilities. Amy, a lifelong avid reader and lover of books.

She is a Maryland native, graduated from Emory University with a BA in Psychology and earned her MS in Occupational Therapy from Temple University. Her earlier careers included being an Occupational Therapist, and operating an e-commerce site. Amy resides on Long Island with her husband, three children, and a small menagerie of pets.

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The first segment opens with Tommy introducing the show and today's guest. Amy Zaslansky, founder of the book fairies, a non profit organization that provides books to people in need across metropolitan New York. Also on today's show, Eileen also from the book fairies. Tommy then goes into some background about Amy and Eileen. After Tommy is done reading their accomplishments, they both give some more detailed background.

The second segment starts with Tommy giving a testimony to the book fairies service and opening up the conversation to Amy and Eileen. They both explain that the people coming to get books have an unlimited amount they can take. This is due to having a surplus in books to donate. Amy and Eileen explain that in their warehouse, they are starting to overflow in inventory and truthfully approaching not having enough room to store the books. Roughly 50,000 books are given out a month and half of one million a year. Amy explains that her love for reading and becoming aware of the statistics regarding the correlation between poverty and certain social impacts and not being able to read led her to finding the book fairies.

The third segment starts with Tommy bringing the show back up from break and giving a reintroduction of the guests, Amy Zaslansky and Eileen. Tommy brings the conversation back to how The book Fairies goes about getting books to the community. Amy explains through an incredible partnership with life's work, she was able to grow over 30 special needs organizations and get books to the community. Tommy then discusses the impact of the book fairies over the last decade. Amy and Eileen explain that without the volunteers and organizations, they wouldn't be able to move the books to the people that need them. Amy says that without the relationships with these organizations, the book fairies simply wouldn't be able to function.

The final segment starts with the show coming back up from break. Then Tommy moves the conversation to what the future looks like for the book fairies. Amy and Eileen explain that funding is their top priority. Funding will allow them to upgrade their current platform and allow them to fill a void in the community that even the government isn't filling today. The main form of funding for the book fairies comes through donations, Amy and Eileen explain that even the slightest donation could have a massive impact on their mission.

The Corporate Source (TCS) is a 501(c3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving employment equity for individuals with disabilities. TCS achieves this with dynamic collaborations within the federal, state and private sector by providing outsourcing business services including: disinfecting and janitorial services, total facilities management, mailroom operations, call center support, messenger services, kennel care and more. In the process, TCS helps its partners meet their Corporate Social Responsibility objectives to increase disability employment, inclusion and acceptance.

Michael Kramer is Chief Executive Officer of The Corporate Source, a nonprofit organization based in Garden City that is dedicated to creating employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities and providing services leading to independence and fulfillment. Celebrating its 25th year changing lives, TCS creates these opportunities through outsourcing service fulfillment to federal, state and private sector contracts, employing a workforce of nearly 400 throughout New York City, Long Island, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

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The first segment starts with Tommy reintroducing the show to the audience. Tommy then introduces today's guest, Michael Kramer, chief executive officer of the corporate source. A non profit organization based in garden city that is dedicated to creating employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities and providing services leading to independence and fulfillment. Tommy then opens the conversation to Michael to give a brief history of his career. Michael then tells Tommy how his company, the corporate source, how exactly they place people in jobs and the resources they have to keep them there.

The segment starts with the show coming back up from the break. Then, Tommy gives the audience a run-down of some of Michael Kramers accomplishments. Tommy then gives the conversation back to Michael to discuss a large societal shift that needs to happen so more opportunities can open for people seeking employment with disabilities.

The third segment starts with Tommy bringing up a quote Michael Kramer once said about the corporate source. Tommy then opens the conversation up to Michael to expand on the quote. This gives Michael the opportunity to tell the audience how they can get out and help but more importantly sometimes, listen. Michael says, “it's not about what people can't do, it's about what they can do.”

The final segment opens with Tommy bringing the show back up from break. Michael then talks about the corporate source and what they do for the people they work with. Michael gives the example of his organization being a nonprofit, which means they dont bring in a profit. Obviously, but the point is that every resource they have goes into training people to ensure they can do whatever job available to them.

Heroes to Heroes provide spiritual healing and peer support for American combat veterans who have attempted suicide or are on a path to self-destruction due to moral injury/PTSD. Judy Isaacson Elias founded Heroes to Heroes in March 2010.

She spent most of her career in Broadcast Media in radio advertising sales and management with Regional Reps Corporation, XM Satellite Radio, Emmis Communications, CBS Radio, and Viacom.

Judy lives in Boynton Beach, Florida, with her husband Zev, their dog, Benji, and is enjoying being a Grandma while following her passion of helping our veterans through Heroes to Heroes.

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The show opens with Tommy introducing the show and guest to the audience. Today Tommy and his guest, Judy Isaacson Elias, will be discussing Heroes to Heroes. Judy's non profit helps veterans who are on a self destructing path due to injury or ptsd. Judy explains to the audience that operating a non profit was never her plan for life, but as she worked in the world she saw the need to implement lessons learned as a child to her life and career as an adult. Tommy reflects on a time where even he didn't have a mind for philanthropy, but like Judy, saw the need to give more wherever he could.

The second segment opens with Tommy bringing the show back up from commercial and giving the conversation over to Judy. She then goes into a brief explanation of where her passion for philanthropy originated. Judy explains that growing up with a father suffering from PTSD drove her to leave home at 16 to, how she explained, escape her household. Leaving home, having problems with school and family, drove a wedge between her and her father specifically. Although Judy found clarity when she went on a retreat to Israel and in that retreat she found a deeper connection to her faith. That deeper connection to her faith led to a need to become more charitable and involved in her life. Judy lost her father in a car accident while he was driving to a reunion for jewish soldiers. When talking to some of her fathers friends they explained that even they, his friends, felt like he was too broken due to the trauma inflicted by the horrors of war. Judy explains she couldn't have had a more clear sign to get involved in veteran affairs and their mental challenges.

The next segment opens with Judy bringing back the conversation to some of the early research she did on mental health and suicide rates across veterans. This research was shocking for Judy, but she found a sliver of hope when she found out people connected to a faith or community were 5 times less likely to commit suicide. Judy explains that a massive blanket stigma regarding mental health affects the veteran community harder due to the black and white nature of war. Something discussed at length is the non defined difference between killing for your country and murder. Judy explains that difference is a gray area but without breaking through the mental health stigma in our country then no veteran will get the help they need. Judy explains the retreat veterans take across Israel with Heroes to Heroes, and how she has seen so much improvement with these veterans in her work.

The final segment opens with Tommy giving the conversation to Judy to discuss how she helped over 300 people with her program. Judy gives a detailed story about a man named Harrison. He was an angry, depressed individual, wanting no help whatsoever. Judy explains Harrison was desperately looking for a sign to stay alive. Just when he decided to take his life, Judy explains, the phone rang and it was Heroes to Heroes telling him he's been selected to take the retreat to Israel. This emotionally intense experience going to some of the holiest places on earth changed Harrisons outlook on his life. He seeked the help he needed with Judy and is now a spokesman for the organization. Judy gives a sign off and a call to action to the audience and the show ended.

Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation is an advocacy and action nonprofit created by and for restaurant workers. RWCF was founded in 2018 to advocate for – and raise funds for other nonprofits working toward – gender equity, racial justice, fair wages, and healthy work environments in the restaurant industry. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, RWCF’s additional focus is on supporting workers in crisis and small business owners with the Restaurant Workers COVID19 Crisis Relief Fund.

Michael Hamill Remaley is Board Vice President and Fundraising Committee Chair or Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation. For the first three years of its growth, Michael Hamill Remaley was board Treasurer and the Lead Consultant to Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation. As an independent consultant to nonprofit and philanthropic organizations with his firm Hamill Remaley, he works with a client roster that includes the New York Community Trust, Bridgespan, J.M. Kaplan Fund, Public Agenda, the Support Center for Nonprofits and Inside Philanthropy.

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The first segment opens with an introduction of the show and this episode's guest, Michael Hamill Remaley, Vice president and fundraising committee chair of restaurant workers community foundation. Tommy then gives a history of how he met today's guest and the networking group TNG. Through multiple networking opportunities, Tommy met Michael and ultimately led to appearing on today's episode. Michael and Tommy give a history of his organization and their impact on the restaurant and non profit industry. Michael gives a semi detailed story about his beginning days working in philanthropy and nonprofits. For Michael, these early days were crucial for establishing his love for helping others and forming his mentality of leaving the world a better place than you found it.

The second segment opens with Tommy discussing the main topic of the episode which is Michael's Restaurant Workers Community Foundation. In 2018 Michael started RWCF as an action nonprofit. Michael and his foundation raise and distribute funds through grants for workers in the labor sector. He believes that in 2018 his foundation became the first to focus specifically on issues facing these labor workers and the organizations that support them. Michael and Tommy share their experiences over some of the most damaging factors facing the restaurant industry and their workers. For Michael and his husband, the results of the 2016 election was proof to them that either restaurant workers were unaware of the policies impacting their lives or they didn't care. Either way, this was enough motivation for Michael and his husband John to start RWCF as a way to help these workers.

The next segment opens with Michael discussing RWCF program goals. Michael hopes to provide the services needed to help restaurant workers with wage fairness, gender equity, racial justice, support for the immigrant community, mental health, and substance abuse. Michael explains that the best way to reach these goals is through grant making, community organization, and impact investing. In the first fiscal year of the organization, Michael saw growth he wasn't expecting and was able to raise $40,000 in 2019. He then distributed $13,000 over 11 different companies. This was working well for Michael, even growing a board of 20 people. Michael explains that this helped survive the incoming year. In one notable way. The board signed off on hiring a part time employee to handle all of their social media. Michael explains this was insanely helpful due to the fact that he and his husband were doing most of the work for the foundation all through 2020. What RWCF needed, according to Michael, in this time was a more diverse leadership across their committees. Michael got that diverse leadership he was looking for and was able to start other projects in the foundation to get even more people help. This was of course 2020 so the one thing on their mind, like everyone else's, was the global pandemic. More relief funds were set up to help workers and restaurants with being able to survive the lockdown in New York, not only as business but in general. Michael and his team raised over 8 million dollars. Yes, 8 million dollars, to be distributed to workers and businesses.

The final segment opens with a reintroduction of the show and a reminder that yes, what you before was right. 8 million dollars. Michael gives a hopeful yet complex vision of the future for his foundation. Michael explains that he and his team have distributed funds to over 40 companies working with COVID relief and how he plans to network his foundation and those nonprofits to work together because they all have similar goals. Michael explains that the Restaurant Workers Community Foundation will continue the work they have been doing, but actively looking for new ways to help the people in the restaurant industry. This means informing the roughly 15 million restaurant workers in the United states of their existence and their services.

Today’s Guest is Jennifer Singer – Executive Director of Bright Futures for Youth

Bright Futures for Youth is a community-focused nonprofit organization committed to addressing the ever-changing needs of youth, from sixth-graders to those in their mid-20s, in Nevada County.

Teens and adolescents face many challenges and many changes that are part of growing up. It’s a time to figure out who they are, what they value and hope to achieve. A little extra support, tools and resources along the way can make a big difference and help youth overcome obstacles. There certainly are more challenges today than when we started in 1995.

Bright Futures for Youth, created by the merger of The Friendship Club and NEO in summer 2020, has three programs to address the issues and help youth in numerous ways, from after-school programs and a drop-in Youth Center to ensuring access to services. Our focus areas are health and wellness, healthy relationships, goal setting, self-awareness, self-sufficiency and community connectedness.

We’re about helping youth today to ensure a better future for tomorrow.

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The show opens with host Tommy D discussing how the nonprofit sector often goes overlooked and underfunded, but the goal of his show is to spread more awareness to what nonprofits can do. Tommy goes on to introduce Jennifer Singer, Executive Director of Bright Futures for youth. Before Tommy and Jennifer start discussing her position and nonprofits, Tommy talks about the growth of his reach with his TalkRadio show. Tommy shares his goals of learning and helping. Learning as much as possible and helping others just as much. The interview begins and Tommy explains how Jennifer was part of the Friendship club in 1995 and has gone on to grow in many organizations and positions. Jennifer Singer makes her presence known to the audience. Tommy goes on to start the interview with Jennifer and she explains where her passion for service and leadership started. Jennifer shares how in high school she gained perspective to others in her community and how they might not be as privileged as her. This led her to wanting to work with many organizations helping elementary school kids all the way up to high school aged kids. Jennifer took a focus on young women and showed them that there are other choices to make to better your life and not to get caught in the same predicaments their family and friends may have got in. Jennifer discusses how a boat trip around the world inspired a lot of people to go travel and help others but it inspired her to go home and help her own community.

The second segment opens with Tommy bringing back the conversation Jennifer and him were discussing before the segment break. This led to Jennifer to finish her conversation on Semester at Sea and how that led to finding a program to help with in her hometown. Jennifer began with summer activities for young women but then realized in order to be more effective it needed to be a full time, year round effort. Jennifer and her colleagues worked for over 20 years with these young women in her community to ensure they had the plans to be successful after high school. Jennifer talks about a big move for her organization and how that opened her eyes to new opportunities. Growing the building in size led to a domino effect of more ways Jennifer and her organization could help the community. For example, homeless youth and families became more of a priority. Jennifer and Tommy discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic affected nonprofits everywhere due to the very social nature of most programs. Jennifer goes on to explain the change to operating virtually hit her organization hard but that wasn't going to stop her mission. Jennifer kept in individual contact via phone calls and zoom meetings. Although, this made her and her coworkers come together and discuss what the heart of the mission is and this inspired them to work harder than ever for this increased need for her community.

The next segment opens with reintroducing the show and Jennifer Singer. Tommy brings up the challenge of sharing geographical areas with similar organizations with similar goals and how working together could benefit both organizations. Jennifer goes into discussing how her organization recently merged with another and the challenges of going through a merger. This could be things like structure, culture, and mission priorities. Jennifer often looks to her mentors for help with situations like this. People in the industry had confusion about Jennifer's merger but she continued to explain how both organizations are working wonderfully together. Jennifer tells how both organizations did work well together but mostly succeeded in focusing on their individual goals and affected the community better ways that way. Jennifer looks out to the audience and others and gives a call to action to just get out and help anyway you can. Tommy moves the conversation to discussing Jennifer's current goals and how they have changed since her days of first starting the friendship club. Jennifer wants to show young kids that your unfair start to life does not determine what you do with the rest of it.

The final segment opens with a conversation about where Jennifer thinks her mission is going to end up moving forward. Jennifer explains big plans to open a youth center in her community. This will only boost their efforts in getting kids reliable internet and a place to go for help. The next step for Jennifer after that is opening up an emergency center for teenagers. Currently there is nowhere reliable for teenagers to go and Jennifer wants to change that with her organization. Jennifer wants to create absolute zero barriers for teenagers to get help in her community. Funding has proven to be the biggest issue with finding housing and basic needs for teenagers on their own. Jennifer closes the show with addresses and links to get in contact with her, her organizations, and to help.

The Allied Foundation, Inc. is a for impact, designated 501C3 that was formed in 2015 by a group of concerned pediatric physicians who saw a lack of access to essential resources within their patient population and joined together to actively make a difference in the greater community. Ending diaper need is one way in which we fulfill our mission. Diapers are an essential need no baby should ever have to go without.

Heather Edwards is a mission driven development professional who is passionate about generating philanthropic support to advance the mission of the organizations she serves. Her career in development spans 17 years where she held leadership positions in healthcare at academic medical centers, higher education and social service agencies.

Heather also spent 7 years of her career building brands for national products including Post Kids Cereals-Honeycomb, Avon, US West and Tri-State Cadillac. Heather is happily married to her wonderful husband Kevin and proud mom to Jack, Katie and Linda.

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Tommy introduces his host Heather Edwards, who has 17 years of development experience and is the current Executive Director of the Allied Foundation. During her time working on building brands, heather realized that she wanted to make a change and start a family. Heather wanted to make a difference and decided that the nonprofit sector was the best fit for her to make an impact. She now works for the Allied Foundation. This organization was created by a group of concerned pediatric physicians who wanted to address the lack of access to essential needs for health and well being. They are currently in the process of developing period projects to bring menstrual products to those in need.

Tommy shares his experience purchasing diapers for his own children. For some families, the cost of diapers alone can be nearly 14% of their income. A member of Allied Physicians, Doctor Sher, noticed that many of her patients were developing diaper rashes and bacterial infections due to their family’s inability to afford diapers. The Allied Foundation has been serving Long Island and Queens but 2020 the need has become exacerbated. Last year they assisted 40,000 families, and Heather believes that there are even more in need. They recently distributed 966,000 diapers and are closely approaching 1 million. Heather thanks Flexible Systems, a company that has assisted them in the distributing the diapers

The Allied foundation receives support from the national diaper bank and many more. They also advocate politically for families in need and seek support for causes like End Diaper Need. It is their goal to make things simple for the agencies they support so that they can help as many people as possible. They have worked with contact tracers in order to find families who are in quarantine and in need of diapers so that they can send supplies directly to them. Heather observes that many politicians are simply not aware of the need for this service but after showing them the statistics they are ready to assist. Heather speaks on the need for menstrual products. The Allied Foundation is aiming to work with the Alliance for Period Supplies.

Heather believes that even if they are able to successfully advocate for families and minimize the need, Allied Foundation will continue to assist those who fall through the cracks. Visit https://alliedfoundation.org/ and give today.

Integrate for Good is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization empowering students and adults with disabilities to share their talent through inclusive volunteerism, community leadership and meaningful employment. Dr. Bev Weinberg is an Occupational Therapist with a passion for enhancing community engagement for individuals of all abilities. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, and her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Temple University. Dr. Weinberg returned to Temple and received her Clinical Doctoral degree in Occupational Therapy in May of 2016, along with a Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the Temple University Fox School of Business.

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Tommy introduces the show and talks about connecting non-profit organizations, he believes that these organizations are underrepresented, unrecognized, underfunded, and overlooked. Tommy and his special guest today are here to amplify the message and get nonprofits connected. Tommy talks about being open, unattached, and that it's okay to get uncomfortable. Tommy introduces herself to the audience; Dr. Bev is an occupational therapist with a passion for enhancing community engagement for individuals of all abilities. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, and her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Temple University. She then returned to Temple and received her Clinical Doctoral degree in Occupational Therapy in May of 2016, along with a Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the Temple University Fox School of Business. Dr.Bev has over 25 years of experience and is very passionate about helping people who are often in need of assistance - helping them attain and flourish in leadership roles as providers of service to their communities. She has partnered with local and national organizations to help push her progressive agenda and has worked tirelessly to achieve the goals of the nonprofit. After some personal experiences as a child, Dr. Bev decided that she had to be the change she wanted to see in the community and environment she lived in.

After some casual banter, the two get right into it; The mission of Integrate For Good is to create opportunities for people of all abilities to contribute talent through inclusive volunteerism, community leadership, and competitive employment. Dr.Bev starts by talking about how she first started working in the field with new diagnoses and she explains that she saw a disconnect. This disconnect was where the child reached new milestones which were amazing however, the parents had no idea what this progression and growth meant to them. She gives a great example of a boy from Ohio who lives with autism, his parents would contact Dr. Bev talking about how he can do little things - however, he discovered guitar hero and asked his parents for a guitar, and he now plays guitar and now sings better than most musicians. Who cares if someone can't tie their shoes or zip up their bag when they have the potential to do much more, according to Dr. Bev, “why to focus on things you can't do!”

Tommy starts right off by asking about the three pillars of the organization, empowerment, education, and connection - Tommy asks about the background of these three pillars and how they integrate into the organization. Dr. Bev explains that it’s not only about the money for Integrate for Good, they hold trying to make personal connections and partners at a much higher pedestal. She goes on to talk about how getting people to come onboard, volunteer and partner were across the board from events at zoos and schools to now fully virtual events - as the country slowly gets back to normal, they hope for a summer in-person or hybrid model programs. She talks about really looking around your community, and if there are people who have not even been given a chance it is integral to find a way to bring them into the process as with them on the sidelines we cannot progress.

Tommy asks who does Integrate for Good need to get connected and grow, Dr. Bev starts by saying that Integrate for Good is always looking for new opportunities, volunteers, and partners. According to Dr. Bev as a start-up non-profit organization it is almost impossible to get funding, it is important to understand that if you do have time, money, or experience to share you should push yourself to do something bigger than yourself. Dr. Bev presses that Non Profits may be doing good work, but this work is limited as there isn't enough funding. Tommy closes out the show and tells the audience how to get connected to Girls Inc, and queues Always Freyday.

Options for Community Living, Inc. provides housing, support services, and care coordination for people recovering from mental illness and those living with HIV/AIDS or other chronic health conditions. Many of the people we serve were formerly homeless. Options is a private not-for-profit agency, operating on Long Island since 1982. Their goal is to help each program participant and family find stability, improved health and the tools to build productive self-sufficient lives as community members. Yolanda Robano-Gross joined Options for Community Living as Executive Director in 2014 with more than twenty years of prior executive level experience in the healthcare industry. In January of 2021, her role was officially changed to Chief Executive Officer. She is responsible for oversight of all aspects of agency operations and reports directly to the Board of Directors.

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Tommy introduces the show and talks about connecting non-profit organizations, he believes that these organizations are under represented, unrecognized, underfunded and overlooked. Tommy and his special guest today are here to amplify the message and get nonprofits connected. Tommy then introduces his special guest Yolanda Robano Gross, has about 20 years of work, experience, and success in the nonprofit sector - she has a masters degree in social work as well as a mass amount of personal work experience in the field. Yolanda is the Executive Director at Options for Community Living, she took on this role in 2014, however in January of 2021 her role was changed to become Chief Executive Officer. Options for Community Living provides housing, support services and care coordination for mental illness, people who are struggling with HIV and Aids, and other chronic health conditions - people they have served have formerly been homeless. They provide options for community living and a window of opportunity towards a better life.

Options for Community Living has been using mentoring as a way to get through to people in need. According to Yolanda the reason they have been using mentoring is because mentors help form your path, she personally has been inspired by her mentors and has had a great experience working with mentors who have shaped her professional and personal life. The way Options for Community Living does this is by getting a group of students, the organizations have reached out to students from all walks of life, including college students such as students at Stonybrook University. Yolanda believes that high schools need to be more involved, she said that she had high school students who had to gain a mandatory 24 hours of mentoring and those students get a taste of life, it helps nurture youth to progress to be individuals who give back. Both Tommy and Yolanda talk about how their similar personal development growing up in Long Island was what drew them to the nonprofit sector.

When talking about collaboration, Tommy asks Yolanda about the ways in which Options for Community Living collaborates with people as well as organizations internally and externally. Yolanda describes a story about a girl who was aging out within their children's program and she was on the track of leaving their program without a home, therefore ending up homeless. After getting more support and guidance from Options for Community Living, she was able to go to school and get a job, she then bought a car and is now working and is stable - Options for Community Living was able to help a girl grow and become an independent young woman with stability. Three years later she is still someone who is in need of mentorship, she comes once a month to talk to someone, however she is on her own two feet, living on her own, making her own decisions and money. Yolanda said “She was someone who didn't have organic support, so she had optional support,” and the optional support is just a community that is giving you the tools to get on the right track.

Yolanda describes what Options for Community Living as a nonprofit organization needs as it continues to grow and do great things. According to Yolanda the major need is unrestricted funding and donors, even though there is government funding it is extremely tough and barely makes a dent. Yolanda presses that they also need people to get more involved, as they need people to help keep the lights on and the doors open for the people in need under the Options for Community Living umbrella. Yolanda says they could not shut down during covid as they are working tirelessly to make sure that they keep valuable lives safe. Yolanda breaks down a lot of the many needs, but focuses on how urgent the need for funding and the need for more people to get involved. Tommy closes out the show and tells the audience how to get connected to Girls Inc, and queues Always Freyday.

Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE), founded in 1977, benefits and proudly supports more than 4,000 individuals with intellectual / developmental disabilities, mental illness and traumatic brain injury. It is the mission of FREE to help individuals of all abilities realize their full potential. FREE provides a diverse array of supports and services including: housing; recovery services; transition to work; employment; day, community and family services; respite; crisis services; education and after school support; specialty health services; and advocacy. We welcome our guest, Robert Budd to talk about it all.

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Tommy begins by talking about how it has been a year of being in a global state of COVID-19, and he continues to describe what ‘Philanthropy in Phocus’ is all about. Tommy officially starts the show off and then welcomes Robert Budd - today’s guest. Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) founded in 1977, benefits as well as supports over 4000 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental illness and traumatic brain injuries. Family Residences and Essential Enterprises have been dedicated to helping individuals who have been affected and are very driven to have a mission that helps individuals of all abilities to realize their full potential. FREE provides a diverse variety of support - from housing, recovery, transition to work, employment, education, family programs, after school programs, crises programs, specialty health services, advocacy and so much more. Tommy begins by talking about the word “Differently Abled,” and how all words have meaning and how this word is very important to him. Tommy then diverts into introducing Robert, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc, he is a vision driven, result oriented with over 35 years of progressive leadership experience - joining free in 1985 and has held several leadership positions, most recently becoming CEO chief executive officer in 2008. FREE has grown into a 135 million dollar organization, serving more than 35,000 individuals annually. Robert Budd has dedicated his life outside of FREE to helping people, being an active member of communities and committees that are dedicated to helping people. Robert also describes that he has always been attracted to giving back and he believes that there is a sense of connection to something bigger than us and fuels us - this is naturally energizing.

Tommy and Robert begin this segment by talking about what the organization does and how FREE handles their very complex, unique cases and situations. Robert begins by talking about the change in language that Tommy had mentioned earlier - he describes the story of how FREE decided to begin this initiative long before it hit mainstream media. This was created to change the narrative for many people and find different ways to have people connect to the cause, and the term “Differently Abled” came about due to the change in very robust vision and mission statements which were all designed to be all inclusive. FREE designed their mission statement not only to include the people they support but also to integrate those who support them - this is an all inclusive belief system that helps people realize that we are all on the same page/ same side. FREE has a range of opportunities, and one of the main reasons for this is to give people many options to get into this side of philanthropy - according to Robert this because they want to give people the opportunity to find something that might peak their their interest and usually this is just a door that opens and inspires them and helps them realize that they are passionate about this cause.

The third Segment begins by talking about the impact of the collaborative opportunities of people that the organization serves as well as the other members of society. Robert begins by talking about the organizational skills that FREE provides, and that is completely vocationally driven. Robert mentions that it is important to collaborate with other philanthropic organizations and opportunities - one of which he has experience with is ‘Smile Farms’ which is a group that helps provide competitive employment opportunities to people FREE is working with, it is a way to build bridges to other communities as well as build a connection within the philanthropic community. Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. through collaborating with various community members, philanthropic organizations and other people have been able to create over a thousand jobs within their umbrella as they expanded. However there are challenges that this sector face; this is something Robert is passionate about as he believes it is an issue within the system. There has been a need to educate and inform people as “they just don't know,” according to Robert - people don't understand the joy of giving therefore it is important to give them the opportunity to learn about the cause and let them know that their support is welcome, as it is mutually beneficial.

Robert takes it away by talking about what the future is for FREE, as well as what collaborative opportunities that Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. may be looking for in the future. Robert explains that Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. is looking to partner in the community, such as local businesses, as people don't understand the diversity that FREE offers, and they can benefit greatly from making the effort to look into FREE. Robert ecstatically mentions the organizations love for new ideas, dedicated members to join the team, and especially loves participation. Tommy closes out the show and tells the audience how to get connected to Girls Inc, and queues Always Freyday.

This week, Tommy interviews Renee Daniel Flagler, covering exciting topics that relate to empowering young girls. Flagler is the Executive Director of Girls Inc. of Long Island, whose mission is to empower girls to be strong, smart and bold. Renee is also an award-winning writer, adjunct professor, and a speaker who is passionate about encouraging women and youth to pursue their passion and purpose. Renee advocates for youth both in the United States and abroad.

Tune in for this sensible conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here.

Tommy introduces himself from his attic and introduces his guest Renee Daniel Flagler - an award winning writer, a professor, a speaker who is passionate about motivating women and the youth to pursue their passions and their individual purposes. Renee has published several books over her career, even a few romance novels under the Pen name Nickki Knight. One of her books ‘Society Wives is now being auctioned for a show and has now published another book called “Dream Journey.” Renne has facilitated literacy groups, developed curriculums and teaches creative writing to people whose ages range through kindergarten to college. Renne is the executive director of ‘Girls Inc’ Long Island - ‘Girls Inc’ is driven to empower girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Renne dives right in and tells the audience about how she was an avid reader growing up, she spoke about how her passion for reading led her into being an author. However writing - even though it was therapeutic it was not something Renne focused on, until she did - and now Renne Daniel Flagler has 20 books. Renne started helping the community by teaching people how to write - it was a slow start but eventually she was doing all sorts of writing sessions. She was always passionate about helping youth that were labeled as disadvantaged, she worked with them from group homes to detention centers, from the prison systems to the writing camps of the Upper East Siders. When it came to working with ‘Girls Inc’ it was an easy answer for Renee, as she was extremely passionate about the cause.

The two dive right in by talking about how Renee accepted the job - Renee said she was not chasing a title, she was trying to find fulfilment in her work. Renee gives the audience a little insight on how the organization shows the girls they inspire about leadership. Girls Inc works hard to inspire the girls in their program to change the narrative on who a leader can be - they work hard to show girls that they are the leaders of their own lives. After doing a national study on how girls lead, Girls Inc want to use that information to reveal women's strength - these young ladies have the motive to flourish and shine, and they need to be given the information, the tools and a push to really reach their true potential. Renee continues to tell the listeners a story about her experience with a young lady from the program; she briefly describes the experience about a girl who was a completely introverted, until she went through the Girls Inc program. Renee said after the student went through the program she was going on stages talking about her experience with Girls Inc, she was introducing herself to donors and sponsors, she was a changed young lady.

The two dive right in breaking down what goes on inside Girls Inc; When the organization says ‘strong’ they mean young ladies who are mentally strong, physically strong, emotionally strong, health wise strong. When the organization says ‘smart’, they intend to help the young ladies enrich their lives academically, educationally and focus on exposing girls to opportunities in STEM. When the organization says bold they mean, any and every life skill - this teaches them about media literacy, economic and financial literacy, cyberbullying, professional development, advocacy (and advocating for themselves). However Renee pushes that you need to give them the belief that they can do anything along with the tools other wise the young ladies will not be motivated to achieve. The nonprofit is open to reaching out to all girls but it specifically targets girls who are from or grew up in low income/under resourced communities.

The two dive right in to talk about the event ‘Girls Inc’ is hosting in a couple of weeks. Renee talks about how this event is themed around ‘The Resilience of the Girl’ - the event will be filled with women who represent and personify resilience, women from all walks of life will talk about their experience and strength from a range of professional fields. Renee presses that girls need strength, and they women know that they are strong as the patriarchal mindsets of the world continue to push a suppressive narrative about women. Tommy closes out the show and tells the audience how to get connected to Girls Inc, and queues Always Freyday.