From the Desk of the CEO

Dear Families and Friends,

During this wonderful season of giving and gratitude, families and staff from Brookville Center for Children’s Services (BCCS) came together to bring the joy of Thanksgiving to Long Islanders experiencing food insecurity. Nearly 1,500 pounds of food were donated to community-based organizations through the collective efforts of our school community. A few weeks earlier, thousands of dollars were raised for the AHRC Foundation Walk. Walk is one way to benefit the Foundation. As you think about your holiday giving, I also encourage you to become an AHRC Foundation Angel.

Such meaningful contributions underscore our commitment to each other as well as our greater community. By doing so, we are upholding our values and creating new connections to advance our shared vision: for every child, a lifetime of achievement.

Every day, the BCCS team is focused on achieving this vision. In this month’s eNews, I invite you to watch a video spotlighting the supported progress of Marcus Avenue preschooler, Cole Vereb, as well as an article on how the BCCS team came together across schools for a training to create more successes for students and families. I cannot underscore enough the excellence of our team. Another way to show your support is to take part in our one-click, advocacy campaign calling for legislators to allocate funding for the sustainability of BCCS as a nonprofit and the role of exceptional direct support professionals who staff the children’s residential program. 

Thank you for being a part of our community – and helping build a more equitable future for all.

Best Regards,

Stanfort J. Perry, CEO

Giving Thanks: 
BCCS Schools Respond to Food Insecurity This Thanksgiving

With the holiday season ramping up, so has community involvement across BCCS schools with community members collecting nearly 1,500 pounds of food for Long Islanders facing food insecurity.

This year, the Children’s Education Center, Barbara C. Wilson Preschool, Post Avenue Preschool, and Marcus Avenue Preschool sought to bring the joy of Thanksgiving to families in need.

For November, social workers from all four campuses ran food drives to benefit families and local organizations. The internal food drives are annual events with donated food added to meal baskets for families to supplement their holiday dinners.

Volunteer Coordinator Jerri Walker and ten volunteers from Jericho-based freight and cargo company Purolator International made baskets in the Ed Center art room. The company's community outreach arm, Purolator Gives Back (PBG), has been working with the agency since 2013 as part of PBG’s focus on supporting children and families, and tackling hunger locally.

Speech and Language Success at Marcus Avenue

Beth Vereb is a fearless mother and strong advocate for her son, Cole.

Since starting at Marcus Avenue Preschool, Cole has been making great strides.

In this video, meet Beth and School Psychologist Margarite Tagliaferro to learn more about Cole’s progress and how Beth made the most of resources to support her son’s learning journey.

BCCS Families and Staff Raise Thousands 
for the AHRC Foundation Walk

The BCCS community came out in full force to show support for the AHRC Foundation Walk on October 29 and contributed to the more than $100,000 raised.

Benefiting over 4,000 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the AHRC Foundation supports organizations like BCCS to supplement beneficial services.

Members of the Brookville Center community teamed up and raised thousands for the AHRC Foundation.

Leng Lao, mom of BCCS student Tyler Leung, led Team House 30 and raised over $2,500.

“I'm walking because I know that with every step, I'm making a difference in my son's life and others impacted by autism,” said Leng.

Embracing Innovation and New Insights on Staff Development Day

With students off for the day, hundreds of teachers, teacher assistants, and therapists from across BCCS headed to Brookville for a full day of training on November 7. This training was one of the first to bring together nearly 300 staff for training and deepen connections with colleagues across campuses.

Brookville morphed into a hub for staff workshops with topics ranging from “Autism Planning” —addressing how autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts a student’s experience at home, school, and work — to insights and easy-to-implement strategies for teachers to create more classroom successes.

During a “What if I had Autism?” segment led by Senior Clinical Coordinator Kristine Loccisano, teachers received little information to prepare for the session. When they arrived on location, they were given assigned seats and asked to write with their non-dominant hand. Other tasks followed, meant to put attendees a little outside of their comfort zone. After the exercise was a presentation on sensory processing disorders and the different reactions a person can have to stimuli.

Staff Spotlight: CRP DSP Kathleen Dengler Recognized at Community Care Rx Awards 

Direct Support Professional (DSP) Kathleen Dengler was recognized by Community Care Rx, a long-term care pharmacy servicing facilities and patients in the tri-state area, on November 16 at The North Hills Country Club. 

Community Care Rx DSP Awards is an annual event celebrating direct support staff for outstanding work supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Kathleen has been a DSP with the residential program since December 2022. She has a degree in psychology and gained experience working with children and people with Alzheimer's disease.

For Kathleen, her fondest professional memories center on children meeting the goals they have been diligently working toward.

“Those days are the best: seeing them accomplish something that they couldn't do before and seeing how proud they are of themselves gives me so much joy,” shared Kathleen.

Give Today, Double Your Impact!

In this season of gratitude, we have come together to launch the Angel Campaign for BCCS, where every gift will be matched 1:1, up to $25,000!

Your generosity can be instrumental in creating access and opportunities for over 600 children across BCCS including Barbara C. Wilson, Marcus Avenue, Post Avenue, Children's Education Center and the Children's Residential Program.