In anticipation of Pillars of Change on June 11^th, we are highlighting Sanctuary Volunteers who will be honored at the volunteer recognition event! Learn More and Register for Pillars of Change.

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“When I am at Sanctuary for Families, I am surrounded by family, and I am home.” – Gail

Approximately three years ago, Gail Friedman became an invaluable member to Sanctuary’s In-kind donations team.

Since her first day, Gail has been working in Sanctuary’s Butterfly Boutique and adjacent storage room. The onsite clothing boutique is space at Sanctuary’s Manhattan service providing an office where clients and their children can select from a range of new and like-new donations in a calming and empowering environment. Donations of clothing and other items are an important way that Sanctuary can meet the immediate needs of clients and help them on their paths to safety and independence.

Gail began volunteering at Sanctuary’s original lower Manhattan office and continued to volunteer the agency’s big move to a new location – a location where the Butterfly Boutique did not yet exist. Sanctuary’s Director of Corporate and Volunteer Relations explains, “We didn’t have a Boutique, and our only “In-kind” staff member had just left to return to school. I knew it was going to take a lot to get the in-kind donations program up and running again, but with Gail’s ‘can-do’ attitude and support, I knew it was possible.”

After raising her own family, Gail felt that it was the right time to give back to an organization that provided so much support to so many people. Gail has not only been essential in organizing and maintaining such an integral part of the in-kind program but goes above and beyond to provide a warm and welcoming experience for clients.

“I want clients to leave the Boutique not only with clothing but with a feeling of self-worth.” – Gail

Additionally, because the service is open to all clients throughout the agency, Gail has touched many lives of those who she has never met at Sanctuary’s other 10 locations. “Gail has been one of the best volunteers I have interacted with, ever! She is always very cheerful and ready to assist our clients. I have multiple clients who ask for her and thank her for all that she does for them just by being in the Boutique. Gail has given clothes and items to clients who are the most in need. Always very friendly, kind, respectful, tentative, caring, compassionate, and many more descriptive words,” says Melina Hernandez, Matrimonial and Economic Justice Project Assistant.

Marissa Rosenberg-Carlson, a Case Manager within the Anti-Trafficking Initiative, shares that many of her clients look forward to seeing Gail when they come to Sanctuary for appointments. She says, “Gail always remembers what clients like & details about their children, and she goes to great lengths to make them feel comfortable and supported. Seeing her is often a highlight for my clients, particularly after they discuss heavy topics in case management sessions.”

We thank Gail for her years of commitment to Sanctuary’s staff and clients! Her impact is felt far beyond what can be expressed in words.

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We hope you will join us at Pillars of Change on June 11^th, 2019 to recognize Gail and all of our volunteers for their dedicated service. Please RSVP for Pillars of Change today!

In anticipation of Pillars of Change on June 11^th, we are highlighting Sanctuary Volunteers who will be honored at the volunteer recognition event! Learn More and Register for Pillars of Change.

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Three years ago, after being introduced by a mutual friend, Joy Harris had the opportunity to discuss Sanctuary for Families with Lori Cohen, the Director of Sanctuary’s Anti-Trafficking Initiative.

The Anti-Trafficking Initiative (ATI) provides targeted outreach and services to survivors of sex trafficking. ATI staff support this especially vulnerable population through high quality and holistic civil legal services, while also helping to sensitize and strengthen the response to sex trafficking through their work with criminal justice officials and judges. Since the majority of Sanctuary’s clients within the Anti-Trafficking Initiative are immigrants, staff also leverages their extensive experience in immigration law to help survivors obtain immigration status through T visas and other means.

As a small business owner, Joy searched for an opportunity to give back that easily fit in her busy life, and Lori suggested the perfect opportunity. Lori introduced Joy to one of her clients, Margarita, and her two daughters – the youngest just a newborn when they met. Joy has met with Margarita and her girls weekly for over three years. Joy tutors Margarita in English while also helping the eldest daughter with her homework. As a group, they also enjoy talking and playing games! Joy has been integral to providing familiarity, comfort, consistency, and love to this family, and everyone at Sanctuary who has worked with Margarita and her girls is incredibly grateful for her support.

Joy’s name aptly conveys the impact of her contribution as a volunteer. She brings so much joy into the lives of our client and her two children while imparting the invaluable skill of speaking English with a non-Spanish speaker.  – Lori Cohen

Joy shares that the most memorable part of her tutoring sessions has been to watch the girls grow, and to be a consistent part of their educational growth.

Lori Cohen says, “Joy’s sustained dedication to this client – meeting weekly for over three years – would have been enough to merit this nomination. However, Joy has become so much more than an English language partner. Trafficking clients frequently experience intense isolation after they escape, and Joy has reminded our client that she is not alone in this world, that other people care about her and truly love her.”

Thank you, Joy, for your incredible dedication to this special family!

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We hope you will join us at Pillars of Change on June 11^th, 2019 to recognize Joy and all of our volunteers for their dedicated service. Please RSVP for Pillars of Change today!

In anticipation of Pillars of Change on June 11^th, we are highlighting Sanctuary Volunteers who will be honored at the volunteer recognition event! Learn More and Register for Pillars of Change.

In 2014, April Wilson was introduced to Sanctuary for Families through Mary Ann Mailman, one of Sanctuary for Families’ earliest Board members, a beloved Board President, and overall agency supporter for over 30 years.

April worked as a television producer and editor and was encouraged by Mary Ann to share her incredible talents with Sanctuary for Families.

April has always been an advocate for women’s rights, previously volunteering at a women’s shelter in college. Due to her interests and former volunteer position, she felt a close connection with Sanctuary and was especially inspired by Sanctuary’s wrap-around service model to give back.

Every spring, our Annual Benefit is our largest fundraising event and this year our goal is to raise $2.2 million to support Sanctuary’s programs and services for survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and related forms of gender violence.

April has become an invaluable volunteer to Sanctuary’s Development Team through volunteering her time and skills to create the agency’s Annual Fundraising video since 2014. For the past five years, April has given over 80 hours each year shooting, editing, revising, tweaking, mixing, and outputting the annual video. It is an incredible amount of work and we are so grateful for April’s support and expertise. She volunteers an amazing amount of time and energy all while balancing a full-time job and a family. April always amazes the staff she works with by continually trying to brainstorm ways to improve her work to find the best and most impactful way to showcase the agency and the courageous journeys of the clients we support.

Sanctuary’s Director of Individual Giving and Special Events, Amy Abramson, shares:

“I was immediately drawn to her kindness, openness, and interest in sharing our clients’ stories with the world.”

Amy goes on to say, “April’s support and expertise have offered Sanctuary the ability to get our message out into the world by providing a means for clients to share their stories in a safe, welcoming environment. She is deeply sensitive to our clients’ needs throughout every step in the process, and her work puts Sanctuary and our clients in the best possible light when we are sharing their stories with the world. She is interested in the many issues involved in Sanctuary’s work and is always looking for more information about our services to share them with her own family and community. As an example, recently, April held a small ‘salon’ with her family and friends in her hometown in Texas to talk about these issues, bringing materials and information that she learned from her time working with Sanctuary. In short, we could not do what we do at our events and beyond without April’s priceless help.”

Pillars of Change is an opportunity to honor extraordinary volunteers like April who bring skills, experience, and passion to our staff and hope and opportunity to our clients.

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We hope you will join us at Pillars of Change on June 11^th, 2019 to recognize April and all of our volunteers for their dedicated service. Please RSVP for Pillars of Change today!

In anticipation of Pillars of Change on June 11^th, we are highlighting Sanctuary Volunteers who will be honored at the volunteer recognition event! Learn More and Register for Pillars of Change.

Valencia Edwards-Alleyne has been a volunteer within Sanctuary’s Children and Family Services Program for numerous locations since 1997!

Before volunteering her time at Sanctuary, Valencia had previous experience working as a camp counselor and wanted to continue working with children in any way that could make a difference. Valencia started as a childcare volunteer, working directly with Sanctuary staff members taking care of children of clients while they attended meetings or support groups. She eventually became a group leader and now runs childcare groups independently. Valencia has continued to expand her role at Sanctuary and her professional expertise has proven a huge asset as well. Valencia has a Masters in early childhood special education and has worked as a teacher for children with special needs for almost the entire time she has volunteered at Sanctuary.

Most recently, Valencia has been volunteering with Sanctuary through the Brooke Jackman Family Literacy Program in the Manhattan Family Justice Center, while preparing to attend a second summer of Camp HOPE New York as a volunteer counselor!

Valencia has been an incredibly invaluable volunteer to the clinical staff throughout the agency; she has provided a positive and memorable time for children while parents receive much-needed services. “I hope that I help to provide the clients with a sense that their children are safe and in good hands during their meetings” Valencia explains.

“First, just being a dependable person for 20 years is just a priceless contribution. For children who have experienced a lot of loss and trauma, consistency is so critical to feeling safe and that the world can be dependable” says Laura Fernandez, LMSW, Clinical Department Director.

On Thursday evenings, Valencia provides support to our Survivor Leadership Institute. The innovative program trains former Sanctuary clients, who have been out of their abusive situations for approximately one year, to provide information about gender-based violence to community groups. Survivor Leaders are living examples of how victims can recover their health, power, and self-esteem by seeking help.

“Valencia has seen my son from a very scared and confused 9-year-old in the midst of a domestic violence crisis to a put together and confident 14-year-old. She has been an integral part of helping us rebuild our lives, as I pursued my healing and training at Sanctuary, and he came to feel secure and at home in the space. She was able to create a calm oasis for him when he was a child and now that he’s a teen, she is still able to meet his needs. He has such great, warm feelings about Sanctuary, and that is largely due to the stability and peace that Valencia has created in the childcare room.”

Over the past 20 years, Sanctuary’s staff and services have grown exponentially, and Valencia has been an integral part in providing support to many of our new programs within the Clinical and Children and Family Services department.

“She is selfless and so kind. She makes my children feel safe and they trust and love her so much. Her volunteer service helps me personally so much”

We thank Valencia for her amazing commitment to Sanctuary’s staff and clients! Her impact reaches well beyond what can be captured in words.

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We hope you will join us at Pillars of Change on June 11^th, 2019 to recognize Valencia and all of our volunteers for their dedicated service. Please RSVP for Pillars of Change today!