Page 22 - NYC Imagine Awards Journal

Rising Star

Stephanie Nilva, Founder and Development Specialist Kerry Brodie, Founder and Executive Director
Day One New York, Inc. Emma’s Torch
P.O. Box 3220, Church Street Station, New York, NY 10008 345 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
(212) 566-8120 | www.dayoneny.org (718) 243-1222 | www.emmastorch.org
One in three teens experiences abuse in a dating relationship. In response, Day One partners For refugees coming to America, one of the hardest parts of the transition can be finding a new
with youth to end dating abuse and domestic violence through preventive education, supportive job, particularly one that is the starting point of a meaningful career. A job is important for
services, legal advocacy and leadership development. We reach 10,000+ youth annually in more than a paycheck: it is a chance to meet new people, practice language skills, and find a
middle and high schools with workshops addressing consent, tech-based abuse, and healthy/ sense of fulfillment and self-worth.
unhealthy relationships. Staff trains parents, teachers and social workers to identify warning signs Enter Emma’s Torch, a non-profit social enterprise. Our mission is to train refugees, asylees,
of relationship abuse and intervene with supportive guidance. Hundreds of teens participate in and survivors of human trafficking in the culinary arts and to empower them to build meaningful
year-round youth development programs, acquiring organizing and advocacy skills to become careers in the culinary industry.
the next generation of leaders in the anti-violence movement. Lawyers and social workers
reach more than 4,000 young survivors annually through services including crisis intervention, Our students participate in a full-time paid culinary training program that prepares them for
successful employment in an industry in which their heritage and cuisine can be celebrated. We
safety planning, therapeutic counseling, legal representation and advocacy. Day One involves
youth in legislative action at the City and State level to achieve systemic change through policy provide a community in which they can build supportive relationships.
advocacy. Our Youth Advisory Board and Youth Voices Network engage young people in Founded in 2016, we opened our first permanent restaurant location in Brooklyn in 2018. This
reaching their peers through awareness and outreach projects. restaurant has cemented Emma’s Torch as a Brooklyn community institution. It has received
recognition from outlets such as the New Yorker, The New York Times, The Today Show,
CNN, and The Guardian, among many others.
Founded in 2003 to serve NYC youth, 24 and under, Day One prioritizes marginalized, under-
resourced youth who would most benefit from our expertise. Data shows that populations at We have since expanded our footprint in New York: we operate the cafe at the Brooklyn Public
greatest risk for replicating generational cycles of domestic violence are young women between Library, serve as a food vendor at Citi Field, and run a catering business. As of 2022, we have
16 and 24. At greater risk are youth who are LGBTQ+, of color, pregnant /parenting, foster also been piloting our program in the Washington, DC area.
care-affected, or legal system-involved. Day One continuously meets young people where Emma’s Torch honors Emma Lazarus, a staunch advocate for refugee rights whose poem, “The
they are through services and curricula that center their voices and priorities throughout our New Colossus,” adorns the Statue of Liberty.
prevention, intervention and leadership programming.

Mary Theresa McCombe, Founder Lauren Reilly, Co-founder & Executive Director
Hearts To Homes Furnishings, Inc SuitUp Incorporated
51 Lindbergh Place, Yonkers, NY 10707 25 Broadway, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10004
(914) 400-7193 | www.heartstohomes.org www.volunteersuitup.com
R
Hearts to Homes Furnishings, Inc. is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) organization which provides SuitUp is a 501(c)(3) education non-profit that increases career readiness for all students
essential furnishings and furniture items for the first apartments of young adults aging out of through innovative business plan competitions. Through SuitUp, students from underserved,
foster care in New York City, as well as five surrounding counties (Westchester, Suffolk, Nassau, under-resourced, and underrepresented communities experience solving a realistic corporate
Rockland, and Putnam). Created in March 2016 as a program of a single foster care agency, challenge, such as designing a new product for Nike. They have the opportunity to interact with
Hearts to Homes (H2H) was separately incorporated in 2017 and now partners with twenty-seven corporate executives who coach them on marketing, design, financing, and strategy as well as
child welfare and foster care-connected organizations in the New York metropolitan area. To professional “soft skills”, before helping them pitch to judges for a cash prize. By the end of the
date, H2H has provided first home furnishings for over 525 young adults, 90% of whom are experience, students can see the corporate world as part of “their world” and know that no title,
residents of NYC. CEO included, is out of grasp. Since its inception, SuitUp has served 14,500+ students and
engaged 11,500+ corporate executives from a myriad of companies including Goldman Sachs,
Etsy, Forbes, Louis Vuitton, Salesforce, Uber, Visa and many more. SuitUp has been featured
Prior to the creation of H2H, youth who were aging out of foster care in our area frequently in Times Square, Chronicles of Philanthropy, News12, and ACCP and has received fellowships
lacked the financial resources to furnish their first, independent home and, as a result, lived from Gratitude Network, NYU, Santa Clara’s Miller Center, Student Success Network, and
in nearly empty apartments. Outcomes for these young adults were not encouraging as many SOCAP. SuitUp is also Goldman Sachs 10K Small Business alum and was most recently
quickly ended up homeless, incarcerated or lost their own children into a cycle of foster care. nominated as Stride K-12’s Business Partner of the Year. As SuitUp continues to grow, so does
Our program has shown that providing 80 new essential items for a living room, bedroom, the organization’s vision. SuitUp envisions a world where every Fortune 500 company boasts
bathroom and kitchen not only adds to long-term stability but enhances the dignity of these corporate executives who proudly identify as SuitUp alumni. Are you ready to SuitUp?
individuals.

We are proud to partner with leading organizations in NYC child welfare to assist youth in
need, enhance their feelings of pride and self-determination and help support a home from
which they can launch their hopes and dreams, pursue an education, follow a career path or
raise their own families.
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