Astor Service Newsletter - October 2022

Enjoy a Scoop of Joy at Del’s Roadside

Astor Services and Del’s Dairy Farm & Ice Cream Company announced Del’s newest ice cream flavor, which will benefit Astor Services. Created in collaboration with the children of Astor Learning Center (ALC) and Del’s Dairy Farm, this mouthwatering new flavor is called “A Scoop of Joy” and is a sweet cream vanilla ice cream combined with fudge ripple, M&M’s, sprinkles and brownies, and will be available for a limited time.

Beginning in February, children of ALC were provided with ingredients and challenged to create a custom flavor. The Del’s team reviewed and tasted all entries and crowned this flavor the delectable winner. The children also designed custom packaging as part of Astor’s

IN THIS ISSUE

Expressive Arts Program. Each child involved created an abstract cone and will see their work featured on Del’s pints.

“When children are eating ice cream, they have no choice but to be happy, even just for the moment,” exclaimed Van Lamprou, Del’s Dairy Farm owner.

“The fact that they can enjoy this delicious flavor and help Astor Services… that is really sweet!”

“Del’s is a big supporter of Astor and other community nonprofits,” said Richmond Arce, Senior Manager, Public Relations and Special Events at Astor.

Cora and Isla Carey enjoy an ice cream at Del’s Roadside in Rhinebeck.

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A Scoop of Joy

Del’s Dairy Farm will also open its Red Hook farm to the children of Astor to learn the intricacies of a dairy farm. The children will meet the “ladies” (as Lamprou likes to refer to his cows) and see how raw milk gets turned into pints of ice cream.

Thank you to Del’s Roadside for partnering with Astor and producing “A Scoop of Joy.” Del’s support helps Astor ensure that every child has the opportunity to meet life’s challenges, pursue their dreams and reach their full potential.

The Greer sisters enjoy a Scoop of Joy at Del’s Roadside.

Melayzia, an 8th grader at Astor’s ALC, came up with the name and flavor of the ice cream. She was surprised with two pints of her delicious creation!

“We appreciate that this local business encourages others to help out through their #dowhatyoucan initiative, and we appreciate Del’s support of Astor.”

Community Partners

Partner with Astor!

Dine Out for Mental Health

Astor’s Second Annual Dine Out for Mental Health was held during Mental Health Awareness Month in May.

This year, eight Hudson Valley restaurants participated and donated a portion of their proceeds to support Astor and raise awareness for mental

health, which totaled $13,659.

Thank you to the participating restaurants: Cinnamon Indian Cuisine, GioBatta Alimentari, Le Petit Bistro, Market Street Restaurants, Samuel’s Sweet Shop, Savona’s Trattoria, SOL Juice Bar, and Taste Budd’s Cafe.

We appreciate your support!

Interested in partnering with Astor Services, a leading provider of behavioral health and educational services throughout the Hudson Valley and the Bronx?

Please contact Richmond Arce, Senior Manager, Public Relations & Special Events, at rarce@astorservices.org.

Back-To-School Promotion with Staples

Staples, The Office Superstore, LLC launched a promotional program in April 2022 at the company’s store in Kingston, NY. The promotion gives customers the opportunity to purchase back-to-school supply kits for $5.

We are delighted that Staples chose Astor as the recipient of this generosity. As of September 1, we have received more than 800 kits!

The kit includes dry erase markers, a Sharpie, highlighters, ballpoint pens, pencils, erasers, a glue stick, and a bottle of glue.

Thank you to our friends at Staples and to all their customers who supported the promotion. Because of you, the children at Astor will have a great start to the school year!

Staples Kingston General Manager Ron (pictured at right) with donated supply kits.

Pictured (l-r) are Astor’s Richmond Arce, Senior Manager, Public Relations and Special Events, Sonia Barnes-Moorhead, Executive Vice President of the Children’s Foundation of Astor, Jessica Lopez, Savona’s Director of Operations, and owners Mayte & Steven Savona.

Get to Know Astor

Did you know that Astor...

Thank you for your support!

Your support is critical to the work we do in providing mental/behavioral health and educational services to our Hudson Valley and Bronx communities.

Thank you for entrusting us with your financial gift, which helped move our mission forward and enabled us to serve over 10,000 children and families this year.

For a list of donors for our last quarter, visit www.astorservices.org/ donors-newsletter or scan the code below.

Serves over 10,000 children, adolescents and adults annually Has 70 locations in the Hudson Valley & the Bronx

Has been continuously accredited by the Joint Commission since 1974

Astor will be celebrating 70 Years of providing mental, behavioral and educational services in January 2023

Is recognized as a National School of Excellence by the US Department of Education

Holiday Party

Join us as we welcome the holiday season and ring in Astor’s 70th year! Thursday, December 8 6–9 pm at Savona’s Trattoria 1 Collegeview AvenuePoughkeepsie, NY Tickets: https://bit.ly/Astor_holiday

Lawrence F. Hickey Center

Built in 1877 as a two-room, red brick, public school (P.S. 15), 4010 Dyre Avenue, is endearingly known as “Little Red Schoolhouse” within the Bronx community. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 1981.

Housed in the “Little Red Schoolhouse” is the Lawrence F. Hickey Center for Child Development, a NYS Education Department approved 4410 special education preschool, meaning we provide services and programs for preschool children with behavioral and emotional challenges. The Hickey Center is also licensed by the New York State Office of Mental Health as a Children’s Day Treatment Program.

The center is named after Lawrence F. Hickey, who was a board member and a dedicated supporter of Astor and our mission, instrumental in acquiring and renovating the school in 1992.

The Hickey Center serves children between the ages of 2 years, 9 months and 4 years, 9 months who have behavioral and emotional challenges. Children attend a 12-month, 5-hour day in a centerbased, self-contained classroom with a classroom ratio of eight students to each one teacher and two teacher’s aides.

goals at the Hickey Center:

Thank You Deloitte!

This summer, we welcomed volunteers from Deloitte who donated their time and talents as part of their Impact Day; Deloitte’s annual day of service that celebrates their year-round commitment to making a difference in their communities. Thank you for freshening up the exterior of Astor’s Little Red Schoolhouse. The results were beautiful!

& ANSWER with Astor’s CEO Yvette Bairan

What level of growth do you hope to see in the next five years?

I want to begin closing the geographic gap between the Bronx and the Hudson Valley. We are beginning to provide services in Rockland and that is a steppingstone. It is also important that we begin to look at how to best serve clients with co-occurring disorders, so I am looking to develop more expertise in substance abuse treatment, as well as autism. We have recently begun serving transitional age youth (21 – 26 years old), and I want us to begin identifying more services and developing more expertise to serve adults. I also hope to grow

our DEI initiatives. Beyond growth, I hope to see our programs produce great outcomes.

Do you have a hobby outside work that helps you be a better leader?

I don’t know that I would call this a “hobby,” but I do enjoy planning and organizing. Everyone who knows me knows that I tend to take the lead in just about anything that requires an outcome/output. I was the team manager for the travel baseball team my son was on which involved a lot of organizing. I am the planner for many gatherings of friends and family. I was always the room captain in all my son’s classes, I was on the PTA, including having leadership positions.

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

Never be afraid to say, “I don’t know, or that I made a mistake”.

What book, movie read/seen recently would you recommend and why?

I recently watched “Elvis” and loved it. I really enjoyed learning and seeing the influence that jazz and the “black experience/music” had on Elvis. I loved seeing how he incorporated that experience to make it his own. The movie also shows how success and greed can be the downfall to any relationship.

What is your favorite place you’ve traveled to?

I love Costa Rica. I have family who live there, and it is always great to see them. In addition, the country is beautiful; it has amazing food, the people are so kind, the wildlife is amazing to see, the beaches are gorgeous. Everything about Costa Rica is wonderful!

Astor’s Brand Refresh!

The refreshed brand and images were designed by Soulsight, a Chicago-based firm that engaged in this work with us, pro bono!

Owned by George Argyros and lead by Caitlin Monoscalco and her creative team, they were able to capture in the refreshed brand and images, the growth and evolution in the almost 70 years of providing mental/ behavioral and educational services in the Hudson Valley and the Bronx.

As part of the process, we will now be known as Astor Services, and our new tag line is, “Help, Heal, Hope.” The name and logo reflect the expansion of services we now provide; not only do we serve children,

we now serve adolescents and adults.

The “flower” logo reflects our desire to help our clients flourish and our desire to help them heal and have hope for a brighter future. In addition, it incorporates the diversity of our regions (cityscape, Bronx and mountains, Hudson Valley) as well as the population we serve.

It also pays homage to our past, as an affiliate of Catholic Charities. Our new logo incorporates our historical color, “Astor Blue,” into our color pallet.

We hope this new brand evokes the happiness, inclusivity, and the desire we have for all our clients to flourish!

We are so excited to share this exciting news and introduce you to our updated brand and logos.