Heart Gallery NYC
Heart Gallery NYC is a unique high profile non profit that utilizes the art of notable & emerging photographers to raise awareness, and recruit "forever families" for orphaned children in foster care. Photographers donate their talents to create beautiful compelling portraits of the children that are displayed in Heart Galleries, traveling exhibitions that touch hearts encouraging them to help.
About You
Section 1: You
First Name
laurie
Last Name
sherman graff
Website URL
Organization
Heart Gallery NYC
Country
United States, NY
Section 2: Your Organization
Organization Name
Heart Gallery NYC
Organization Website
Organization Phone
212 965-8699
Organization Address
Gracie Station P.O. Box 606 New York, NY 10028
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Organization Country
United States
Your idea
Name Your Project
Heart Gallery NYC
Country and state your work focuses on
United States, NY
Describe Your Idea
Heart Gallery NYC is a unique high profile non profit that utilizes the art of notable & emerging photographers to raise awareness, and recruit "forever families" for orphaned children in foster care. Photographers donate their talents to create beautiful compelling portraits of the children that are displayed in Heart Galleries, traveling exhibitions that touch hearts encouraging them to help.
Website URL
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
What is unique about the idea is the combination of beautiful photographs of the children, taken by some of the country's most prestigious photographers, and the tremendous amount of media attention generated as a result of the traveling exhibition... Today Show, The View, 20/20, The New York Times, People Magazine etc. The project touches the hearts of the public, and encourages them to make a difference in the lives of the children.
The Heart Gallery, which has over 100 grassroots chapters throughout the USA, has been extremely successful in raising awareness about the plight of America’s “forgotten children” to millions across the nation. These children often languish for years in America’s foster care system, many of them shuffling from one foster family to another, or living in group homes/orphanages.
Heart Gallery NYC works specifically with children who are considered the most difficult to place: those who are older, in sibling groups or with special needs. Currently, there are nearly 17,000 children in the NYC foster care system. Hundreds are available for adoption, but age out of the system each year without adoptive families and a place to call home. Approximately 50% of these children end up on the streets: homeless, incarcerated, unemployed or pregnant.
Heart Gallery aims to break this destructive cycle by raising awareness and finding supportive, loving homes for the children.
In NYC, we have found "forever families" for children over the age of 17, raised awareness to millions & our Heart Galleries located in well trafficked venues...Penn Station, La Guardia Airport etc have generated thousands of inquiries from prospective families. We have also created a pilot mentor program.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Yes
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
In NYC, we have found "forever families" for children over the age of 17, raised awareness to millions & our Heart Galleries located in well trafficked venues...Penn Station, La Guardia Airport etc have generated thousands of inquiries from prospective families.
We have held matching parties inviting both certified prospective adoptive families and children in need of families. Our first matching party found families for 4 youth, each over the age of 17.
We also created a pilot mentor program, in association with Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC, matching Heart Gallery youth that we have photographed, who were about to age out of the system with Heart Gallery volunteers.
We collaborate with the 30 + foster provider agencies in NYC to assist them with specialized recruitment initiatives to find foster/adoptive and mentor resources for the children, and refer thousands of inquiries to them.
Media coverage of Heart Gallery NYC (The View, NY Times, numerous local press and media) has been extensive, and we have raised awareness of the needs of the children and encouraged millions to make a difference in their lives.
Through the pro bono donations of our Board, we have created large scale awareness campaigns such as Billboards in Times Square announcing National Adoption Month in November, and encouraging the public to help the children find the families that they desperately need and deserve.
We have created a unique and extremely successful way to aid family recruitment efforts for children in foster care in NYC, helping to put a face on this significant problem.
Problem
Children in NYC foster care can languish for years in foster care system, many of them shuffling from one foster family to another, or living in group homes, America’s definition of an orphanage.
Without the love and support of a permanent family, or the presence of a positive role model in their lives, these children are at risk of becoming involved in teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, suicides, school dropout and runaways.
The Heart Gallery works specifically with children who are considered the most difficult to place: those who are older, in sibling groups or with special needs. Currently, nearly 30,000 children throughout the nation leave the foster care system each year without adoptive families and a place to call home. Approximately 50% of these children end up on the streets: homeless, incarcerated, unemployed or pregnant.
In NYC alone, we have nearly 17,000 children in foster care. These children need our help now before they age out of the system.
Actions
We plan to continue to expand upon our successful recruitment efforts by working with a media and/or corporate partner to assist us in outreach initiiatives.
We are also reaching out to celebrities to support the cause, and are planning our first large benefit, which will be a tribute to all Heart Gallery photographers.
Our next programmatic steps are to address the needs of many youth, who despite our best efforts, will still age out of the foster care system without permanent, adoptive homes.
We plan to focus on further developing our mentor program and an intern program partnering with our volunteers to recruit mentors and our venues to develop intern opportunities for the youth.
Offering these children an opportunity to feel good about themselves and to develop skills will help them to prepare for a future once they leave the foster care system. It is crucial to these children's development that they receive these supportive resources now.
Results
Expanding upon our already successful recruitment initiatives will increase awareness and generate further interest from prospective families, therefore offering more opportunities for children to connect to potential adoptive homes.
We believe that a supervised mentor program will offer a valuable developmental experience for children with few positive role models in their lives. Knowing that they have a friend who cares about them and who they can trust will impact on their relationships with others, and enable them to help form healthy, relationships in their future.
An intern program, will not only offer these youth an opportunity to develop or nurture a skill set, but for a child with little to no self esteem, it can offer them an opportunity to feel good about themselves.
Learning how to navigate the responsibilities of employment under the tutelage of an intern program will enable them to prepare themselves for the competition and pressures of the workforce going forward.
The intern program will also function as a potential homeless preventive program by giving the youth an employment skill to pursue once they do age out of foster care.
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
In order for Heart Gallery NYC to achieve it's goals and continue to be successful, we will need to cultivate additional funding to cover the programmatic costs of our core mission and all new projects.
We will also need to hire additional staff with specific expertise in developing and maintaining the mentor and intern programs.
Year 1: We hope to have a successful fundraiser, and to receive additional financial support through grants, donor outreach and our partners at NYC Administration for Children's Services. This will cover our general/operating expenses
Year 2: We would like to engage the support of a corporate partner to collaborate with us on a mentor program while continuing to raise funds for general/operating expenses.
Year 3: We would like to introduce a pilot intern program in partnership with a corporation or organization. Additional funds will be cultivated through a fundraiser and grant submissions.
What would prevent your project from being a success?
Lack of funds due to the current economic climate would hinder our development, and force us to operate at minimal capacity, therefore not enabling us to grow our existing programs, or develop any new projects.
How many people will your project serve annually?
101‐1000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$1000 - 4000
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Operating for 1‐5 years
In what country?
United States, NY
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
If yes, provide organization name.
How long has this organization been operating?
Less than a year
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?
Yes
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
Heart Gallery NYC works in association and in collaboration with many of the above entities:
NGOs: We work with groups such as the Adoptive Parents Committee, in service for over 50 years, and we collaborate with the 30+ foster provider agencies in NYC to assist them with parent/mentor recruitment efforts for the children. We also work with volunteer recruitment non profits who refer volunteers to our organization. Associations and collaborations with these groups increase both organization's outreach efforts to the community, and positively impact our initiatives with our target populations.
Businesses: Many of our Heart Gallery Exhibits are located in well trafficked malls, therefore we collaborate directly with the mall group. This is a win/win situation as they profit from our media/PR outreach, and we are able to generate increased public interest in our mission.
Government: We work in association with the Mayor's Volunteer Center, the NYC Administration for Children's Services. Associations with these governmental entities vailidate the need for our cause, and offers them a unique non governmental approach to foster/adoptive parent recruitment and permanency.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
The three most important actions are:
1)Cultivating ongoing funding of general/operating expenses so that we can continue our current programs, and develop new projects
2)Sustaining a staff with expertise needed to maintain and grow our programs
3)Continued collaborative support from our community outreach partners and from the media so that we can engage the community in the Heart Gallery mission of making a positive difference in the lives of children in foster care.
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
In 2005, I read an article about a grassroots movement (The Heart Gallery project) in Parade Magazine that was utilizing the talents of professional photographers to help recruit families for children in the foster care system in desperate need of adoptive homes. As an adoptive Mom, and a former actress/educator who had worked with children with special needs, the project really reached out and touched me.
I contacted the founder, and received her blessings and guidance to open the first Heart Gallery in New York City.
As each region across our nation is different, I encountered special challenges working within the NYC foster care system, where we have nearly 17,000 children in foster care, many of them older and with special needs.
Meeting the children and getting to know them is what continues to inspire me to continue working on their behalf, despite the day to day challenges of running a small non profit with limited financial resources in NYC.
Our outreach has been significant, and I am always thrilled and touched beyond words upon hearing that a child has found a family due to our efforts at the Heart Gallery.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
I have always had a special place in my heart for children who are disadvantaged or have special needs. As an adoptive parent, I am especially touched by children in need of permanent, loving families.
And...I know, first hand, that you do not have to birth a child to love a child!
I have always appreciated the world of photography, but since I have been involved with the Heart Gallery project, I now understand how powerful a photographic image can be.
The combination of art and compassion inspires me about the Heart Gallery, but most importantly I am touched and inspired by the children, who by no fault of their own have started out life on a difficult path.
I am determined to help make a positive difference in these children's lives. Everybody deserves a chance to be loved.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Email from Changemakers
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
I was contacted by Ashoka by e-mail suggesting that the Heart Gallery would be a good candidate for this competition
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Comments
Hi Laurie,
I'd love to hear more about how your "matching parties" work and what's involved in becoming a "forever family". Perhaps these ideas, if easily replicable, could be used more regularly in assisting with adoptions or placements.
Thanks,
Alexis
Hi Alexis,
The Matching Parties are one of my most favorite events that we do at Heart Gallery NYC. We work to make them fun for the kids and prospective families who attend. The goal, of course, is to match the children with adoptive families...but the parties are so much fun that even if a child doesn't find their "forever family" at the event, they still have a special time.
For example, our 2009 Match party took place at the Times Square Information Center. It was a big party! Working with our partnering foster provider agencies, we identified around 35-40 kids who were in need of families. Almost all of them had been previously photographed by the Heart Gallery. We then reached out to our pool of certified prospective adoptive families, and invited them to the party. Approximately 45-50 certified families attended. Certified families are those who have attended 30 hours of MAPP (Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting) training, which is required by most states in order to adopt or foster a child from foster care. These parents have also had background checks, been fingerprinted and have had a social worker go to their home, and complete a home study to make sure that it is a safe place for a child.
Many of our volunteers participated, and we had wonderful refreshments donated by the local Times Square restaurants, great gift bags for the kids, great dance music and super raffle items for the adults. The kids had fun using the mike to try out their singing skills!
We also hired a comedian/actress to do improvisational theater games with the kids and adults in order to encourage interaction.
Working in tandem with the children's caseworkers, our recruitment team followed up with any requests and questions from the prospective families about the children.
Everyone had a great time! And most importantly, matches were made! As a result of this party, both Cieara, age 9 and Bianca, age 13 are now living in adoptive homes, and other children are visiting with prospective families. That's the best part of all!
Hi Laurie,
This is a wonderful idea. Could you expand a bit more on the impact of your project? How many children have you worked with? Also, the mentorship program sounds extremely compelling. How has that program made an impact on people's lives. Any numbers or success stories would be great to learn about. Thanks!
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your question.
Here in NYC, there are nearly 17,000 children in foster care. Our work impacts all of them directly and indirectly.
Specifically, we have photographed over 100 children (and continue to do so on an ongoing basis) who are legally freed for adoption, but our Heart Gallery Exhibit sites raise awareness of all of the children in the foster care system.
We include a staffed Information Table at all of our exhibit sites(exhibit sites are well trafficked venues such as Penn Station, LaGuardia Airport, malls etc), and sign up prospective families who are interested in learning more about adoption, fostering or mentoring the children.
We follow up with all of these inquiries, and refer them to our partnering foster care provider agencies (over 30 of them throughout the 5 boroughs of NYC). The goal is to have the interested families attend free orientations and then sign up for the MAPP (no charge) training program so that they can become certified and ready to adopt or foster.
Over 50 % of foster families actually end up adopting the children that they foster!
Since we began traveling with the Heart Gallery Exhibit in late 2007, we have referred over 5,000 inquiries from prospective families back to our partners at the Administration for Children's Services, and the 30 + foster care agencies.
We also receive hundreds of inquiries through our website www.heartgallerynyc.org from certified parents interested in the children that we have photographed, and we work with them directly and the children's caseworkers to facilitate matching them with the children.
Currently, nearly half of the children that we have photographed for the Heart Gallery have been placed in adoptive homes, and many others are visiting with prospective families.
Our mentorship program was a pilot program that worked with 10 Heart Gallery youth at risk of aging out of the foster care system , and 10 Heart Gallery volunteers. We partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City who provided the training for the mentors, and support services throughout the mentorship period.
The pilot program ran for a year as planned, and the mentors have stayed in touch with their mentees(the kids) even after the pilot program was completed. The pilot Mentor Program was a success, and we learned so much from the experience, and would love to continue it to be ongoing, but currently, we need to raise additional funds for our Heart Gallery Mentor Program. However we do refer hundreds of potential mentors back to our foster provider agency partners for their mentor programs, and assist in finding mentors for the children.
Every month we hold volunteer meetings in our office to meet with the prospective mentors/volunteers to give them more information about mentoring, and how they can help Heart Gallery help the kids!
At our 2009 Bronx recruitment initiative, we referred over 250 foster/adoption referrals, and 156 mentor referrals from our exhibit site in a month period!
The Heart Gallery continues to raise awareness, and recruit adoptive, foster parents as well as mentors on an ongoing basis.
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