CHEERS BROOKLYN Raises Funds and Awareness
On October 24, Providence House hosted its inaugural CHEERS (Champions for Her Equity Empowerment Resilience & Stability) Brooklyn Celebration. The event raised over $100k and helped build new relationships with donors and community partners who can help advance the organization’s mission.
CHEERS Brooklyn was significant for Providence House as it focused on the organization's work with women and families entering the community in search of asylum. Over the past 18 months, more than 120,000 people have come to New York City after escaping situations of unrest, volatility, and extreme hardship. As noted by Providence House Board Chair, Anju Mahajan, “We did not set out to serve families seeking asylum, but when we saw what was happening, we did what we always do; we lived up to our mission and figured out how to help the most vulnerable women and families in our community. "
Today, more than 1/3 of people residing in our East Brooklyn program are recent arrivals with more than 50% of them being children. Providence House opened its doors and built its capacity for serving these families by hiring bilingual staff, coordinating legal aid services, and holding workshops and financial literacy classes in Spanish. As a result, we have created a sense of belonging for these families as they work to gain a foothold in our community.
CHEERS was more than a fundraiser; it was an awareness campaign to help humanize the experience of women and families entering our community. Over 180 people attended CHEERS, with more than half being completely new to our organization. This influx of fresh faces was very much by design. According to Executive Director Danielle Minelli Pagnotta, “For a nonprofit to survive and thrive, it is vital to have new people and new ideas in the mix. It is especially important that those people live and work in the community served. We created this event to grow our local network, and I’m thrilled that 1/3 of CHEERS supporters are Brooklyn residents and over 66% live in NYC. It was truly a remarkable evening and we are so proud of the outpouring of support we received in celebrating the resiliency of our new residents. As we continue to face ever-growing challenges in our community, it is encouraging to have the support of our neighbors, empowering us to elevate our work and improve the lives of those we serve!"
We would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who helped make the inaugural CHEERS Brooklyn Celebration such a huge success. Through this event, Providence House raised awareness about the needs of women and families seeking asylum in NYC and funding to support our work in helping them on their journey to living safe and stable lives.