Moving into my apartment. I recall being concerned about a number of things. I wondered, how am I going to pay my rent monthly? How am I going to purchase furniture for my apartment? How am I going to cook without pots, cookware and kitchen utensils? Most young adults have house warming parties and their families and friends come together and buy them household items. I was a young adult who did not have any family or friends to help support me with this huge life altering transition.

When I moved into my apartment I did not invite anyone over because I felt uncomfortable. I did not have a bed, living room furniture and other essential items one needs to live comfortably. My apartment was empty!!! Hearts to Homes changed my life. This unique and amazing program provided me with everything I needed for my apartment, some of which I still use today. Hearts to Homes purchased my first queen-sized bed, provided me with pots, glassware and a comforter set with pillows, and a microwave. I remember inviting my friends and my family to my home for the first time and they were so impressed with my apartment. I felt confident and comfortable, allowing my family and friends to spend time and make memories with me in my new home.

As a case planner, I referred nine youth to the Hearts to Homes Program. I remembered how excited the adolescents and young adults were on my caseload when they were able to fill out their Hearts to Homes referral form. The young adults were so happy to choose the furniture and household items they wanted for their apartment. The young adults and adolescents in foster care do not have the opportunity to make decisions for their life. Hearts to Homes program provides the opportunity for young adults to choose what they want in their own apartments.

I remembered how excited the young adults were to know their items were mailed to the agency. Some of our young adults were nearly in tears when I told them I was delivering their items to their NYCHA apartment. As I helped the young adults bring all their items into their NYCHA apartment, I would assist the youth with unpacking their items such as, helping the young adults place their glass cups, plates, pots, and kitchen utensils in their kitchen cabinets. I would help the young adult with setting up their shower curtain in their bathroom. I would help the young adults with assembling their lamps for their living room, etc. As a case planner we go through so many different monuments with our young adults for years. Over time, our young adults build trust and relationships with their case planner. So, who better than a case planner to help transition our young adults into their apartments with their Hearts to Homes’ items?

In the future, I hope Hearts to Homes can expand the program to youth in foster care who do not have high school diplomas or a GED Certificate. Most of our youth in foster care do not have high school diplomas, GED Certificates or college degrees. Our young adults without degrees need this program as well.

I would like to conclude by saying, thank you to the Hearts to Homes program for supporting me and all the adolescents and young adults I have referred to the Hearts to Home program through Catholic Guardian Services. I am so grateful and appreciative and hope Hearts to Homes program continues to help more young adults with backgrounds that mirrors mine as they transition into adulthood and move into their own apartments. With all the trauma our young adults experienced, they deserve to have a comfortable, safe place to call their own. ACS and contracted foster care agencies assist young adults with obtaining their own apartments, but this amazing program extends their Hearts to allow our young adults to create a home. Thank You, and have a wonderful evening.

“Hearts to Homes provides critical support to young people making the transition from foster care to independence,” said Mary Theresa McCombe, Executive Director. “The MDRT Foundation grant will provide furnishings and furniture for two young adults in New York City, helping to make their new home a stable place from which to create a life that fulfills their hopes and dreams. We are indebted to the MDRT Foundation and MDRT member, Jack Clark, for nominating us for this grant.”

The MDRT Foundation was created in 1959 to provide MDRT members with a means to give back to their communities. Since its inception, the Foundation has donated more than $38 million in more than 72 countries throughout the world and in all 50 U.S. states. These funds were raised by MDRT members and industry partners. For more information, visit mdrtfoundation.org.

Founded in 1927, Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), The Premier Association of Financial Professionals®, is a global, independent association of more than 72,000 of the world’s leading life insurance and financial services professionals from more than 500 companies in 70 nations and territories. MDRT members demonstrate exceptional professional knowledge, strict ethical conduct and outstanding client service. MDRT membership is recognized internationally as the standard of excellence in the life insurance and financial services business.

Roughly 700 young adults age out of foster care each year in New York City and Westchester County. These young people, generally 18 to 21 years of age, face numerous challenges as they step out on their own. Hearts to Homes removes the financial burden of furnishing a first time apartment, paving the way for a successful transition and a productive life.

“SCO provides the young adults in their care with such tremendous support. We recognize that aging out is a tremendous life transition for youth in foster care. Hearts to Homes knows that the cost of furnishing a first apartment can be a daunting challenge for any young adult, but especially difficult for someone without family support. Hearts to Homes is pleased to provide that support to the young adults of SCO, recognizing the dignity of each individual, the power of choice and the increased stability that having a safe, furnished home can provide,” said Mary Theresa McCombe, Executive Director of Hearts to Homes.

As part of its recent expansion to partner with additional foster care agencies, Hearts to Homes will fund furniture and furnishings for approximately 15-20 young adults who are aging out of SCO’s foster care program in NYC.

SCO recipient Listardt Francis, who just recently exited foster care remarked, “I couldn’t say thank you enough. I am very grateful and I want to thank everyone involved with Hearts to Homes. Without your help, I would never have been able to buy all this furniture on my own.”

For over 50 years, SCO Family of Services’ Foster Care practice has been helping children and their families grow, heal and thrive. SCO finds safe, temporary families for children and teens throughout New York City and Long Island. In addition to family foster care, SCO provides therapeutic foster care for children with behavioral health challenges and group homes for older teens and young moms with babies. The ultimate goal of foster care is permanency, and SCO works to ensure that children are safely reunified with their family, placed in loving adoptive homes, or confidently set on the path to adulthood.

About SCO Family of Services
SCO Family of Services helps New Yorkers build a strong foundation for the future. We get young children off to a good start, launch youth into adulthood, stabilize and strengthen families and unlock potential for children and adults with special needs. SCO has played a vital role delivering human services in communities throughout New York City and Long Island for 125 years. For more information, please visit www.sco.org.

From top, left: Laurie Wilson has written our quarterly newsletters for the past few years. Without her help, we would not have been able to share with you all of our good news! Her vision for how to communicate our mission has helped grow our team of donors in the past three years.

Jeanne Marconi was instrumental in helping us to provide the signature red, H2H cozy blankets that so frequently are featured in our social media photos. If you scroll our social media, you’ll see this beautiful gift provided to every recipient. Our young adults love them! Her work in pediatrics helped guide many board decisions.

Paul McLaughlin helped create the wildly popular Open Hearts event at Oceana Restaurant to benefit Hearts to Homes. The concept for our largest fundraiser ever was Paul’s idea and accomplished with Paul efforts. In addition, specialty drinks in December and May helped spread the word of our mission and raised critical funds.  Supporting youth in the transition to independence was something Paul took to heart.

Nicole Grogan is Managing Director and Head of National Accounts at DWS, a global asset management organization. Nicole has over twenty-five years of experience in financial services, received her Bachelor of Science at Villanova University and her MBA at Fordham University. Her interest in supporting Hearts to Homes is rooted in a firm belief that all children and young adults deserve an opportunity to build an independent life for themselves, where they can achieve their personal goals, and lead a happy and fulfilling life.

Cookie Humphrey is the owner and publisher of Compulsive magazine, a celebrity publicist and worked as a HR consultant in the Middle East and Asia. Cookie has served on the boards of Women In Motion, Rising Star Music Awards and The Bronx Hip Hop Museum. She holds a B.S. in human services from Springfield College a M.S. in HRD from the University of Bridgeport and is completing her PhD in psychology. As a former foster child, and youth advocate, Cookie knows the importance of young people aging out of the system.

Ameena Makhdoomi is an alumna of Hobart and William Smith Colleges the Ethel Walker School and has three years of marketing experience in the wine industry. Since 2019, Ameena has served on our Junior Committee, helping to share our mission with a younger demographic. Her election to the Board was a direct result of the enthusiasm that she has shown for developing creative marketing strategies. She has taken on the responsibility of helping Hearts to Homes with social media strategy.⁠

Debbra Stolarik is Counsel for Deloitte LLP and has served in a similar role for child-focused organizations including Sesame Workshop and Scholastic Inc. She was a founding member and previously served a one-year term on our Board. Prior to her work with Hearts to Homes, Debbra served for nearly a decade on the Board of Advisors for Mercy Center, the BAFTA scholarship committee, and the Boards of the American Constitution Society’s New York Chapter and Friends of the Nyacks. She resides in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Todd Wood is a partner with Sustainability Partners. He is a senior member of the investor relations and business development group. Prior to Sustainability Partners, Todd worked at J.P. Morgan, Hambrecht & Quist, Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn and Tudor Pickering and Holt where he held various roles in sales, trading and business development. His volunteer activities include coaching youth football for the Riverside (Greenwich) Gators, on point squash (Charleston, SC). He is a graduate of Boston College where he captained the football team under head coach Tom Coughlin.

Since May 1, we have provided over $17,700 of COVID relief stipends to 149 of our alumni and recent referrals. Thanks to your generosity and care, our COVID-19 Assistance Program has helped young people pay rent, cover transportation costs, and purchase life-sustaining items like groceries and cleaning supplies. Your kindness has softened the impact of these past few months.

71% of youth who responded to our offer said that they were out of work or furloughed. Just 25% still had a part-time or full-time job. Showing perseverance, fifteen of our young adults were continuing their college studies as part-time (6) or full-time (9) students.

When asked what their most pressing needs were, over 70% of responding youth identified groceries as their primary need. “I mainly need food as there is not much in my refrigerator, and I was wondering how I would eat,” said one of our young adults. Other needs included making payments for medicine, license renewal fees, paying a phone bill so that they could “stay in touch with family members” during the stay-at-home order, and clothing. Over half of our youth identified cleaning supplies as a need. The college students and those who were still working most frequently identified transportation costs as their most pressing need.

In additional to being able to offer a bit of financial help, Hearts to Homes was able to share information about additional resources, from other organizations, that our alumni might be able to apply for. Every little bit of help, guidance and reassurance can be meaningful to someone who is trying to navigate an experience like this pandemic on their own. For many of us, this crisis has caused us to reach out to our family for help, advice or even for company. When a young adult might not have family to rely on, Hearts to Homes donors were there to help with groceries, cleaning supplies and other important needs!