Dear Friends,
It’s hard to believe that July marks my one-year anniversary as the Executive Director of Yes She Can. Part of me cannot remember a time when I was not working in this amazing organization, yet other times I feel like I started yesterday. I am so proud of all that we have accomplished over the past year and want to share some of the highlights:
- We moved to the bright, beautiful new location in downtown White Plains, double the size of our old store. The new location allows us to help many more people with autism in a newly designed training space.
- Marjorie Madfis, Yes She Can founder, former Executive Director, and Board President, retired in 2023 to spend more time with her husband and daughter. Marjorie’s creation of this unique and ground-breaking program to help young women with autism develop essential skills for work lives on as we continue to serve its mission.
- New staff – Yes She Can was fortunate to hire a new Job Coach and a Director of Training, both with a vast array of education and experience. They have grown the program and the curriculum and welcomed several new trainees this year.
- New Board Members elected- Thank you to Pat Salner, who has retired from the Board after many years of service to Yes She Can. We are excited to welcome three new board members who will be introduced to you in a future blast.
- Girl AGain boutique is thriving. Thanks to our amazing merchandise donors, sales are flourishing! We are thrilled to announce that on August 29th at 10 AM, we will celebrate our new partnership with Bridges of Rockland County to sell our Girl AGain merchandise in the Palisades Mall. This is a huge opportunity for Yes She Can, and we expect the collaboration to grow even further as the relationship develops.
- New trainees enrolled for the program, and others already enrolled for the fall.
- Bike to the Beach – This year’s ride is September 10th; sign up now to join our team. If you can’t ride that day, please donate to our team.
- New Grants received from the Flutie Foundation and Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC), and Workforce Development Institute (WDI)
- Volunteers – 7 new people regularly assisting in the program and store
- Weekend Workshops for children return after being discontinued due to COVID
- Girl Scouts Program designed specifically for troops to learn about inclusion
- Public officials visit to show support: Senator Shelley Mayer, Councilperson Chris Burdick, County Executive George Latimer, Mayor Tom Roach, Councilwomen Jen Puja, Evan Latainer, Jeff Zitofsky, and others
- First Annual Art Show was held in April in Celebration of People with Learning Differences
It has been a very busy and exciting year, and I am honored to be entrusted with leading this organization. Much of what has been accomplished would have been possible without your continued support. We are growing and need your support more than ever as we continue to expand and evolve. As you know, expansion does require additional resources. Please consider donating today to help Yes She Can continue to grow.
Thank you for this amazing first year. I look forward to working with everyone over the next year and many more years to continue expanding Yes She Can as we provide quality services to more people with autism and learning differences. Together we can help people to reach their greatest potential!
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