New Organization Formed To Serve Youth And Community
Two outstanding, youth-driven organizations serving the Hoosick Falls community have now become one. The Hoosick Youth & Community Center (Youth Center) and the Hoosick Area Partnership for Parents & Youth (HAPPY) have agreed to merge into one entity, the Hoosick Area Youth Center & Community Coalition (HAYC3), effective immediately.
The Boards of both not-for-profit organizations met on Wednesday, January 6, to approve a Plan of Merger and to elect a Board and officers for the new entity. They also appointed Aelish Nealon, formerly the President of the Youth Center and the Mentoring Director for HAPPY, as Executive Director of HAYC3.
Leading the Board as President will be James Monahan, who has served on the Youth Center Board for more than 30 years. Mike Benoit, who was Chairman of the HAPPY Board, will be the Vice President. Laura Reynolds was named Treasurer, and Margaret Restino was tapped for the job of Secretary. Both Reynolds and Restino were members of the HAPPY Executive Team.
The Board of Directors will also include former Youth Center Board Members Mike Baker, Jane Conte, Harold McClellan, and Patty Ryan, as well as former HAPPY Executive Director Joyce Davis, who retired in October.
“The merger process began several months ago when Joyce announced her retirement,” said Nealon. “At that time we began discussing the idea of becoming one entity and one board in order to maintain the progress that has been made for the youth of our community and to strengthen the Youth Center, which has become the hub of most of HAPPY’s activities.” Nealon commented that when the MentorWorks program began in October 2008 it was housed at the Youth Center, allowing for full time operation of the Center throughout the year.
“The Youth Center had been open from November to April, but the additional staff and the need to open the doors for the mentoring matches led to an expanded calendar,” Nealon said. “To assist families, we added an after-school program that operates from September to June, and camps are now held for five weeks in the summer and during two of the school vacations.” With the Center open during most of year, and staff from HAPPY on-site to supervise, Nealon said, the decision to become one organization seemed logical.
“Not much will change from the perspective of users of the Youth Center and participants in HAPPY’s programs,” commented HAYC3 President James Monahan. “The Center hours and activities will remain the same or expand, and the HAPPY programs to promote healthy choices and strengthen the community will continue. The only change will be that the two organizations have merged, the two staffs have joined together and the two boards have formed one, stronger team.” The new entity will remain a 501(c)(3) organization under HAPPY’s charter, so donations to the new organization will continue to be tax deductible.
A unique aspect of the new organization will be the creation of a Coalition Advisory Committee which will include existing partners of the HAPPY organization who represent twelve key sectors of the community (youth, parents, schools, churches, businesses, community service organizations, youth-led organizations, youth-serving organizations, government, media, law enforcement and health care professionals). “This committee will advise the Board on evidence-based programs and other activities that could be offered to address identified needs in the community,” commented HAYC3 Board Member Joyce Davis. “It will preserve the coalition, community-based component of HAPPY and provide the Board with valuable input from a diverse group of people all committed to making Hoosick a place where our children can grow up strong and healthy.”
The HAYC3 Board will also provide a voice for youth in the community. Two additional seats on the Board will be filled by youth directors who are between the ages of 14 and 18 years old. These Board members will have the same voting power as the other members of the Board. HAYC3 will also continue the Youth Impact Team created by HAPPY that provides youth with an opportunity to develop leadership skills, become peer role models and participate in community service projects. “We will continue to keep youth as our main focus,” commented Nealon. “That is the uniting factor among the Board members and the main reason this merger made sense to all of us.”
To celebrate completion of the merger, the Hoosick Area Youth Center & Community Coalition is planning a three-day open house on the weekend of March 26-28. The event will include the Second Annual Comedy Night on Saturday evening. Information on the schedule of fun activities planned will begin appearing in newspapers, on the organization website (www.hoosickyouth.org) and throughout the community soon. Questions may be directed to HAYC3 Executive Director Aelish Nealon at 518-686-9050 or via email to contact@hoosickyouth.org.