HeartShare Human Services of New York, originally founded in 1914 as the Catholic Guardian Society of the Archdiocese of New York (sometimes referred to as the Catholic Guardian Society of Brooklyn and Queens), is a nonprofit human-services and foster-care organization in New York City. , it was the third-largest children's services provider in the city.
History The Catholic Guardian Society of the Archdiocese of New York was established on January 1, 1914,"Catholic Guardian Society: Organization Will Look After Grown-up Orphan", Brooklyn Eagle (July 27, 1914), p. 5."New Orphan Society in Brooklyn", The Catholic Bulletin (August 8, 1914), p. 2. to assist teens transitioning from orphanages and institutions to life on their own, when neither the law nor society provided any protections. At its inception, it "had under its care 300 children", with activities all over Long Island, but focused on Brooklyn. The 1922 Catholic Encyclopedia described the organization as:
In 1921, reportedly, "over 12,000 visits were made by the Society's agents, nearly 4,000 children visited the Society's offices, and over 2,000 boys and girls attended the Society's annual reunion". At that time, the president of the society was Archbishop Patrick Joseph Hayes. In 1978, the Society spearheaded an effort to find foster homes for all of the 300 minority children in New York City in need of foster homes."Society drives for kids' foster homes", New York Daily News (May 28, 1978), p. B2. In 1983, the organization opened a new counseling and abuse prevention program in East Brooklyn, which was formally dedicat4ed in 1984."CB 17 & 18 Join In Opening Guardian Society Counseling Program For Local Districts", Canarsie Courier (November 29, 1984), p. 31, 49. In 1985, former social worker Bill Guarinello was named CEO of the Catholic Guardian Society, and was additionally named president of the organization in 1993. In August 1992, the organization announced that effective September 1 of that year, it had changed its name to HeartShare Human Services of New York."Name change for a Catholic Guardians", Canarsie Courier (August 27, 1992), p. 35."New Name", New York Daily News (August 30, 1992), Metro, p. 12.
The organization has partnered with numerous celebrities, including Lauren Hutton,Jan Onofrio, South Carolina Biographical Dictionary (2000), p. 373. Linda Dano (for whom an annual award bestowed by the organization is named), Abigail Hawk, and Danny Aiello (who partnered with the group in the mid-1990s "to create the Frances Aiello Day Habilitation Program, a treatment center in Brooklyn".Danny Aiello, I Only Know Who I Am When I Am Somebody Else (2015), p. 295. In September 2000, the organization withdrew its float from the New York City Columbus Day Parade after event organizers forbade the organization from having members of the cast of The Sopranos ride its float, due to negative stereotypes of Italian Americans portrayed on the show.George Rush and Joanna Molloy "'Sopranos' cast members get 'whacked' from parade lineup", Abilene Reporter-News (September 18, 2000), p. 10. The show's cast members did appear at a dinner in Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey, in support of the organization the following year."TV mob packs a hard attitude, a soft heart", Detroit Free Press (September 13, 2001), p. 2D.
HeartShare has been a party to several National Labor Relations Board cases involving alleged misconduct by the organization with respect to efforts by employees to form a labor union. In a case filed in 1995, and finally decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1997, HeartShare was found liable for refusing to negotiate with a union formed at the Francis Aiello Day Treatment Center.HeartShare Human Servs. of N.Y., Inc., 108 F.3d 467, 471 (2d Cir. 1997). The court also found that the individual center was an appropriate bargaining unit because its immediate supervision was separate from other centers, and employees had a lack of contact and interchange with employees of other centers.
Programs and services
Developmental disabilities services
ArtShare for HeartShare is available to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who create multimedia works, as well as jewelry making and design.
HeartShare St. Vincent's Services
HeartShare St. Vincent’s Services was established in 2014. The American Dream Program offers college tuition help, room, board, and other benefits, such as counseling and support, to young people in foster care. In January 2019, the program received a $20,000 donation from the Northfield Bank Foundation.
Awards The organization periodically gives recognition to philanthropists "whose commitment to family and community transforms the landscape for underserved and marginalized populations."
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