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In
this issue...
Leading
in Adversity:
A Message from the MHI President, Teresa Carale
Feature
Article
Women Helping Women: The Rosedale Center for Girls
Women Transforming
Culture
Do you have a minute?
By Allison Elliott
Cultural Corner
Coming This Spring: There Be Dragons
By Alice Trimmer
News
and Upcoming Events
Download
Spring
2011 Newsletter
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Previous Newsletters Resources
Murray
Hill Institute Newsletter
Spring 2011
Volume 8 No. 2
FEATURE
ARTICLE
Women Helping Women: The Rosedale
Center for Girls
 For the past several years, Murray Hill Institute has been in partnership with the Rosedale Center for Girls, a small non-profit educational
outreach located in the Bronx. The women who participate in
Murray Hill Institute’s programs have contributed their time,
talent, and financial support to help Rosedale’s programs. Rosedale
and Murray Hill Institute share similar goals: to help each person
maximize her potential through developing habits and behaviors that
can help her make a positive contribution to work, educational,
cultural, and family environments. We asked Alice Trimmer,
Director of Rosedale, to bring us up to date on current programs
and projects at Rosedale.
What programs are currently held offered at Rosedale, and when
are they held?
During the school year we offer one-on-one
tutoring from 3:30 to 5:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons. On
Fridays, thanks to an outreach program at the Concordia Conservatory,
a neighborhood music school in Bronxville, NY, we offer private
music lessons in violin, voice, and piano lessons on a scholarship
basis. The
music students have opportunities to perform once a year in a formal
recital, and can participate in additional coaching and performances
if recommended by their music teacher.
Saturday is club day. In
the morning, 4th through 8th graders come for three hours to participate
in a cooking class, a character class, and an activity hour. The
activity hour can encompass arts and crafts, drama, music, or writing
projects. Test prep classes
(SAT prep in the spring, high school entrance exam prep in the fall
for 8th graders) are given in the early afternoon, and in the later
afternoon the high school club meets. The high school club is part
of the Career and University Prep program and includes career talks,
writing workshops that focus on college application essays, cooking
contests, and field trips. The high school students are encouraged
to undertake a wide variety of independent projects. For example,
this year, one of the high school seniors in the club who is interested
in event planning as a career is organizing, with the help of the
Rosedale Parent Council, a benefit for Rosedale in April. The
event will be an international pot-luck dinner with entertainment
by some of the Rosedale music and club students.
In the month of
July, Rosedale offers an intensive four-week academic enrichment
programs for 4th through 7th graders, a special Intermediate program
for 8th graders, and a Job Training Program for high school students.
How many students do you serve?
During the academic
year, we have about 100 students, and during the summer,
about the same amount. Some students come only in the summer
and others only during the school year, so all in all we
have about 150 individual students in any given calendar year. Many
of the students during the academic year come for both clubs and
tutoring, and some additionally for music lessons, so we have a
lot of people coming through the doors in any given week.
Where do your students come from, and how do they hear about
Rosedale?
Most of the students come from the nearby
Bronx neighborhoods: Soundview, Parkchester, Morrisania, Castle
Hill, Hunt’s
Point, West Farms, although some come from farther away. Parents
hear about Rosedale largely through word of mouth, chance
conversations at the pediatrician, moms of classmates,
neighbors, or relatives. We have been
at our current location for over 30 years, so we are getting second-generation
students—alums bringing their own daughters. We also
get referrals from nearby elementary schools.
What role do volunteers
play in Rosedale programs?
Our programs are completely dependent
on the help of volunteers. We have only one part-time and two
full time persons on staff. The
staff Program Directors plan and coordinate the activities, but
the volunteers carry out the actual tutoring, leading the club activities,
teaching the cooking and character classes in the clubs.
What is the neighborhood like? How do you get there? Is it safe?
The
neighborhood is residential and rather quiet. Rosedale
is located in a small row house about a 10 minute walk from the
#6 train. The neighborhood is quite safe during the day, but
is rather isolated at night. For this reason, we do not hold
any activities past the late afternoon.
What is special about Rosedale and
how does it differ from similar initiatives in the inner city?
Rosedale
has a unique home-away-from-home atmosphere that derives
from the acceptance and respect for each student’s individuality
as a person. At the same time, each girl is challenged to
grow. We try to help each girl maximize her potential not
only in academic achievement but, more importantly, in her growth
as a person of character.
This is achieved through the overall
atmosphere of respect and acceptance that is fostered in the group
activities and also through individual mentoring that helps each
girl learn to reflect on her actions and attitudes and take ownership
of her behavior. The Rosedale
students are between the ages of 9 to 18, a stage of life that encompasses
rapid growth and change. The mentors work with each student,
starting where she is. If they have evident attitude issues
that are clearly holding them back, that is where they start. A
student who is already “together”–earning good
grades, helping around the house–is helped to explore new
areas of growth and perhaps find avenues to grow in generosity in
helping others. In
short, each girl is encouraged to reflect, to get to know herself,
to take responsibility for her decisions. This is very empowering
to the girls, to realize that they do not have to go with the flow,
that they can be leaders in making positive and healthy life choices.
Who mentors the students, and how
do you ensure that the mentors are working in alignment with your
mission as an organization?
In order to increase the effectiveness
of the one-on-one interaction between mentor and student, the
Rosedale staff offers professional development for the volunteers
throughout the year. A large
proportion of our volunteers are college students. Many of
them have told us that the mentoring training they receive at Rosedale
has encouraged them to examine their own potential for growth. It
is impressive to see how much they care for their girls and how
carefully they study their student in order to find creative ways
to help her.
What kind of help do you currently
need at Rosedale?
As a small and struggling non-profit,
we are always searching for sustainable financial support. This
is especially challenging in this era of economic stress. We
are always looking for foundations that understand and appreciate
our mission and can help us with ongoing aid. We are also
in search of new volunteers who can be club leaders, help with
promotion and public relations, or do a one-time presentation
on an interesting career or cultural experience for our Saturday
clubs. And now that summer is right around
the corner, we are once more looking for companies who would like
to partner with our Job Training Program and host a part-time or
full-time high school intern for a month. If anyone is
interested in learning more, or would like to visit Rosedale,
just email me at atrimmer@sbef.org
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