WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JUNE 24, 2021 29
Forest Hills organization receives Community Care Award
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
The Child Care Center of NY in
Forest Hills is a recipient of the
annual New York State Offi ce of
Mental Health (OMH) commissioner’s
Community Care Award.
The award recognizes the extraordinary
achievements of individuals and
organizations who have furthered the
OMH mission and have made a positive
contribution to the mental health
system in their communities.
“OMH has many great partners
who are helping us strengthen our
state and the local mental healthcare
system by increasing access to community
based services and improving
health outcomes for consumers,” said
Dr. Ann Sullivan, OMH commissioner.
“The Child Center of NY is a powerful
presence in New York City, reaching
more than 35,000 children each year.
Their work gives these children and
their families the skills and emotional
support necessary to build healthy,
successful lives. We truly appreciate
their work, vision, values and the role
they play in helping us to fulfi ll our
mission.”
The Child Care Center of NY, located
at 118-35 Queens Blvd., operates behavioral
health, early childhood education,
health homes and integrated
care, youth prevention and family
Traci Donnelly (r.) is the CEO of The Child Care Center of NY that reaches
more than 40,000 children and their families each year.
Photo courtesy of The Child Care Center of NY
support, and youth development services
throughout New York City and
Long Island.
The center was recognized for partnering
with OMH on the OnTrackNY
program, a nationally recognized,
evidence-based team approach that
works with youth who have been recently
diagnosed with a psychiatric
disorder. OnTrackNY has been proven
to help young adults stay in school and
reduce the impact of their psychiatric
condition.
Traci Donnelly, CEO of The Child
Care Center, said they’re grateful to be
recognized by OMH, which has been
an eff ective and trusted partner for
years.
“At The Child Center, we engage
children and families in New York’s
underserved communities because
we know that with the right skills,
education and emotional support,
children of any background can
build a happy, healthy and fulfi lling
future,” Donnelly said. “Our work and
this award are made possible, even in
the face of a pandemic, by our skilled
and dedicated staff who show compassion
for those who truly need help the
most.”
The Child Center is also launching
a new maternal health center in
Queens that will work with mothers
and fathers who may be struggling
with parenting to ensure that their
infants meet all developmental
milestones, and the organization was
recently chosen to take over the state’s
only residential treatment facility for
juvenile justice youth.
OMH’s Community Care Awards
were created in 2019 to highlight
OMH’s partners and stakeholders in
local communities across the state that
are helping to identify and eliminate
gaps in services and are working to
build strong community-based behavioral
healthcare systems. Input from
these local partners helps OMH better
understand regional needs and implement
programs that will help people
on the road to recovery from mental
illness live their lives with a greater
degree of independence and dignity.
Richmond Hill student earns certifi cate for donating hair to local nonprofi t
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Councilwoman Adrienne Adams
presented a Certifi cate of
Appreciation to a 12-year-old
Richmond Hill student on her birthday,
June 11, for donating 21 inches of
hair to Butterfl ies by Blaq Inc., a local
nonprofi t organization that provides
free hair replacements to young cancer
patients experiencing hair loss.
At the age of 9, Adriel Singh made
her fi rst donation of 24 inches of hair
to Butterfl ies BBI.
“When I donated 24 inches on my
fi rst haircut, I did not plan to donate
again. I wanted to keep doing it again
to benefi t others with hair loss, so I
had another 21 inches cut off and donated
to Butterfl ies BBI again,” Singh
said. “One day, this will be made into
a wig to help someone, and I feel very
happy about that.”
The hair donation event took
place at Rachel Salon in Richmond
Hill, where business owner Rachel
Rampaul was also presented with a
City Council Citation from Adams for
lending her space to host the event.
“It felt great giving back and using
my hair salon for the donation
event,” Rampaul said. “I am so proud
of Adriel for allowing me to cut her
hair and doing such a selfl ess act of
donating her hair to Butterfl ies BBI.
I will continue to off er my salon and
services to facilitate such generous
deeds.”
Adams said she was truly inspired
by the generosity and selfl essness
of young people like Singh, whose
donation will make a diff erence to
help young cancer patients suff ering
from hair loss.
“When our local leaders, small
businesses, nonprofits and youth
work together, they always have a tremendous
impact on our community,”
Adams said. “I am proud to recognize
the contributions of both Adriel and
Rachel, and I look forward to future
hair donation events to bolster the
eff orts of Butterfl ies BBI.”
Sherry Algredo, a community civic
leader, said she was very pleased and
proud to witness Singh cut and donate
her hair for such a worthy cause for
a second time.
“As the chair of the Education and
Youth Services Committee and fi rst
vice chair of Community Board 9, I am
thrilled to hear when kids perform
such acts of kindness,” Singh said.
Butterfl ies By Blaq Inc. was founded
in 2012 by Erna Blackman and Kaiya
Blackman. The organization’s goal is
to help restore normalcy and promote
a sense of well-being to young people
who are dealing with personal illnesses
and conditions.
“We appreciate all of our hair donors
because they help us help others,”
Blackman said. “And for that, we are
forever grateful.”
Councilwoman Adrienne Adams presents 12-year-old Adriel Singh with a
certifi cate for donating her hair to Butterfl ies by Blaq Inc.
Courtesy of Adams’ offi ce
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