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70% of Summer Youth Employment Program participants in New York City stated that they would not have found summer employment without the program. (New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, 2009)
Greenwich House
Manhattan
Founded in 1902, Greenwich House is dedicated to helping New Yorkers lead safe, healthy and more fulfilling lives. Located in historic Greenwich Village and Chelsea, Greenwich House continuously responds to current community needs with varied programs that provide special care to thousands of clients each day.
Peer Support and Information Exchange
UNH works to strengthen the system of settlement houses and community centers by providing support for its member agency workforce, which numbers close to 10,000 employees. As part of this support, UNH organizes meetings of staff with similar jobs from member agencies. Since there is often only one person in each agency with a particular job title, these meetings provide the opportunity for peer support, sharing of best practices and learning opportunities that are not otherwise available, as follows:
- Executive Directors
- Associate Executive Directors
- Middle Managers
- Human Resource Directors
- Development Issues Group (fundraising staff)
- Communications
- Senior Financial Managers
- Data/IT
In addition to regular meetings, some of these groups take part in special training sessions or retreats. The UNH Executive Directors Council holds a full day annual retreat in the winter; topics have included managing during the economic downturn, approaches to leadership and advocacy strategies.
Examples of Topics/Discussions at Peer Group Meetings:
- Associate Executive Directors discussing their experiences outsourcing fiscal management (payroll, budgeting, fiscal reports, audit prep) and technology.
- Settlement houses discussing the possibility of sharing administrative and program resources between their organizations to use resources more effectively.
- Staff from two agencies sharing their experience with fee-based programming.
- Development staff recognizing that many are utilizing the same fundraising software and forming a workgroup to discuss the use of this software.
- Associate Executive Directors embarking on a long-term project to demonstrate and promote the value of the settlement house model.
In addition, UNH convenes member agency staff around specific program areas including early childhood education, youth, aging and immigrant services to discuss advocacy issues and funding issues as they arise.
To learn more about UNH's peer support groups, please contact Lauren Antelo, Deputy Director of Member Services.
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