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PEF NEWS DECEMBER 2020Issue #37PEF NewsDecember2020GRADUATING EVERY PATERSON CHILD!Sofia loves giving kids the sameopportunities she received!two years since I am a member ofthis group where we have beenworking as a team. In Summer2019, I had the opportunity toassist with the Summer STEAMas a high school intern. Weworked with middle schoolstudents providing them with funsummer learning, focused onEnvironmental Science.Sofia spends her summersmentoring students in the sameprogram that brought her toPEF!Hello Everyone! My name is SofiaCangalaya. I am a sixteen-year-oldJunior at International Highschool, participating in theInternational Baccalaureateprogram. I am a Hispanic, Latinobackground student, who migratedto the United States four yearsago.During the summer of 2018, Iattended PEF’s Great FallsSummer STEAM. As a result ofmy interest in science, I wasinvited to join Girls United Forthe Earth (GUFE). It has beenThis year we would have providedthe same program to the studentsbut, due to the current pandemic,we couldn’t meet in person. Withthe help of The Victor CruzFoundation, PEF sponsored the“Remote Innovation Project''.Under the supervision of the PEF,the Great Falls TeacherCollaborative and GUFE workedon the Paterson Public Schools’curriculum to create virtuallessons for students, teachers, andparents. I worked on the firstthrough the eighth-gradecurriculum. We published thelessons in English and Spanish toserve our diverse community. Thisproject was not only focused onEnglish speakers but EnglishSecond Language (ESL) students.Being a Hispanic student who hadthe same challenges and strugglesas many other students in ourcommunity, I welcomed theopportunity to build resources forthem. Our focus was to provideonline resources and informationto teach students in a fun, creativeand comfortable way while beingproficient with our own time.Throughout this project, I learnedan enormous amount of differentskills, from working with peers,college interns and teachers toconnecting with my owncommunity. My leadership andconfidence skills have increased. Iloved the experience of thisprogram and I was truly honoredto work with these astoundingpeople. Their help gave us theconfidence to put this projecttogether. I hope to use the skills Igained from the program to keepassisting people in my communityin the future. One of my biggestgoals for the future is to work inthe Culinary Arts field connectedto our Environment. I want to be aleader of a program where I wouldbe able to introduce new productsand innovations in the cuisine. Ihope kids with the samebackground as me could have thesame opportunity to improve theirskills to reach their goals!

PEF NEWS DECEMBER 2020A Message fromour ExecutiveDirector2020 has certainly been achallenging year for most if not allof us. The pandemic hit thechildren of Paterson harder thananyone might have expected. WithPaterson Public Schools havingbeen underfunded for more than10 years, no major investment hadbeen made in personal computersfor students. Technology fundshad to be invested in computers atschools, so that students couldtake the required stateassessments. As a result, 19,000Paterson students entered theshutdown with no technology athome. While their peers in othercommunities could log on forvirtual classes, Paterson kids didpaper and pen review ofpreviously taught lessons, for 3months.However, some amazing thingsblossomed from this challenge!Issue #37People dug deep and came to therescue! Our generous donors,foundations, local businesses, andindividuals from all over, chippedin to help Paterson children. Weconvened community Artseducators to make sure studentsstill had access to the Arts becausewe know that Arts provide healingand stress relief. We launched acampaign for technology andprovided 25,000 worth ofChromebooks, and other supportto students and families!Bookends Bookstore patronsdonated 2,000 books so that ourkids could read through thesummer! Community membersposted videos of themselvesreading children’s books!Amid the pandemic, wecollaborated with partners tolaunch Talking is Teaching; TalkRead Sing. What better time tohelp parents with braindevelopment and languageacquisition skills than whenthey’re at home for months?Seventy adults were trained astrusted messengers to takemessages to 500 parents!Even as we celebrated these smallvictories, we received sad newsthat hit home. We lost several PEFfriends this year. We will dearlymiss Dr. Gerald Glisson, BrotherGerard Burns, Marcella MickleBlack, Johnnie Lattner, EdwardCotton, Sr. and Linda ShirleySmith. We honor their work forour children and pledge to liveinto their legacy.We are determined to emergefrom this seriously tragic traumawith hope and resilience. We needyour help. Let’s work together tomake sure that our schools arehealing centered environments,nurturing our kids and the adultswho serve them while providinghigh quality education for all!allowing us to distribute booksand materials to parents at thefood distribution sites!Join us in celebrating ourPaterson Reads communitypartners who continued toimplement the CommunitySolutions Action Plan to ensurethat Paterson children are allreading on grade level by the endof the 3rd grade! Paterson PublicSchools was so gracious inCollectively, we handed out over12,000 books, activity kits andinformation packages to parents.Over this year, we saw PatersonReads Facebook engagementincrease from 300 to more than14,000! Paterson parentswelcomed information on how tohelp children with remotelearning, how to engage in funlearning activities and how to copewith the stress of the shutdown.Please use #PatersonReads topost pictures and videos of adultsreading to kids or reading achildren’s book into a camera!

PEF NEWS DECEMBER 2020 Issue # 37Our Talk Read Sing program has been such fun! 15 volunteers helped us to prepare and hand out tote bags andanother 75 were trained as Trusted Messengers to help parents of children ages 0-3 with indoor activities. Researchhas proven that talking, reading, and singing to your child in any language helps with brain and languagedevelopment. We want to share this with all our parents! It’s so natural and so easy! We will give out 500 tote bagsloaded with books, prompts and activities this year and another 500 in 2021!The Talk Read Sing message is on every NJ Transit Paterson bus through the end of the year!Talking is Teaching: Talk Read Sing is a program of The Clinton Foundation’s Too Small to Fail initiative and isfunded in Paterson by The Nicholson Foundation, The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation and The Turrell Fund.3

PEF NEWS DECEMBER 2020Issue #37Thanks to our Donors and Volunteers!FoundationsThe Blum-MeriansFoundation, Inc.Geraldine R. DodgeFoundationGreater Alliance Hopes &Dreams FoundationFor ChildrenHamilton Partnership forPaterson, Inc.New Jersey Pandemic Relief FundThe Nicholson FoundationPartners for Dignity & RightsPaterson Library FoundationPrinceton Area CommunityFoundationThe Henry & MarilynTaub FoundationThe Schott FoundationVictor Cruz FoundationCorporationsBank of AmericaColumbia BankLakeland BankM&T Charitable FoundationOritani Bank CharitableFoundationPNC FoundationPSEG FoundationTD Charitable FoundationWells Fargo CommunityRelations GroupWells Fargo FoundationLocal Businesses4CS of Passaic CountyAce Reprographic ServiceAdvocates for Children of NJAirtron Technology Inc.Amplify Inc.Berkeley CollegeBruno Associates, Inc.Buglione, Hutton & De Yoe, LLCC J Vanderbeck and Son, Inc.DUO ComputersEvans Architects AIAFairview Insurance AgencyFerraioli, Wielkotz, Cerullo& Cuva P.A.GTI New Jersey, LLCMartin De Porres VillageNew Jersey CommunityDevelopment CorporationNew Jersey State AssemblyOfficeNextwave Web LLCNorth Jersey Federal CreditUnionRae Dumont FamilyConsultantsRailroad Construction Co.St. Clement's EpiscopalChurchSt. Paul's Episcopal ChurchHigh School Network forGlobal PhilanthropyThe Benevity CommunityImpact FundThe Fitness HeadquartersThe Tablecloth Company, Inc.Trause Financial GroupUnderdog Lounge LLCIndividualsJoseph & Joelene AndriulliVincent ArringtonMario BenitezRosalie BespalkoClarence BosemanAlan & Kathleen BowenThomas & Mimi BromeKaren Brown, Esq.Robert & KatherineBrundigeEli BurgosKathy ChavezMarsha CohenMary CroomsRachel CuffCindy CzesakMargaret DaltonMary DawsonRalph & MarcuaDeLucciaAndrew & BarbaraDunnMatthew EvansJerry Flach-SybesmaCorradina FronteJanelle GrantArlene GreenbaumLemelsonElaine HarringtonArthur HarrisJoyce HenrySamuel HindsBarbara JaroszKaren JohnsonMilsey KatzErrol & Delores KerrJames KiamieGlenn LagatolFred LangBarbara Lawrence &Michael SageMark & Melissa LitwinKathleen LongSherry LotteroGregory & BeverlyLucianoVictoria MaddenEmily MahonKim MappKaren Mayo-HoganEileen McCoyRobert McEwanVaughn & MarnieMcKoy

PEF NEWS DECEMBER 2020 Issue # 37Norma MenchonGunnar & Susan MengersLinda MeriansSteven & Helen MintzZatiti MoodyAlonzo MoodyDolores MostMaureen NicolettiAlice OlickStella PasquarielloJoan PerryPhilip PopeCora QuinceKenrick RamdathNakima RedmonCharles & Barbara ReillyDeon RhodeStefanie RotsaertRomain RoyalArthur Scialla, Sr.Eileen ShaferYolanda SimmonsMaxine SimsCaroline SloanGlenn & Deborah SmithLisa SmithSusan SoobzokovKaren SterlingIrene SterlingChris & Sarah LaldeeColeen Stevens PorcherKenneth & Shavonda SumterLynn TarantNancy ThomasJeanette ThompsonRobert & Diane TirriJerry TrailleJoanna TsimpedesBrenda TurnbullThomas UrsettiDorothy VanderbeckFelisa VanLiew5Dennis & CaroleVroegindeweyE. Florine WhiteEtrudes WilliamsWayne & Pat YankusCyril YannarelliVolunteersMichelle AbelDoris Arnett-GaryLinda Arnett-TinsleyLillian BranchPauline BrownJaneide ChillisMichael EitelLourdes FabianVilma FerreriQuina FreemanCharles GrahamLouise HananiaMecca HarrisCynthia HellerGloria HuntDavia KentonAshley KulesaLinnette LeeShanikwa LemonSharmin MalikLori MambelliKim MappJaclyn MarcellaApril MartinMaureen NicolettiElizabeth NunezMargaret PadillaMary PalmerTracey & Karen PearsonEvelyn PenaKashieka PhillipsKelly PinaPatricia QuispeKenyatta ReidDeannie ReyesAmelia RiosTamara RiveraEmily RoseToni ScholingYolanda SimmonsFrank & Marlene TartagliaDeanna TaylorDominique TaylorSlade TyheemGregory WestleyTamika WigginsThanks to all ouranonymous donors!We appreciate you!