LSA Family Health Service

We are thrilled to extend a warm welcome to the newest member of our Board of Directors, Terry Thompson, DHA, MPH! Terry is Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine and Climate Science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and a member of the department’s Division of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. He is an active faculty member in the Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Health Center, Region 2 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, and the New York State Children's Environmental Health Centers, and a recipient of multiple funding awards from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences. Through his research and work, Terry works closely with East Harlem schools, CBOs, and Community Advisory groups. We're excited to have you join us and can't wait to see what we accomplish together!

Bonjour, Petite Soeurs! Last month, LSA board member Brenna Moore visited the Little Sisters of the Assumption congregation in Paris, known as the “motherhouse.” She met the sisters, discussed our work in East Harlem, and brought along a few copies of “Mutuality in El Barrio,” a new book about our efforts written by her and Carey Kasten! Brenna also connected with the Gomez family in Barcelona, a lay family involved with Las Hermanitas in Spain, who do similar work as LSA in East Harlem and are involved with a spirituality group inspired by the Little Sisters' mission. We are truly inspired by our worldwide community and the shared commitment to our mission!

On June’s first episode of Catholic Charities’ JustLove Live show, Monsignor Kevin Sullivan interviews Melina Gonzalez, Community & Individual Engagement Manager at LSA, and Brenna Moore, LSA Board Member, about their experiences and insight on the East Harlem community. They discuss immigration, Mutuality in El Barrio (a new book on our work!), gentrification, and more. Thank you to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York and Msgr. Sullivan for this inspiring conversation! Listen to the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/dU-Pkbks

Our heARTs in Education benefit was a night to remember: our community helped raise over $130,000! Your generosity will help provide life-changing services to preschoolers with special needs, and train a new generation of diverse educators through our Grow Your Own Program. Thank you to EVERYONE who attended our event or made a donation to support our work. We want to give a few special shout-outs: To our Board of Directors, the evening wouldn't have been possible without you: Kathy Awanis Garcia, Jackie Dauhajre, Joseph Gannon, John Gibbons, Vijay Jesrani, Andrew Kraus, CIMA®, Sang Le, Edward Linden, Cindy Machles (our impeccable event chair!), Nicole Mar, Preeti Mone, Michael O'Hara, Shruti Patel, Melissa Salerno, Laura Shanley, Kevin Sullivan, Brett A. Tremain, Stacey Wolf. Your dedication makes our work possible! Our silent auction was a huge success thanks to donations from the New York Yankees Foundation, Marc Neer, Bask Suncare, Rare Matters Jewelry, and artist Gabrielle Mar, who inspired the theme for the evening with her beautiful and inclusive art project with our students. We were thrilled that our partners from Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York and LSA Family Health Service joined in the celebration. Working together makes all of us stronger. The money raised at our event will help accomplish amazing things for children and families in New York City. If you would like to learn more or make a donation, visit www.kenchild.org. To see all the photos from the evening, visit https://lnkd.in/exbR8UHV Thank you again! #givingback #autism #earlyeducation #feelingthankful #fundraisingsuccess

Last night, LSA staff gathered to celebrate our incredible volunteers at our annual Volunteer Appreciation Evening. A heartfelt thank you to all who tirelessly support LSA’s programs. Special congratulations to our honorees Sam Multer, Jackie Shaldjian, Asucena Ramirez, Iliana Anguiano, Lucia Castillo & Magdalena Sanchez. LSA volunteers are truly wonderful! See all the photos here: https://lnkd.in/ep-svRNr

LSA is so excited to welcome our newest Associate Board member, Andrea Palacios! Andrea is an Underwriter on Santander Bank’s Community Development Finance Team, working on tax credit equity and construction lending for affordable housing projects. Andrea first volunteered at LSA’s food pantry in March 2024 and knew immediately she wanted to get more involved. She was amazed by LSA’s commitment and dedication to helping everyone in the community, which led her to joining LSA’s Associate Board in the Spring of 2024. She holds a bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst and an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business. Welcome, Andrea!! Learn more about LSA's Associate Board here: https://lnkd.in/eUPqzzxA

URGENT: Help LSA win $10,000 in funding by June 5th!! We need 1,500 more votes in this year’s NYC Participatory Budget process! All New Yorkers age 11 and up– regardless of immigration status– can vote on how to spend millions of dollars in the city budget through this process. Please spread the word and encourage others to vote! Voting can be found at this link: https://lnkd.in/exukhaQw. And don’t forget to USE PARTNER CODE: LSA in order for LSA to reach our goal!

We have so much to be proud of at LSA. Check out some recent stories and news articles highlighting our amazing staff and the hard work being done here to build a stronger and healthier East Harlem. Click here: https://lnkd.in/epaK3nrE

Monday night’s book launch with Fordham University Press for Mutuality in El Barrio was an incredible evening! Thank you to all who came out to celebrate, support, and share in the spirit of LSA. And congratulations to Carey Kasten and Brenna Moore on this achievement! Photos from the night can be found at this link: https://lnkd.in/ehkSDQHR

📺 Join us this Sunday on Manhattan Neighborhood Network for a new episode of #JustLoveLive by #CatholicCharitiesNY! In this month of May, we discuss Maternal Health and Mental Health Our guests are Jonah Gensler, CEO at LSA Family Health Service, Monica Sanchez, Director of Mental Health Services, at LSA Family Health Service and Sarah Strole, Executive Director at Droste Mental Health Services, Inc. Tune in this coming Sunday at 7:00 pm on MNN Spirit: FiOS 35 | RCN 84 | Spectrum 1997.