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Celebrating Our Legacy: The New York Foundling’s 150th Anniversary Gala

On Wednesday, October 2, The New York Foundling celebrated our milestone 150^th anniversary with a show-stopping gala at The Plaza. Over 500 trustees, supporters, corporate partners, staff, and other friends of The Foundling joined us to reflect on our organization’s past, present, and future. The event raised over $1.1 million for The Foundling’s life-changing programs!

As our photo gallery shows, it was a special evening.

Hosted by NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan, the event commemorated The Foundling’s 150-year presence and lasting impact on the New York community.

TV personality Seth Meyers provided a virtual welcome, and our President & CEO Bill Baccaglini spoke about our history and current initiatives. An array of speakers, including Sr. Donna Dodge of the Sisters of Charity, Foundling Trustees Bob King and Nadia Owens, and Dorm Project participant Marangely, provided insight and context on The Foundling’s incredible legacy and impact. We honored Gregory B. Braca, President & CEO of TD Bank – a valuable partner with deep personal connections to The Foundling.

Two commemorative videos – covering our history and current impact – showed The Foundling’s long legacy of trusting in the power and potential of people.

The evening was capped off with a lively program auction, led by Ruth Maudlin, which allowed the crowd to support vital Foundling programs, and an online auction – featuring exclusive items and experiences – was introduced.

The Foundling owes its success over the past 150 years to our supporters and community – thank you for being part of our legacy.

While our 150^th Anniversary Gala might be over, the fun continues! Here are some ways to celebrate with us:

View more photos from the Gala

Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram

Watch our new videos: The History of the New York Foundling & Program Overview

Explore Volunteer Opportunities

October 11, 2019/by Elefant Design

TIME: The Childcare Crisis

Note: As of 2020, The Crisis Nursery is no longer operated by The Foundling.

Affordable childcare is at once one of the most tantalizing promises of contemporary American life, and the most broken. Our modern economy cannot function without a system for the nurturing of our youngest citizens—as of 2017 there were nearly 15 million children under 6 in this country with all available parents in the workforce. But for everyone except the very wealthy, childcare is ruinously expensive.

October 10, 2019/by Elefant Design

Education, Media Coverage

Youth Today: For Youth In Foster Care in New York City, Anxieties Over College, Aging Out Remain

Christina Young is one of a fraction of foster youth that make it all the way through to college graduation with a bachelor’s degree. Only 50% of foster youth graduate high school by the time they turn 18. Those that do graduate often do not fare well in college. Only 20% go on to post-secondary education. The numbers vary, but experts say that 1 to 11% finish their degree.

As a foster youth over 21, Young had been part of a pilot program called the Dorm Project. It offered a solution to one of the biggest problems facing foster youth: stable housing. It allowed Young and a few dozen other students to live in their dorm rooms all year. When other students went home for break or holidays, Young could stay in her room without having to navigate the complicated foster care system and worry about finding a new temporary home to live in until the semester went back into session.

Read and watch more at Youth Today.

October 7, 2019/by Elefant Design

Bill Baccaglini (President & CEO, New York Foundling), Gregory Braca (President & CEO, TD Bank) and Robert E. King, Jr. (New York Foundling Chairman of the Board) at NYF Gala

Events, Media Coverage

Medium: Inside the New York Foundling’s 150th Anniversary Gala

On Wednesday, The New York Foundling — one of the city’s oldest and largest social service providers — held its 150th Anniversary Gala, a sold-out affair attended by over 500 guests.

Read more at Medium.

October 4, 2019/by Elefant Design

Media Coverage, Partnerships

NYN Media: Digital Casework Tool Developed by NYC Organizations Wins Award

The Social Impact AI Lab – a partnership between MercyFirst, The New York Foundling, SCO Family of Services, and Augmented Intelligence – created a tool that consolidates information from social work case notes into a clear summary and even graphs risk levels for clients. The project won first place in a national competition for digital health solutions at the Health 2.0 Conference in Santa Clara, California.

Read more at NYN Media.

September 23, 2019/by Elefant Design

History, Media Coverage

Currents News: After 150 Years, The Foundling Continues to Serve

“The Foundling — one of New York City’s largest and oldest child welfare and social services organizations — is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. It all began with one baby.”

Watch the news report and read more at Net TV.

September 10, 2019/by Elefant Design

History, Media Coverage

Metrofocus: The Foundling at 150

“A major milestone for one of our city’s oldest and most important institutions. Find out how the New York Foundling is still helping children 150 years after it was founded.”

Watch the video, which includes an interview with our President & CEO Bill Baccaglini, at Metrofocus here.

September 9, 2019/by Elefant Design

Child Welfare, Media Coverage

The Wall Street Journal: Adopted Children Need Permanent Homes

“Of the more than 25,000 children in foster care in New York state, some 3,500 are waiting to be adopted. But legislation that passed the state Assembly and Senate in June could make it much harder for these children to find permanent homes.

Introduced by Bronx Assemblywoman Latoya Joyner, the Preserving Family Bonds Act would let birthparents whose rights have been terminated by the court apply to visit their children. They would be entitled to a hearing to argue that their continuing contact is in the child’s best interest…”

Read more, including insight from our President & CEO Bill Baccaglini, at The Wall Street Journal here.

September 5, 2019/by Elefant Design

History, Media Coverage

The Tablet: After 150 Years, The Foundling Continues to Serve

“The Foundling — one of New York City’s largest and oldest child welfare and social services organizations — is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

It all began with one baby…”

Read more at The Tablet here.

September 4, 2019/by Elefant Design

Education, Guest Blogger

After a Successful Sophomore Year, Christina Continues to Build Her Future

Written by Foundling Guest Blogger, Christina, a Graduate of The Foundling’s Road to Success Program.

My recent semester at Johnson & Wales University was a memorable one, and getting ready to transition from a college Sophomore to a Junior is difficult, emotional, and exciting—all at the same time.

This past semester I began to meet with my academic advisors and they helped me plan the classes I will take over the next two years at school. It’s hard to believe that I’ve now completed two years…I’m halfway done with school, and it’s gone by fast.

Sophomore year was trickier compared to my Freshman year, which is what I expected, so it didn’t come as a surprise. My Abnormal Psychology course was quite intense, and required study time to keep up with the fast pace and new concepts. I was thankful for my Criminal Courts and Deviance classes, however. I learned so much in these hands-on courses, and even got to visit a juvenile facility! I’m glad I was able to stay motivated, no matter how difficult a class may have gotten, or how difficult a professor may have been.

One thing I can say for certain: I remained focused on my goals and knowing that I completed two years! This has kept me excited for the rest of my college path, and the remaining classes I need to take towards my major in Criminal Justice.

The Foundling has stayed by my side for these past two years, and throughout my adolescence, and I know they continue to support me as I continue to grow and learn. I can’t wait to look back when I’m older at what I was able to accomplish, despite the challenges I had growing up in foster care. Today I have a great relationship with my foster family, and I’m in close contact with members of my biological family too—which is really special and important to me.

This summer is going to be really busy, and the work doesn’t stop. I am interning with The Foundling for a second summer, this time with the Human Resources Team as a Project Assistant (last year I interned with the Business Operations Team). I can’t wait to learn about the different areas of recruitment, benefits administration, and other HR practices. These are skills I can bring back to campus at Johnson & Wales to continue my success.

The Foundling’s Road to Success program is a tutoring program especially for high school students who are in foster care. Watch this video story to learn more about Road to Success and how our wrap-around education services empower students to succeed in high school and beyond.

June 27, 2019/by Elefant Design