1 month ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Once a week successful a midtown Manhattan hotel, dozens of Girl Scouts stitchery successful a spare room made homey by drawstring lights and children’s drawings. They gain badges, spell connected section trips to nan Statue of Liberty, and study really to navigate nan subway successful a metropolis astir person conscionable begun to telephone home.
They are nan newest members of New York City’s largest Girl Scout troop. And they unrecorded successful an emergency shelter wherever 170,000 asylum seekers and migrants, including tens of thousands of children, person arrived from nan confederate separator since nan outpouring of 2022.
As authorities officials statement really to grip nan influx of caller arrivals, nan Girl Scouts — whose Troop 6000 has served kids who unrecorded successful nan shelter strategy since 2017 — are softly welcoming hundreds of nan city’s youngest caller residents pinch nan support of donations. Most of nan girls person fled dire conditions successful South and Central America and endured an arduous travel to nan U.S.
Not everybody is happy astir nan improvement of Troop 6000. With anti-immigrant rhetoric connected nan emergence and a contentious predetermination ahead, immoderate donors spot nan Girl Scouts arsenic wading excessively readily into politically arguable waters. That hasn’t fazed nan group — aliases their mini service of philanthropic supporters. Amid metropolis fund cuts and a increasing request for services, they are among dozens of charities that opportunity their support for each New Yorkers, including newcomers, is much important than ever.
“If it has to do pinch young girls successful New York City, past it’s not political,” said Meridith Maskara, CEO of nan Girl Scouts of Greater New York. “It’s our job.”
While Troop 6000 has recovered plentifulness of sympathetic supporters, “there are immoderate donors who would for illustration their dollars spell elsewhere,” says Maskara. “I americium perpetually being asked: Don’t you find this a small excessively political?”
‘Who’s gonna springiness america a chance?’
Last year, Troop 6000 opened its newest branch astatine a hotel-turned-shelter successful Midtown Manhattan, 1 of respective city-funded alleviation centers for migrants. Though hundreds of families slumber astatine nan shelter each night, nan Girl Scouts is nan only children’s programme offered.
Perhaps that’s what’s made nan unit truthful popular.
Last January, nan group began recruiting astatine nan shelter and rolled retired a bilingual program to thief scouts study much astir New York City done its monuments, subway system, and governmental borders.
One twelvemonth later, pinch astir 200 members and 5 parents arsenic unit leaders, nan shelter is nan largest of Troop 6000’s astir 2 twelve sites crossed nan metropolis and nan only 1 exclusively for asylum-seekers.
With fewer different after-school opportunities available, nan girls are “so quiet for more” ways to get involved, says Giselle Burgess, elder head of nan Girl Scouts of New York’s Troop 6000.
Seven years ago, Burgess, a azygous mother of six, built Troop 6000 from nan crushed up aft losing her rental location to developers. While surviving successful a hotel-turned-shelter, she sewage nan thought of creating a unit for girls for illustration her daughters. It was nan tallness of “NIMBYism,” she says, nan not-in-my-backyard activity opposed to section bum shelters.
At nan time, she asked: “Who’s gonna springiness america a chance?”
As it turns out, “the donations started pouring in,” she says. A New York Times profile lead to a groundswell of philanthropy — positive tens of thousands of dollars successful cooky income — that helped nan group turn from 7 girls astatine a shelter successful Queens to much than 2,500 scouts and unit leaders astatine complete 20 impermanent lodging sites crossed nan city.
So, erstwhile nan mayor’s agency floated nan thought of starting a unit astatine nan Midtown shelter, nan Girl Scouts were ready.
“We already had a exemplary that has really proven to work,” says Maskara, who raised astir $400,000 successful an emergency run from Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies, nan Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and nan Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation.
Troop 6000 employs bilingual societal workers and a modulation master versed successful supporting children who’ve knowledgeable trauma. But otherwise, it operates overmuch for illustration immoderate different Girl Scout troop.
Most importantly, says Maskara, nan unit offers a glimmer of consistency to children who often must battalion up, move homes, and move schools successful nan mediate of nan world year. Scouts are encouraged to proceed participating moreover erstwhile their families move.
That hasn’t been easy astatine nan Midtown shelter. The mean magnitude of enactment for a family successful nan city’s bum shelter strategy is simply a twelvemonth and a half; successful an emergency shelter, it’s often specified months. At slightest 40 families person been evicted from nan Midtown shelter since January.
“Keeping nan girls connected is what matters nan astir for america correct now,” says Burgess. “There’s a batch of emotion, frustration, and hurt.” Around 50 scouts who person near nan shelter participate successful a virtual troop.
“We want to beryllium capable to promote nan girls and fto them cognize it’s not over,” she says. “We’re still here.”
Philanthropy steps in
New York City has spent billions connected nan asylum seekers while buckling nether nan unit of an existing lodging and affordability crisis. That’s near small clip to tribunal and coordinate nan city’s awesome philanthropies.
“It’s very difficult to return a measurement backmost erstwhile you’re drinking retired of a occurrence hose,” says Beatriz de la Torre, main philanthropy serviceman astatine Trinity Church Wall Street, which gave nan Girl Scouts a $100,000 emergency assistance — positive $150,000 successful yearly support — to thief grow Troop 6000.
With aliases without authorities directives, she says, charities are emotion nan crunch: Food banks request much food. Legal clinics request much lawyers.
Since asylum-seekers began arriving to nan city, astir 30 section assistance makers, including Trinity Church and Brooklyn Org, person met astatine slightest biweekly to talk nan accrued demands connected their grantees.
Together, they’ve provided complete $25 cardinal for charities serving asylum seekers, from free ineligible assistance to resources for navigating nan nationalist schoolhouse system.
“It’s difficult for nan authorities to beryllium that nimble — that’s a awesome spot for nonprofits and philanthropy,” says Eve Stotland, elder programme serviceman astatine New York Community Trust, which convenes nan Working Group for New York’s Newcomers, and itself has distributed complete $2.7 cardinal successful grants for caller immigrants.
“These are our neighbors,” says Stotland. “If a funder’s extremity is to make New York City a amended spot for everyone, that includes newcomers.”
Political backlash
In a emblematic year, backing for immigrants makes up a “very, very small” percent of wide assistance making, says Marissa Tirona, president of Grantmakers Concerned pinch Immigrants and Refugees, and backing for immigrants actually shrunk 11% from 2012 to 2020.
During an predetermination year, services for immigrants mightiness beryllium moreover much astatine risk.
“Migrant families are often utilized arsenic governmental pawns,” and immoderate donors whitethorn succumb to anti-immigrant fear-mongering, says Tirona.
The Girl Scouts person not been immune to nan backlash, nor is it nan first clip they’ve shouldered criticism from blimpish donors.
While Troop 6000 has not been deterred, Maskara says that galore of her peers successful nan nonprofit world person been fearful to publically support newcomers.
“What holds them backmost is nan quality of being excessively progressive aliases excessively political,” she says. “My consequence to them is: You person nary thought really galore doors it will open.”
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Sara Herschander is simply a newsman astatine nan Chronicle of Philanthropy, wherever you tin publication nan full article. This article was provided to The Associated Press by nan Chronicle of Philanthropy arsenic portion of a business to screen philanthropy and nonprofits supported by nan Lilly Endowment. The Chronicle is solely responsible for nan content. For each of AP’s philanthropy coverage, sojourn https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
