GREENWICH — The Boys & Ladies Membership of Greenwich introduced that in partnership with Children In Disaster, BGCG now has a full-time grasp’s stage social employee on website to work with the kids in its applications.
Within the spring of 2019, Children In Disaster and the Boys & Ladies Membership obtained a grant from Affect Fairfield County, to pilot KidTalk, a program that positioned a part-time social employee on the Boys & Ladies Membership to be a useful resource for membership members, employees members and their households.
Because the fall of 2019, this initiative has offered important psychological well being assist to the group’s youth, their households and the employees whereas enhancing the standard of the after-school program on the Boys & Ladies Membership.
Now in a full-time place made potential via Children In Disaster, Mariana Martins, the KidTalk counselor, is on the membership every single day. She assists employees, youth and their households with points that influence their well being and well-being.
“Having a full-time social employee on-site in the course of the pandemic has been transformative. The psychological well being assist Mariana offers to our youngsters has modified lives,” mentioned Cristina Vittoria, CEO of Boys & Ladies Membership of Greenwich.
Capable of converse Portuguese and Spanish, Martins is captivated with supporting and advocating for immigrant youth and their households.
“The psychological well being disaster has impacted communities throughout the nation. The continuing partnership between the Boys & Ladies Membership of Greenwich and Children In Disaster continues to function an important collaboration for sustaining the psychological and bodily well-being of the youth in our Greenwich neighborhood,” mentioned Martins. She known as it an honor “to have the chance to supply ongoing assist to the youth and their households.”
She has beforehand labored with kids and adolescents in neighborhood settings the place she designed and facilitated applications in vitamin and wellness, theater and STEM.
Over the previous two years, this system has offered one-on-one confidential counseling to youngsters who may be scuffling with nervousness, despair, bullying, household conflicts, tutorial points, grief/loss, substance abuse points, abuse/neglect or lack of primary wants.
Moreover, Martins collaborates with the membership on programming and offers referrals to companies at Children In Disaster, together with its 24/7 Disaster Helpline. She leads the SMART Ladies program, a Boys & Ladies Membership of America signature program designed to fulfill the developmental wants of ladies ages 8 to 18.
“There is no such thing as a doubt that working in partnership with the membership we’re making a distinction within the lives of kids,” mentioned Shari Shapiro, govt director of Children In Disaster. “Mariana is ready to meet with the youngsters in a spot that’s snug for them because the membership is a house away from residence for a lot of the youngsters.”
Martins holds a grasp’s diploma with honors distinction in social work from Sacred Coronary heart College in Fairfield and a bachelor’s of social work from Western Connecticut State College in Danbury.
Mannequin United Nations group shines at GHS
The Mannequin UN group, or MUN, from Greenwich Excessive College put in an incredible efficiency on the latest Rutgers Mannequin UN Convention in New Brunswick, N.J.
Rutgers Mannequin United Nations is without doubt one of the largest and most well-regarded MUN conferences in the USA. The flagship program of the Institute for Home & Worldwide Affairs Inc. began empowering college students in 1992 when a bunch from Rutgers College sought to determine a world research program on the college.
A lot of the GHS college students represented Germany in debates about human rights, the surroundings, worldwide relations, world improvement and extra.
“Our Mannequin UN group attended its first in-person convention since January 2020. Throughout a shortened yr in 2020 and a digital 2020-2021, the scholars demonstrated flexibility and perseverance,” mentioned Ian Tiedemann, social research instructor and membership adviser. “It was superb to see the scholars again to work safely, partaking in debate, and bonding as a group. We’re all so happy with this group.”
The highest performers included:
*Place Paper Award: Arjun Kishore (Eleventh-grader), Worldwide Financial Fund
*Honorable Delegation: Veda Swaminathan (Twelfth-grader) and Elisabeth Zielinski (ninth-grader), Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee
*Distinguished Delegation: Ambika Grover (Eleventh-grader) and Ziyi Yan( Tenth-grader), Fee on the Science and Expertise for Growth
*Distinguished Delegation: Nicole Orlofsky (Eleventh-grader) and Jeremy Buss (ninth-grader), World Well being Group
*Excellent Delegation: Aarya Dhru (Twelfth-grader) and Zara Haque (ninth-grader), United Nations Environmental Program
*Finest Delegation: Helena Kennedy (Tenth-grader), United Nations Division of Political Affairs 1993
