Category Archives: News

The New York State Business Council recently recognized Hillside with a Member Spotlight video that calls attention to leading New York State businesses, organizations or programs. We chose to put our “spotlight” on Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection (HW-SC), which has empowered at-risk high school students since 1987. Youth who participate in HW-SC enjoy dramatically increased graduation rates compared to their peers: in 2018, 90 percent of young people who started the program in Grade 9 graduated on time. These and other impact measures are available in our most recent HW-SC Outcomes Report. Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection is a public-private partnership that requires…

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The New York State Coalition for Children’s Behavioral Health announced today that Maria Cristalli, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hillside Family of Agencies, has been named President of the Coalition’s Board of Directors. Cristalli has been a member of the Coalition Board since 2016. Her leadership of the Coalition’s Board is a two-year term. The Coalition for Children’s Behavioral Health is dedicated to the advancement of children’s behavioral health services in New York State. The Coalition represents the interests of children and youth, family members and providers who seek to inform and educate policymakers about the need for a…

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Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection (HW-SC) will receive a $50,000 PwC Foundation “Reimagine” Grant aimed at accelerating innovative educational opportunities for underserved populations in their communities. The grant will help to advance existing academic support and job-readiness services provided by HW-SC at the Rochester City School District’s Enrico Fermi School #17. PwC staff will amplify the grant by volunteering 500 hours over a two year period. At the start of the volunteer hours, PwC will provide financial literacy and recycling/sustainability enrichment curriculum to 7th and 8th grade HW-SC students at School #17. To date, 20 PwC employees have begun planning interactive activities…

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Congratulations to Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection’s Kerry Conner, Jasmine Osborne and Audrey Toeper for completing the Emerging Leaders Development Program (ELDP). They and the rest of ELDP’s second graduating class were honored at The Century Club of Rochester on November 19. The ELDP program was established by the United Way of Greater Rochester to identify, train and promote outstanding individuals for their work on boards, committees and community projects, and in policy-making positions. ELDP curriculum topics included leadership, board membership, communication, decision making and conflict resolution. Over the course of their program, Kerry, Jasmine and Audrey developed skills, competencies, experience and…

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Hillside’s Parents as Teachers (PAT) program recently earned recognition as a Blue Ribbon Affiliate for fidelity to a rigorous quality process established by the national PAT organization. This recognition affirms that Hillside’s PAT participants are receiving the highest quality services available. Hillside, which provides these services free of charge to participating Rochester-area parents, is the only PAT affiliate in the greater Rochester region to have earned the Blue Ribbon recognition. Based on the concept that every parent is their child’s first teacher, PAT uses accepted research on developmental milestones to provide support and guidance to parents as their child grows…

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Hillside held a Parents as Teachers (PAT) Parent Appreciation Event and 35th Anniversary Celebration on November 8 at our Mustard Street Conference Center in Rochester. PAT is an early-childhood parent education and family support program designed to help parents give their children the best possible start in life, and increase school readiness and success. The family-oriented event acknowledged parents for promoting the optimal early development, learning and health of their children through participating in PAT. Our program was recently recognized by the national Parents as Teachers organization as an exemplary Blue Ribbon Affiliate, delivering high-quality services to children and families.…

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All of Hillside congratulates Robert W. August for being honored as “Outstanding Philanthropist” by the Genesee Valley Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals on November 1. The National Philanthropy Day event at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center recognized August and other community leaders who devote their time, treasure and energy to a variety of causes -embodying the true spirit of generosity. For August, supporting Hillside is a family tradition. Following in the footsteps of his father and uncle, he became involved with Hillside in the mid-1980s and joined the Hillside Children’s Foundation Board of Trustees in May 2013. In…

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For more than 50 years, Hillside and the children and families we serve have held a special place in the hearts of Rochester-area Gamma Phi Beta women. Since the service sorority chapter first made Hillside its local philanthropy focus, their support has taken many forms. This has included donating and volunteering for our Camp Possibilities facility and the annual Special Santa project, and holding garage sales and fundraising events. For one twice-annual Gamma Phi Beta effort, the sorority sisters decorating and fill “emergency care bags” for youth at our Monroe and Crestwood residential treatment campuses. Members of the sorority recently…

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Are you looking for a rewarding career that can make a difference in a young person’s life? If so, Hillside may be looking for you. We are hosting two open interview events for our Western New York programs that provide services to children and young adults with developmental disabilities. We will be hiring for Direct Support Professional (DSP) openings and interviewing on the spot. When: 3:00 to 7:00 pm Tuesday, November 12 and Tuesday, November 26 Where: Fantastic Friends of WNY, 1284 French Road, Depew, NY 14043 Requirements: High School Diploma/GED, and New York State Driver’s License Hillside DSPs provide…

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Much like school districts in your communities, Hillside’s multiple schools come together each year for a Superintendent’s Day event that enables in-service learning and idea sharing, with the goal of helping our educators be as effective as possible. Hillside held an educational and engaging Superintendent’s Conference Day on October 18 at Kodak Center in Rochester. The “Teaching and Learning: Exploring Cultural Competency & Personalized Instruction” conference was informative, interactive and relevant to its Hillside educator attendees. Greece Central School District administrators Brandin Jones and Jennifer Wesp-Liestman gave the conference’s keynote presentation, “The Role of Anti-Racism in Education – How to…

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