April FREE Blast

Click HERE for full size poster!

State of the County Address at the New Nassau Coliseum
What an honor it was for the FREE Players Ensemble to be the first group to perform at the New Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum presented by New York Community Bank (NYCB).  The performance took place at the State of the County Address.  Values of Quality & Interdependence

Coram IRA at ThinkBIG
Coram IRA enjoyed a live performance about “Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears” by ThinkBIG’s Travelin’ Trunk Show.  Value of Diversity

UPCEA National Engagement Award
FREE and Stony Brook were awarded the UPCEA National Engagement Award for their Master’s Degree Cohorts.  Congrats!.  Value of Innovation

Candlelight Vigil for the Homeless
Thank you to all who contributed to the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless “Have a Heart for the Homeless” Candlelight Vigil.  We would also like to recognize friends and families of Club Friendship, part of FREE’s children’s respite program, who collected non-perishable food items, hygiene products and several winter coats!  Value of Stewardship

Steven M’s Presentation at Stony Brook
Steven M. of Supported Housing gave a presentation to Professor Beth Peterson’s class at Stony Brook University.  Although it was his first time speaking in public, he did not let his nerves get the best of him!
Steven shared his whole story of childhood abuse, Mental Illness, affiliation with Latin kings, incarceration, recovery, and how his life is different now.  He has goals and hope.  With the support of FREE he is excited about his life and the opportunities before him.  Value of Stewardship

Helpful Tips from Nancy Cohen, CFRE
Keep an eye out for Blog Posts on our new website by Nancy Cohen, CFRE all about raising funds!  They can be found in the “What’s Trending” section.  Values of Innovation, Stewardship, & Quality

Celebrating #40YearsOfFREE
On April 20 in 1977, Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. was founded with a mission to serve one of Long Island’s most vulnerable populations.
From our humble beginning, with one residence and a handful of employees, we have grown into an agency, with over 2,500 Valued Team Members, that supports over 4,000 men, women, and children to realize their full potential!
Over the past 40 years, FREE has been able to:
Employ differently-abled individuals,
Provide our community members with mental illness the tools to regain independence,
Support individuals to strive towards their self-identified goals, Empower Long Island’s underserved youth,
Ease the process of transitioning between the world of school and work, And so much more!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, for continuing to support and believe in Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc.
Together we truly can create the right solution for any need!  All of the Core Values are at the center of FREE’s culture!

Annual Advocacy and Disability Awareness Conference
This year’s Advocacy and Disability Awareness Conference was a huge success!  Many of our Advocates spoke about their challenges that they have overcome, the Ensemble preformed, and the Nassau Kings Wheelchair Basketball Team gave an inspirational presentation.  Finally, the #moments4smiles campaign was launched!  Value of Quality

Why do you SMILE?
It doesn’t matter who you are…everyone has a reason to SMILE!
#moments4smiles could be anything! They can be as grandiose as a tropical vacation to as small as giving your friend a hug or experiencing the beautiful springtime weather!
Whatever makes you SMILE, be sure to share it with us! Help grow our online community by using the hashtag #moments4smiles so you can see others around the globe who are just like you!  Value of Stewardship

Transition Expo
FREE held an event that provided expert information to parents, schools, and service providers that would help ease the transition between the world of school and work.  Values of Innovation, Quality, & Responsiveness

Ascension
Thank you to the Patchogue-Medford Library for hosting the preview show of our newest Fine Art collection, “Ascension”. The show will be hanging until April 30, so if you are in the area, definitely take the time to check it out!
Value of Innovation

Fancy FREE
Fancy FREE had an exciting month as always!
They took a trip to Paint a Piece, where the guys got to exercise their creativity and bring home a masterpiece.
They also had a special outing to the News 12 studio where Doug Geed gave them a full tour!  Value of Quality

Long Island Special Needs Expo
FREE Valued Team Members attended the Long Island Special Needs Expo as exhibitors so they could provide information about all of the wonderful services FREE offers to people who are searching for services.  Value of Quality

Horses Healing Veterans
Community-Based Integrated Day Habilitation took a special trip to the Horses Healing Veterans farm for a day of education and engaging with the animals there. They were taught about the numerous types of horses that live there, how to use a lasso to rope a calf, how to properly walk a horse, and how to groom the many horses they had on the farm!  Values of Quality, Innovation, & Stewardship