Union Settlement will lose three of its most beloved, longstanding family members over the coming months. Lillian Bent, Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Union Settlement Federal Credit Union, retired in May, while Maria Quiroga, Director of Adult Education, and Mae McCullough, Coordinator of our Gaylord White Senior Center, are all retiring in the coming weeks. They will be dearly missed.

Lillian has served as our Credit Union Manager for 15 years, joining us in 1991 after more than 14 years at JPMorgan Chase, including serving as manager of the East Harlem branch. Under her leadership, the Credit Union has expanded and flourished, with 4,000 mostly low-income members and innumerable new services, including an ATM Card program, free tax preparation, Earned Income Tax Credit workshops, a low-interest credit card program, a 24-hour loan service and countless community education efforts. Last year, Lillian received the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions' Annie Vamper "Helping Hands" Award, which is given to credit union organizers, volunteers and staff whose work has been especially dedicated and outstanding. A longtime East Harlem resident, Lillian is involved in a number of local community service organizations, including the East Harlem Community Coalition for Fair Banking and our local police precinct's Community Council.

At Lillian's festive retirement party on May 10, community members joined Settlement and Credit Union staff and board members in honoring her longtime service to East Harlem. ÒWhile I am retiring from my job," Lillian promised in her farewell to agency staff, "I am not leaving my community so this is not a goodbye-just a 'so long' until we meet again."

It is hard to imagine Union Settlement's 22-year-old Adult Education Program without Director Maria Quiroga, who joined the agency just a year after the program began. Under her leadership, services have blossomed from four classes focused mostly on home economics to a full venue of 27 courses ranging from English for Speakers of Other Languages and GED preparation in English and Spanish to computer skills, citizenship and basic literacy. Also thanks to Maria, the agency now has several rich traditions-an Annual Ethnic Festival, Day of the Dead Celebration and Literature Festival-all of which emerged from her program. Among her proudest achievements is the Writing Through Reading Program, our 13-year-old partnership with the 92nd Street Y, which helps students learn English through exposure to contemporary literature and creative writing and visits by renowned authors. "It has it been so wonderful for students," Maria says. "And what a privilege for myself and our staff. We've had the honor of meeting and talking with some of the most talented writers across the world," she adds, citing visits by Eduardo Galeano, Frank McCourt, Nadine Gordimer and Sandra Cisneros as among her favorites.

When asked what she will miss most about Union Settlement, Maria struggles to narrow it down. "Mostly, it's working so closely with such giving people. Our teachers and staff are part of me and I am part of them. The whole program lives and breathes because of the whole staff, not just one member. They bring constant artistic and academic creativity to the program. And we have such low turnover because we all feel we're doing something worthwhile." She then cites many warm memories of past and ongoing students as among the greatest rewards of her career. "Their generosity is inspiring. Our students have so little, but they always try to thank us by bringing presents, home-cooked food, perfume, flowers, hand-made drawings and paintings. They invite us to their birthday parties and weddings, to be godparents to their children. They share their lives with us." Smiling, she adds, "The things we learn day by day from our students is beautiful. Our students teach us more than we teach them."

Mae McCullough, a fixture at Union Settlement for 27 years, will have her last day on June 30. For seven years, she served as coordinator of Union Settlement's Washington Lexington Senior Center, followed by two decades at Gaylord White Senior Center. Recalling her earlier years, she speaks about the winter bazaars the centers would hold to raise money for trips to the Poconos or Atlantic City in the "Nellie Bell," a re-purposed school bus. "They were wonderful times," she smiles. Mae's retirement plans include a long visit to North Carolina to visit family. Now, however, she is struggling with sadness over leaving her Òhome." "But I've done what I'm supposed to do," she reflects, "both for the community and for myself. And I can leave knowing there'll always be someone at Gaylord White and Union Settlement to help our seniors. I leave things in such good hands."

Looking back on her years here, Mae said, "It's helped me grow. It's helped me raise my children." Mae's son is a graduate of our Union Washington Daycare Center and our youth services division, while both her son and daughter graduated from the Settlement College Readiness Program. "We're Union Settlement people," she laughs. "And always will be."

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It was a night to honor Union Settlement's rich past and work towards ensuring its vital future on April 18, 2006, when close to 200 dedicated supporters gathered for Union Settlement's Fifth Annual Sounds of East Harlem Benefit, raising much-needed funds for the agency's services. Held at the stylish W Hotel, Union Square, the sold-out event drew Settlement board members and staff, community leaders, public officials, friends and well-wishers-all eager to support Union Settlement and to pay tribute to the benefit's honorees, New York City Councilmember and Union Settlement alumnus Robert Jackson and the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, who were acknowledged for their remarkable community achievements.

After warm congratulatory remarks from U.S. Congressperson Charles Rangel and newly elected Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and a welcome from Dinner Co-Chair and Union Settlement Board member Kira Watson, Board Chair Robert Quaintance took the stage, referencing current national debates over immigrant issues and speaking about Union Settlement's long tradition of supporting East Harlem's immigrant population: "For 110 years, Union Settlement has been serving immigrants to help them achieve the dream that brought them, or their parents or grandparents, here ...We're proud to be doing that we'll keep on doing that."

The evening then gave way to its prestigious honorees. Board member Eli Gross introduced Lloyd Williams, President of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce (GHCC), who accepted the award on the Chamber's behalf. GHCC is Upper Manhattan's oldest business organization and has played a vital role in the revitalization of Harlem and Upper Manhattan, launching the enormously successful Harlem Week and Harlem Jazz & Music Festival. Mr. Williams spoke about GHCC and Union Settlement's parallel histories in Harlem and East Harlem, including the fact that both organizations are celebrating 110 years of serving city residents. He also spoke about new joint efforts planned between the two neighborhood institutions before closing his remarks with a warm thanks to his wife, noting, "That's my girl."

Introduced by Settlement Board member and fellow SUNY-New Paltz alumnus Richard Bengloff, New York City Councilmember Robert Jackson took the stage, honored for his many years of public service and his extraordinary battle as cofounder of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, a coalition of parent organizations, school boards, citizens and advocacy groups that fought a successful 10-year-long battle with the State of New York to ensure fiscal equity for New York City's public school students. Councilmember Jackson honored his mentor, Benjamin Franklin High School track coach Irwin Goldberg, who urged him to apply for Union Settlement's Upward Bound Program when he was a teen. "Because of him, I came to Union Settlement," Jackson recounted, "and because of Union Settlement, I went to SUNY-New Paltz and because of SUNY, I'm a city councilmember today." He added, "We all have an obligation to educate the children of New York City and Union Settlement helped educate me."

Following the honorees, Ramik Williams, Director of Youth Services, presented Union Settlement first-ever Outstanding Student Presentation to Elizabeth Graham, an exceptional graduate of East Harlem Works, the Settlement's teen employment and educational achievement program. Poised and touched, Ms. Graham thanked her mother as well as Mr. Williams and Nadine Evans, coordinator of the program, whom she referred to as her "second mom." This fall, Ms. Graham will attend SUNY-Buffalo with a bookstore gift certificate from Union Settlement as she embarks on what will surely be a bright future.

Among the evening's many highlights was a rousing live performance by the young students of the Mariachi Academy of New York, led by Ramon Ponce, Jr. and the much-anticipated return of Nicholas Lowry, President of Swann Auction Galleries and Antiques Roadshow regular. A big hit in past benefits, Mr. Lowry reprised his role as auctioneer, leading a thrilling live auction. Guests eagerly competed to bid on items such as a Puerto Rican vacation, a case of 1996 Mouton-Rothschild wine, a home-catered three-course dinner for eight from Two People's Company Unlimited, a Book Club Weekend with author Marilyn Johnson, including lunch for four at the Yale Club, a stay at the W Tuscany and an ESPN Golf School class and a luxury weekend in San Francisco, including airfare, three nights at the Fairmount Hotel and dinner at Le Colonial.

This year's event also featured a silent auction, with guests bidding on an enormous range of items, from a Bliss Spa Certificate and New York Mets tickets to fine jewelry and Kate Spade bags. Also this year, a group of members from our East River Senior Center came to the benefit to sell hand-crafted pillows and purses they had made to raise money for Senior Services. Brightly colored and lovingly made, these pillows drew the eyes of guests during the cocktail hour, who purchased them by the droves. These spirited women, along with student honoree Elizabeth Graham, served as vibrant reminders of the importance of Union Settlement's role in the community, drawing together supportive social networks, cultivating individual achievement and encouraging community collaboration.

Union Settlement would like to give special thanks to our many generous individual supporters as well as our event sponsors: Acordia, Apple Bank for Savings, Bartlett Dairy, Inc., Columbia University, Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP, Ernst & Young, Giuliani Partners, LLP, JP Morgan Chase, Kekst & Company, Robinson, Lerer & Montgomery, Morgan Stanley, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Mutual of America, Nielsen Media Research, Reliable Office Systems, USI and Watson & Rice, LLP. And, for their in-kind support, we offer warm thanks to: Armani Casa, Atlantic Records Group, BloomingdaleÕs, the Fairmont Hotel, Gotham Magazine, Kilroy Metal Products, Inc., Miami Dolphins, Michael C. Fina Company, the Museum of the City of New York, St. John Knits, Sony/BMG Distribution, Sports Illustrated, Universal/Motown and the W Hotel.

The entire Union Settlement family extends its deepest gratitude to these outstanding women for their dedication and their enduring achievements.

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It was a season of celebrations at Union Settlement over the recent holidays. Despite the year's funding hardships, agency staff, program participants and some generous benefactos and volunteers pitched in to make the season a memorable one.

On Thanksgiving, Senior Services held its annual celebratory banquet for its senior center members. This year, staff and members alike were thrilled to have the help of a large crew of volunteers from Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, who helped pack special holiday dinners for nearly 300 Meals on Wheels clients, while also serving turkey and other treats to the 137 members who attended the banquet at James Weldon Johnson Senior Center. The volunteers were delighted to stay on after meal and dance with our seniors in celebration of the holiday. Warmest thanks to Deloitte for making it such a special day for both our seniors and our staff.

A few weeks later, the Settlement was again the beneficiary of holiday generosity. For the third consecutive year, young people in our after-school programs were treated to a festive holiday gift-giving party, courtesy of the Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation. On December 14, Hilfiger Foundation volunteers arrived early in the day and proceeded to festoon the gym with holiday decorations. Nearly 200 children ages six to 12 in our Rising Stars after-school program were then treated to the antics of a joyous clown in full costume while an old-fashioned popcorn popper cranked out treats. The festivities culminated with volunteers handing out brightly wrapped gifts delivered individually to each child.

Union Settlement extends its heartfelt thanks to the Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation for its ongoing support.

Thanks also to other generous contributors who enriched this past holiday season for so many families in our programs:

For their donation of Thanksgiving turkeys for families in our programs, a hearty thanks to:

• Triple Crown Foods
• HYCO Foods

Finally, we would also like to thank the following generous contributors of toys and books:

• The Heckscher Foundation for Children
• Bloomberg LLP
• Fisher Brothers
• The Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies

Finally, we extend our warm gratitude to the Sirus Fund for their generous grant in support of holiday presents and winter clothing for our program participants.

This fall marked the much-anticipated opening of Union Settlement's new Head Start site at 107th Street and Second Avenue in East Harlem's Franklin Plaza Cooperative, just three blocks from the Settlement's Main Administration Building.

The opening was the culmination of three years of collaborative work by Union Settlement and New York City's Agency for Children's Services (ACS)-Head Start. The renovation project, made possible through generous funding from ACS-Head Start, has enabled the Settlement to move three of its Head Start classes from its crowded Main Building to the newly refurbished Franklin Plaza site, which offers double the space. The new center houses three large classrooms for 55 three and four year olds, three administrative offices, a counseling room, a conference/parent room, a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen and a fully outfitted outdoor playground. The vacated classrooms at the Main Building are now being used by children in our Leggett after-school program, who are no longer crowded into the agency auditorium. Our Adult Education program now shares the vacated space, using it for morning and night classes.

"This move gives Union Settlement the opportunity to show our appreciation to the East Harlem community for allowing us to take care of their most precious resource, their children," says Associate Executive Director Laura Johnson. "We are also able to showcase the excellent childcare services we've provided in the neighborhood for the last 50 years."

Ms. Johnson adds that creating this space "gives us a blueprint that can be duplicated at our other five centers bringing our childcare sites well into the 21st century."

Union Settlement would like to thank ACS-Head Start, the parents and the community for their continued support of its services to the residents of New York City.

To visit the new site or to find out about how to register a child, please call the Childcare Director at 212.828.6052.

The Fifth Annual East Harlem AIDS Walk and Health Fair roused community spirit and activism as residents filled the streets to help raise awareness and educate individuals about the benefits of getting tested so that they can make informed health care decisions about their lives. Held on Saturday, September 10, the event was led by Iris House, Inc., the nation's first community-based organization founded by and for women and families infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS virus, in close collaboration with the East Harlem HIV Care Network and its 31 other member agencies. East Harlem suffers from the city's second highest cumulative AIDS and living AIDS case rates.

In a community-wide effort to draw attention to these dire conditions and to focus on prevention and testing, hundreds of East Harlemites gathered on East 115th Street where the walk kicked off with a performance by the Phoenix House Choir. Participants then walked together through the neighborhood, waving banners and distributing flyers. The 2.6-mile walk ended at a Health Fair. Accompanied by live music from the Phoenix House Choir and the El Faro Live Salsa Band, community residents visited booths to collect information concerning testing and prevention services and access to care. The fair also included free HIV testing and glucose, cholesterol and hepatitis screenings. Power 105.1 FM participated with their Music Van and free giveaways for the community.

"In 1994, people were storming out to the streets all over the city to fight for those dying," said Network Coordinator Jose Martin Garcia Orduna. "In 2005, too many are forgetting the thousands who have died and who still die in East Harlem. We have to make a statement that can be seen and heard in every corner of our community: only we can stop AIDS."

Since 1991, the East Harlem HIV Care Network has worked to improve the availability, accessibility, quality and coordination of services for people living with or affected by HIV and AIDS. Union Settlement serves as the Network's lead agency. For more information, please call 212.828.6141.

As the nation confronted the ongoing tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, Union Settlement programs found ways to contribute to relief efforts.

Youth at Union is in the midst of planning a clothes drive for those displaced by the hurricane. Among our youngest participants, children in one of our School Age classrooms, elected to forego an upcoming trip to the Skate Key Skate & Dance Family Center in the Bronx and instead donated their trip money to the American Red Cross. Students wrote individual letters (see left) to the Red Cross, expressing their sympathies and their desire to help.

Seniors at our centers also made contributions. For instance, Priscilla Morgan, a Case Coordinator at our James Weldon Johnson Senior Center, collected $156 from the center's generous members, which was then donated to the Red Cross.

Union Settlement is proud to participate in relief efforts and joins millions of Americans and individuals worldwide in extending its empathy and support to the hundreds of thousands of victims affected by the devastating hurricane.

The dedicated students in the Settlement College Readiness Program, Inc.'s Summer Writing and Theater Program (SWTP) dazzled assembled parents, staff and guests with their dramatic prowess and creative writing skills at their end-of-summer Closing Ceremony and Performance on August 11. Blending literary selections from writers such as Maya Angelou and Ralph Ellison with scenes penned by the students themselves, the performance demonstrated participants' hard work and their natural talents. SWTP is a comprehensive six-week program that engages students in critical and creative writing workshops, drama instruction, college visits and internships in theater and publishing. Congratulations to all participants and to College Readiness's dedicated staff and supporters.