
SCO News
SCO Family of Services and Garden of Dreams Foundation Celebrate Early Childhood Center Gardening Initiative with Ribbon Cutting
September 13, 2023 / SCO News
East Elmhurst, NY – SCO Family of Services and the Garden of Dreams Foundation hosted a special ribbon cutting to unveil the new garden at SCO’s Jerome Hardeman Early Childhood Education Center in East Elmhurst, Queens. Students, teachers, and SCO staff were on hand as well as representatives from the…
Read MoreBringing the Heat with a Summer BBQ!
August 7, 2023 / Independent Youth News
Over 70 SCO youth in foster care and staff from our Brooklyn and Queens offices took a trip to Hempstead Lake State Park in West Hempstead for a summer BBQ. It was a beautiful day packed with food and fun… music, team building events, a bounce house slide, water balloon…
Read MoreSuzette Gordon named new President and CEO of SCO Family of Services
August 2, 2023 / Independent Youth News
(Garden City, New York, August 2, 2023) – Today, the Board of Directors of SCO Family of Services, a leading provider of essential human services in New York, announced the appointment of Suzette Gordon as the new President and CEO. Ms. Gordon, who served as Interim President since December 2022,…
Read MoreSCO Celebrates COA Reaccreditation!
July 19, 2023 / Independent Youth News
We did it! SCO Family of Services has been officially reaccredited by The Council on Accreditation (COA), an international, independent human service accrediting organization that promotes best practice standards. In January, a team of eight COA reviewers interviewed hundreds of SCO staff, clients, leadership, and Board, reviewed thousands of pages…
Read MoreInteractive Training Supports Direct Service Professionals
July 18, 2023 / SCO News
In June, SCO’s Behavioral Health Services Department held a 3-day staff development event intended to support our Direct Support Professionals who work with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD.) The training, The Humanitarian Project Act II, featured interactive workshops where participants learned while having fun through scavenger hunts, escape-the-room…
Read MoreLots to Celebrate at the Theresa Paplin School
July 18, 2023 / Independent Youth News
SCO’s Theresa Paplin School (TPS) celebrated the end of the year with traditional culmination activities with a twist: an End of Year Dance (PROM), Field Day, and Moving Up Ceremony (Graduation.) This year’s Prom was held in the Theresa Paplin School auditorium. Students enjoyed an afternoon of dancing and delights…
Read MoreOyster Bay Youth Donates Health Kits to Morning Star Program
July 18, 2023 / Madonna Heights News
William Bodian, a sophomore from Oyster Bay, donated over 50 Health Kits for residents at our Morning Star program for women in recovery. Each kit included a first-aid kit, face mask, hand sanitizer, hand soap, hand cream and more. He also donated diaper bags that included diapers, bottles, blankets, baby…
Read MoreSCO Youth Dabble in Graffiti Art
July 11, 2023 / Independent Youth News
SCO welcomed Bronx-based graffiti artist KayLove to lead a beginner workshop about the history, culture, and importance of graffiti to our youth. Each participant created their own name tag written in graffiti form and colored it in. KayLove, who is also a screen printer (kaylovebx.com), shared some of her works…
Read MoreDiscovering the World of Sculpture
July 7, 2023 / Independent Youth News
Twenty SCO youth attended a sculpting class recently on our Ottilie campus in Briarwood, Queens. Renowned local artist Sherwin Banfield led the class, teaching the basics of clay sculpting. The students were tasked with creating masks. They carefully followed along as Sherwin demonstrated how to shape and sculpt with clay…
Read MoreJuneteenth: A Celebration of Resilience
June 29, 2023 / SCO News
Led by CARE, SCO’s Committee Advocating Racial Equity, SCO staff participated in different Juneteenth activities throughout the month of June honoring the resilience of the Black community, SCO’s employees, and the people and communities we serve. CARE Book Club Recommendation The CARE Book Club recommendation was a way…
Read MoreSCO has PRIDE!
June 29, 2023 / Independent Youth News
June is PRIDE Month and youth and staff throughout SCO Family of Services celebrated. 4th Annual Pride at the Heights On June 22nd, Madonna Heights held their “4th Annual PRIDE Event at the Heights.” All programs on the Madonna Heights campus were invited as well as our Westbrook Preparatory…
Read MoreCongratulations, Graduates!
June 28, 2023 / Independent Youth News
From early childhood moving up ceremonies to high school graduations, we celebrated children and youth throughout SCO for reaching these important milestones. Congratulations to all of our graduates!…
Read MoreCentral Business Systems Honors SCO Family of Services in Special Subway Series Presentation
June 20, 2023 / SCO News
Garden City, NY, June 15, 2023 – Central Business Systems honored SCO Family of Services with a special donation check presentation of $20,000 during an on-field ceremony prior to the Mets-Yankees game at Citi Field on June 14th. The presentation was part of Central Business Systems’ 75th Anniversary celebration at…
Read MoreSCO Family of Services Raises $160,000 at Madonna Heights Golf Classic
June 14, 2023 / Independent Youth News
DIX HILLS, NY – SCO Family of Services held its 42nd Annual Madonna Heights Golf Classic at the Woodside Club in Muttontown, Long Island. This year’s event raised $160,000 to support the vital work of Madonna Heights to teach, strengthen, and empower young and adult women to heal from trauma.
Read MoreA Peek Behind the Scenes of “Sherri”
June 13, 2023 / Independent Youth News
A young adult in SCO’s Forward Journey program recently attended a taping of “Sherri,” Sherri Shepherd’s daytime talk show, in Manhattan, accompanied by SCO’s Mentored Internship Program Coordinator. This was his first experience on-set as a member of a live studio audience. He got to see what happens behind the…
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