Archive: News

Tompkins Community Action celebrated 44 years of partnering with low-income households and individuals as they develop to their full potential Friday, May 28th, 2010.  TCAction marked the occasion with its Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony, held at the Women’s Community Building in Ithaca. Over 165 guests filled the auditorium to listen to guest speaker Fannie Glover, and to witness the presentation of the Community Action Award and the Joe Cassaniti Community Service Award.

Guest Speaker Fannie Glover is the Consultant Services Manager for the Early Care and Learning Council in Albany, NY. She has developed and facilitated management and leadership training, strategic planning retreats, and keynotes at national, regional, and state meetings and conferences. At TCAction’s Annual Meeting, Ms. Glover spoke about “Understanding Generational Poverty Culture,” a topic that applies to all facets of our services. After the meeting, Ms. Glover remained to give a more in-depth training on the “Four Generations in the Workplace” to TCAction staff.

The Annual Meeting program also included the presentation of the Community Action Award and the Joe Cassaniti Community Service Award to two outstanding community members. Executive Director Lee Dillon presented the 2010 Community Action Award to Patricia Carey, Commissioner of the Tompkins County Department of Social Services, for her work creating collaborative relationships and opportunities to improve the quality of life in Tompkins County. Recently Ms. Carey took the lead in a very successful grant application and program implementation called Housing First!  This $2.4 million grant from NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance provides supportive services and housing assistance to households in Tompkins County who need assistance through our economic crisis.  Ms. Carey brought together the Department of Social Services, the Human Services Coalition of Tompkins County, Catholic Charities, Neighborhood Legal Services, and TCAction to create a program which places a priority on housing stabilization as the centerpiece of homelessness assistance. Whether a household is on the brink of losing its home, or whether a family or individual has been in a shelter for a significant period of time, this new program provides resources for communities to help resettle people into housing.

Chelsey Kenney, a senior at TST BOCES, was awarded the Joe Cassaniti Community Service Award for her commitment and dedication to volunteering with children in the community. Ms. Kenney has devoted her time to volunteering with her basketball team and her youth group, as well as interning at the Bunny Trail child care center, Trumansburg Community Nursery School, and Ithaca Community Child Care. Mr. Cassaniti, with Cindy Martin of TCAction, presented the award, which Ms. Kenney accepted with a heartfelt speech. Upon graduating from high school, Ms. Kenney plans to study Early Education at Tompkins Cortland Community College and SUNY Cortland. Her goal is to use her education and experiences to run a Head Start Program, and continue her hands-on experiences with young children.

Tompkins Community Action implements 30 programs annually, providing housing and energy services, childhood development programs and family resources to over 6,000 individuals in Tompkins County. Our partnerships with individuals, families, agencies and our communities reinforce our vision that indeed an active community can produce powerful change.

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