nyjtl, Author at NYJTL

Deborah MacFarlane Antoine Wins “CEO Deals of Distinction” Award

Posted on May 21, 2015September 24, 2018 by nyjtl

NYJTL President and CEO Deborah MacFarlane Antoine won the top honors in the Nonprofit category at the inaugural 2015 Executives’ Association of New York City (EANYC) CEO Deals of Distinction awards gala, held last night at Capitale in Manhattan.

The program recognizes top business and nonprofit CEO’s from the New York City region who have a unique story to tell about an innovative transaction or partnership that made a significant impact on the organization and community. The deal for which NYJTL was honored is the $26.5 million public-private partnership to conceive, design and build the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the South Bronx.

“I am delighted and grateful that the Executives’ Association of New York City has recognized the work of New York Junior Tennis & Learning,” said Deborah. “This award is a credit to the dedicated team – including NYJTL’s spirited founder Lewis “Skip” Hartman – that has worked relentlessly to make the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning a reality.”

Deal of Distinction finalists and winners were chosen by an independent panel of local business leaders and assessed based on the details of their deal, and how it positively affected the organization and community.

Set to open on June 15, the Cary Leeds Center is decades in the making, and a testament to the longstanding commitment of public and private partners to create a center that will touch the lives of an estimated 30,000 students within walking distance of the center in the South Bronx, and many more thousands city wide.

NYJTL’s partners and supporters on the project include the City of New York, the New York City Council, the Bronx Borough President’s Office, the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, Billie Jean King and The Womens Sports Foundation, and the United States Tennis Association. A multi-year capital campaign, chaired by Tory Kiam and Larry Leeds, raised the $11.5 million in private funds to complete the project.

“For decades, NYJTL has successfully blended tennis and education together in an effort to contribute to the development of young people on and off the tennis court,” said D.A. Abrams, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, USTA. “Their outstanding work has been integral to the delivery of high quality programs in neighborhoods across New York City. We congratulate NYJTL on their Deal of Distinction, and for the opportunities that the Center will provide to many more thousands of children and their families.”

“Deborah Antoine’s Deal of Distinction award underscores the significance of her work and vision with respect to the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning,” said Randy Master, Vice President for Advertising Sales, Tennis Channel. “As an NYJTL Board Member, I couldn’t be prouder of Deborah whose leadership will ensure that best is yet to come for the kids NYJTL serves.”

Located in the 127-acre Crotona Park, the Cary Leeds Center will serve children in one of the nation’s poorest Congressional districts, offering more than 6,000 court hours year-round, and providing space for educators to help young people improve their performance in school.

“Cary Leeds loved teaching the sport, especially to young players. As a place where children of all backgrounds will access tennis and educational opportunities, the Center will be a fitting memorial to Cary’s life and will make the world a better place, because he was here,” said Larry Leeds.

Additionally, the Cary Leeds Center will bring new energy and financial vitality to the South Bronx by featuring major local, national, and international professional tennis tournaments that will draw visitors from around the world.

SmartCEO magazine, the exclusive media partner of EANYC’s Deals of Distinction Awards, profiled the 40 finalists, including Deborah, in its May issue. To read Deborah’s profile, click here.

To learn more about the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning, click here.

Jeff Lawrence Prepares Bronx Youth for Mayors Cup

Posted on May 19, 2015March 20, 2017 by nyjtl

Beginning May 30, over 600 boys and girls from across New York City will compete in the nation’s largest scholastic tennis event: NYJTL’s 27^th Annual Mayors Cup All-Scholastic Championship. Eight of those young players attend PS 100 in the Bronx, where they’ve learned the game under the tutelage of NYJTL Activity Specialist Jeff Lawrence.

A native of the Soundview section of the Bronx, Jeff began playing tennis at age 13, when he joined NYJTL’s community program at the Bronx International Youth Tennis Center.

“I liked tennis immediately,” he says. “My coaches showed me the ropes and they were really positive. Some of them are still at NYJTL today, which is cool.”

Jeff went on to play varsity tennis at Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx, and attended Lehman College. But NYJTL was never far from his heart. He began working with kids in the summer program at Bronx International, and then became an assistant coach in the afterschool Aces Club program at PS 100.

Today, as an Activity Specialist, he teaches tennis, healthy living skills, science and literacy, and more to over 100 first-through-fifth-graders each year, including the 21 students who participate on the school’s tournament team. From that group, the top eight players will compete in this year’s Mayors Cup – and that means extra practice. To prepare for the tournament, Jeff has been taking the players to the spot where he first fell in love with tennis, Bronx International, for weekend practice sessions.

“At this point, we’re working on things like technique, positioning and strategy,” he says. “Our top three players want to win the Mayors Cup. For the others, the main goal is to get some good experience.”

While he enjoys coaching the tournament team, Jeff knows that tennis has an important role in the character development of all the kids he works with in the Aces Club.

“With TV and video games today, kids are used to instant gratification,” he says. “Learning how to play tennis is a process. We teach kids the importance of being patient, and not getting frustrated if they can’t do something right away.”

The Mayors Cup runs from May 30 to June 7, and will be held in two locations: the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows and at the new Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the Crotona Park in the South Bronx. For more information, click here.

Deborah Antoine Honored at A Taste of HOPE.

Posted on May 14, 2015March 20, 2017 by nyjtl

This past Tuesday The HOPE Program, an employment-training program for homeless men and women founded by Deborah MacFarlane Antoine, hosted its 30th anniversary celebration, A Taste of HOPE.

The event brought together HOPE donors, global corporate partners as well as many award-winning food and beverage purveyors. Hundreds of guests attended A Taste of HOPE to celebrate the impact that The HOPE Program has made in the lives of thousands of New Yorkers over three decades. Among the guests who enjoyed the evening of celebration were several NYJTL board members, including Mayor David Dinkins, Board Chair Martin Goldberg and Polly Scott.

Deborah MacFarlane Antoine received the inaugural Founders Award, presented to her by Victoria Pamias, a HOPE graduate and Deborah’s friend. Upon presenting the award to Deborah, Victoria talked about the impact Deborah and the HOPE program made on her life.

“Good evening. My name is Victoria Pamias. I graduated from HOPE over 25 years ago. When HOPE called me and asked me to present this award to Deborah, I actually had to hear it three times to believe it.

Honoring Deborah is one of the biggest honors of my life. Twenty-five years ago, I found myself the victim of domestic violence. When I enrolled in HOPE, I was living in a shelter and had been out of the workforce for over a decade. I was a broken spirit, sad and afraid. I had two children and I didn’t know what the future would bring. HOPE’s balance of support, training and internship – which remains the core of HOPE’s holistic model today – transformed my life.

Today I work for a leading social services agency, Services for the Underserved, which is actually a HOPE partner, as a case manger and career counselor. When HOPE changed my life, the ripple impacted tens of thousands of people I have helped.

And none of this would have been possible without Deborah MacFarlane-Antoine. Not only did she have the foresight and compassion to build this incredible program, but she embodies its values everyday. When I was a HOPE student, Deborah was my prime example of who I wanted to be in the future. She emulates authenticity and strength, qualities which are changing the world one person at a time.

Deborah, you have been a mentor, a personal friend, and one of the first people who believed in me and the countless of HOPE graduates I represent. Through you, I learned that HOPE is eternal. Thank you and congratulation on this well-deserved Founders Award.”

Click here to read more about the fantastic evening and please watch the video below to learn more about the HOPE program and the impact they are making.

Deborah Antoine, A Deal of Distinction Finalist

Posted on May 7, 2015March 20, 2017 by nyjtl

The Executives’ Association of New York City, in partnership with SmartCEO magazine, is recognizing the “extraordinary” leaders of companies and nonprofits that are making a difference in New York City.

Awards will be presented on May 20^th at Capitale, at 130 Bowery in Manhattan, starting at 6:30 PM.

The May issue of SmartCEO magazine features the 40 finalists, including our President and CEO, Deborah Antoine. Each of the finalists describe their “Deal of Distinction”, and in our case that’s the amazing Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning, which opens its doors this June after years of commitment from public and private partners.

The companies and individuals represented were chosen by an independent panel of local business leaders and assessed based on the details of their “deal,” and how it positively affected the community.

You can see Deborah’s profile by clicking here (Page 58), and we’ve included the piece below, too.

Finding Hope

Posted on April 29, 2015March 20, 2017 by nyjtl

Screen Shot 2015-04-29 at 9.50.00 AM — Victoria (pictured left-center) and Deborah (pictured right-center)

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

– Emily Dickinson, collected poems, 1924

NYJTL President and CEO Deborah Antoine is reminded of Dickinson’s poem when she thinks about The HOPE Program, an employment training program for homeless men and women that she founded over 30 years ago in the basement of New York City’s Christ & Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church.

In 1983, as a Columbia University PhD student, she volunteered at the Holy Apostles soup kitchen where the homeless people she served inspired her to launch HOPE. She started by helping eight individuals, and while all of them got jobs, none were able to keep them for long. She realized she needed a more comprehensive approach.

Deborah learned by experience, visiting with staff and clients at shelters and soup kitchens. Seeking a proven curriculum she could use to help her clients find and maintain gainful employment, she discovered the Adkins Life Skills Program.

“Adkins is a remarkable tool, not just for helping people determine what jobs they’ll be good at, but also for equipping disadvantaged people to overcome all the other obstacles that stand in the way of success,” Deborah says.

Another element Deborah introduced to HOPE that remains central to the program today is the idea that each participant should go through a meaningful internship program. “I realized that no matter how bad off you are, you feel like you have value when you’re helping others,” she says.

One of the first “fainting robins” Deborah helped through HOPE was Victoria, a single mother who was living in a shelter for battered women. “I was a broken spirit, sad and afraid,” Victoria says. “I had two children and I didn’t know what the future would bring.”

After completing HOPE’s 14-week Adkins program – including assessments, counseling, self-discovery, career training and an internship – Victoria landed a job at the Center for Independence of the Disabled. She hasn’t looked back since. Victoria eventually earned a college degree, to which she credits Deborah’s encouragement, and today she’s on the verge of getting her masters.

“Victoria is a remarkable woman,” Deborah says. “Despite incredibly difficult circumstances, she not only survived, but has thrived.”

HOPE served as launching pad for Victoria’s new life and vibrant career. She has been a counselor and career coach to over 30,000 people – and even worked for Deborah in two different jobs. Later Victoria became the first HOPE graduate to serve on the organization’s board.

Once HOPE began having a lasting impact on the lives of homeless people, Deborah sought to expand the program’s reach. She was grateful for the donations she received from friends, family and parishioners, but to grow the organization she needed more funding. In addition to recruiting participants and running the programming, she had to become a fundraiser.

Deborah sent nearly 270 letters to foundations, which led to her first ever grant: $20,000 from The Clark Foundation. The funding allowed her to hire her first employee, an assistant executive director.

HOPE has continued to grow and transform lives since Deborah moved on from the organization in 1992 to become the Senior Vice President of the South Bronx Economic Development Corporation. “It shocks me how far HOPE has come,” she reflects. “When I started it, I didn’t have a big goal about making an impact on homelessness or poverty. It was – and still is – all about helping each individual person get his or her life back.”

On May 12, HOPE will host a 30^th anniversary celebration, A Taste of HOPE, where Deborah will receive the inaugural Founder’s Award. Fittingly, Victoria will be by her side as her special guest.

Athneal Philip: A Recipe for Success

Posted on April 20, 2015March 20, 2017 by nyjtl

Athneal Philip used to serve up meals. Now he’s serving up success.

Athneal is a tennis coach and site director at New York Junior Tennis and Learning. The Queens resident works with elementary students in the after-school ACES program at PS 215 in Gravesend, Brooklyn.

“This is an important program in New York City,” he says. “There’s lot of parents who really don’t have the finances available to be able to afford to teach their kids tennis and have them play on courts. The ACES program allows the parents to work while their kids have a place to go.”

Athneal was employed as a chef at hotels in Antigua for years, before moving to Wayne, Pennsylvania in 2001, and then New York City a year later. In Antigua, he had worked as an assistant tennis coach as well, and continued to coach in the United States.

“I love the game of tennis,” he says. “I started when I was nine years old and I’ve been playing every since.”

Athneal first started with NYJTL nine years ago, working part-time in the afternoons as a tennis coach at PS 19 in Corona, Queens. “I love to see kids play tennis, the smiles on their faces when they hit a ball over the net, especially the young ones,” he says.

Additionally, he works with NYJTL’s Community Tennis Programs, serving as a site director at the Manhattan Plaza site, and coaching at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, too. This summer, he will be at Manhattan Plaza and Brandeis High School.

He enjoys watching youngsters learn and grow in the after-school program.

“I think it’s a good program; its helps the family,” he says. “The kids are not just sitting there, but they are learning something valuable they can take with them the rest of their lives.”

And, he still enjoys cooking dishes reflecting all ethnicities. “In the Caribbean, you have to cook international dishes because you have visitors from all over the world,” he says, “so I like to cook everything.”