Sarah Calderon named Executive Director
of Casita Maria, Inc.

The Board of Directors of Casita Maria, Inc. is proud to announce the appointment of Sarah Calderon as its Executive Director. Sarah brings to Casita her expertise and experience in arts education policy and programming.

Stickball Printmedia Arts, founded by Sarah, will be integrated into the Casita Family and continue as part of Casita's on-going mission to provide quality arts education. We look forward to working with Sarah in this time of innovation as we anticipate the opening of our new Simpson Street educational and cultural facility in the Fall of 2009.

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CASITA MARIA CELEBRATES FIFTH ANNUAL COMMUNITY BREAKFAST AT THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN, JUNE 16TH

“ORGANIZATIONS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITIES”

Catholic Charities, El Museo del Barrio, Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center and Hostos Community College are among the distinguished honorees

June 9, 2008 - Casita Maria will celebrate 74 years of serving the Hispanic communities of the South Bronx and East Harlem by hosting an awards breakfast on “Community Awareness Day” during Bronx Week at the New York Botanical Garden on Monday, June 16th from 8:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Casita Maria, the first charitable institution established to serve Hispanics in New York City, will structure its community breakfast around the theme “Organizations Making a Difference in our Communities”. These champions of our community will be honored not only with awards, but with the presence of an impressive array of leaders from the wider New York community - including state and city government officials, business executives, and community leaders in education and the arts; all of whom come to acknowledge the dedicated work of local community-based and cultural organizations.

This year’s Keynote Speaker will be Senior Policy Advisor to Congressman José E. Serrano, Cheryl Simmons-Oliver and hosted by Monica Morales, NewsChannel 4 Reporter in her third year as Mistress of Ceremonies. Distinguished honorees will include Catholic Charities, Beacon Award for Vision and Leadership in the Hispanic community, recognizing their outstanding contributions to the Bronx and other borough wide communities; El Museo del Barrio for their Distinguished Leadership in Arts and Culture; Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center for their Distinguished Leadership in Healthcare, and Hostos Community College, for their Distinguished  Leadership in  Education.  Major sponsors of the event include Citibank, Verizon, City University of New York, Waste Management, NYOFCO, Con Edison, Health Plus, Goya Foods, Wellcare and American Airlines, whose proceeds will benefit Casita Maria’s Summer Learning Institute.
Committed to continuing its services to after school students, their families and others in the community during its two-year construction period, with anticipation of a new 90,000 sq. ft. educational and cultural facility to be completed in 2009, Casita Maria is currently operating its after school programs from nearby P.S. 50-Clara Barton School and P.S. 198 (temporary home of The Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists) in the Bronx. Casita Maria’s transitional administrative offices and community services referral desk operate from the St. Athanasius School at 830 Southern Boulevard in the Bronx, and its Homebound Peer Visitors Program continues its services to isolated seniors from the Carver Senior Center in East Harlem.

CASITA MARIA AND THE NYC SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY HOST TOPPING CEREMONY OF NEW BUILDING
FOR THE BRONX STUDIO SCHOOL
FOR WRITERS AND ARTISTS AT CASITA MARIA

April 3, 2008 – Casita Maria and the NYC School Construction Authority held a Topping Ceremony of the new building for Casita Maria and The Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists on Thursday, April 3rd at 12 Noon at 928 Simpson Street.

As the progress of this new 90,000 sq. ft. educational and cultural facility has unfolded over the past year since Casita's Groundbreaking Ceremony in March 2007, participants came to sign the final beam on the ground and watch the beam be hoisted into position.

Through the continued support of our local public officials and community leaders, Casita Maria continues to be a beacon of hope for the communities in the South Bronx.

“This is a great day for the Bronx. With this topping ceremony we are finishing the construction of a building that will be home for the artists of the future in our borough. The Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists is the result of the effort of the directors of Casita Maria and the local government, said Bronx Borough President, Adolfo Carrion, whose office allocated $500,000 for the infrastructure work of the new building.

Casita Maria’s mission is to create a gateway of opportunity through after school education in the Arts, Literacy and Job Readiness while addressing critical needs for youth, families and seniors in predominantly Hispanic communities in New York City and beyond. Committed to continuing its services to after school students, their families and others in the community throughout the anticipated two-year construction period, Casita is currently operating its mostly city-funded after school program and congressionally -seeded StepUp! program from nearby P.S. 50-Clara Barton School at 1550 Vyse Avenue and P.S. 198 (temporary home of The Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists) at 1180 Tinton Avenue in the Bronx.

EMILIA FANJUL, ISRAEL KLABIN,
JOEL I. KLEIN, AND
CARMEN SÁNCHEZ PÉREZ
HONORED OCTOBER 16th AT
CASITA MARIA FIESTA 2007

On Tuesday, October 16, 2007, Casita Maria held its annual black tie FIESTA dinner dance and fund-raiser at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City honoring renowned philanthropist, Emilia Fanjul, President of the Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development, Israel Klabin, former mayor of Rio de Janiero, New York City's Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein and Hola! Magazine publisher, youth advocate and sponsor for Casita Maria's first trip to Spain for ten student ambassadors, Carmen Sánchez Pérez.

The Fiesta 2007 Co-Chairmen, Jacqueline Weld Drake, Carolina Herrera, Aileen Mehle and H.R.H. Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, hosted the most exciting benefit evening in its 73-year history. Mario Buatta was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening which began with a stellar cocktail hour of who's whos in Hispanic, Arts and Education philanthropy and continued with dinner and dancing to The Bob Hardwick Sound who entertained with sounds of rumba, salsa, meringue and conga until the midnight hour.

Led by Executive Director & CEO Lue Ann Eldar; the Casita Maria management team was also on hand to thank all of Casita Maria's champions as a new school, The Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists at Casita Maria, is being constructed by the NYC School Construction Authority for 2009 on the renamed Casita Maria Way (Simpson and E.163rd) in the Bronx.

Casita Maria's mission is to create a gateway of opportunity through after school education in the Arts, Literacy and Job Readiness while addressing critical needs for youth, families and seniors in predominantly Hispanic communities in New York City and beyond.

YOUNG PEOPLE'S CHORUS BLOG
FEATURES CASITA MARIA INTERVIEW

Casita Maria's CEO Lue Ann Eldar and Marta Rivera, Director of Programs, talk about Casita Maria's relationship with Young People's Chorus (YPC) and the value of choral music as a fun and important tool to help students with teamwork and to achieve academically. This interview was conducted in September 2007 by Francisco Nunez, YPC Artistic Director and Casita Maria 2005 Luminary Honoree, and Elizabeth Nunez, YPC Assistant Conductor, as a prelude to YPC's tenth-year anniversary celebration at Carnegie Hall on October 22, 2007. YPC-trained students from Casita Maria's Step Up! arts program in The Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists at Casita Maria performed at this sold-out venue featuring a thousand NYC public school children. For more information, visit YPC's website: www.ypc.org.

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MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND CHANCELLOR KLEIN ANNOUNCE ACROSS-THE-BOARD GAINS BY ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ON STATE MATH EXAMS

Percentage of Elementary and Middle School Students Meeting State Math Standards Increases by 8.1 Points; Students Scoring at Lowest Level Decreases by 5.1 Points

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New York City, April 9, 2007: On the heels of the selection of New York City for the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education (1), and Casita Maria's March groundbreaking, Executive Director & CEO of Casita Maria, Lue Ann Eldar, joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Walcott, Chancellor Joel Klein and a number of distinguished civic leaders in support of educational system reform to raise the bar on student achievement outcomes.

1. The Broad Prize for Urban Education (www.broadprize.org) is an annual $1 million prize, the largest education award in the country. It’s given to the city school district that is most successful in helping students make academic progress. The prize is awarded based on statistical analyses of student achievement data.

HISTORIC CHARITY BREAKS GROUND FOR THE BRONX STUDIO SCHOOL FOR WRITERS AND ARTISTS AT CASITA MARIA

Bronx, N.Y., February 28, 2007 – Casita Maria (Casita) marks a new era as it breaks ground to begin construction on a new 90,000 sq. ft. educational and cultural facility in conjunction with the Department of Education’s NYC School Construction Authority. On Thursday, March 1, 2007, Casita’s Board of Directors, Executive Director and CEO, Lue Ann Eldar, and staff will host a groundbreaking ceremony and luncheon between 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. at 928 Simpson Street in honor of the new home for The Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists at Casita Maria (BSSWA @ CM), a new "empowerment" public school established in 2004 at Casita Maria for Grades 6-12 by Principal David Vazquez in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. According to Ms. Eldar, this is a great moment in Casita’s history. “With everything that is happening in education and the revitalization of the South Bronx, the timing of this school could not be better!”

Among the special guests, champions and contributors from Casita Maria's community, Chancellor Joel I. Klein, Deputy Mayor Carol Robles-Román representing Mayor Bloomberg, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, Jr., Councilmember María del Carmen Arroyo, State Senator Ruben Díaz, Sr., State Assemblyman Ruben Diáz, Jr., representatives of the offices of Congressman Jose E. Serrano and Commissioner Jeanne B. Mullgrav of the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development as well as other local and state dignitaries are confirmed. Sponsored in part by the Bronx Council for the Arts, Casita Maria's alumni Dave Valentín and Benny Bonilla will play with Willie Colon in JAZZARRIBA accompanied by some of the teaching staff of East Harlem's Boys and Girls Harbor Conservatory under Ramon Rodriguez, with a special performance by Casita’s Youth Salsa Dance Troupe.

Casita Maria, established in 1934 as the first charitable organization in the “settlement house” tradition to serve Hispanics in New York City, dedicates itself to creating opportunities through after school education in the Arts, Literacy and Job Readiness while addressing critical needs of youth, families and seniors.

Slated for completion in 2009, this project will coincide with Casita Maria’s 75th Anniversary. For more information about Casita Maria, please visit our website at www.casita.us. or for press attendance at the groundbreaking , please contact 718-589-2230 ext. 14.

Casita Maria CEO to Receive Honor from Local Chamber of Commerce

Bronx, New York, March 26, 2007: On the heels of a historic groundbreaking and partnership with the NYC Department of Education to construct and house the headquarters of Casita Maria and the Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists at Casita Maria, Lue Ann Eldar, Executive Director & CEO of Casita Maria, will be honored by the Hunts Point Economic Development Corporation/Hunts Point Chamber of Commerce at its "Remarkable Women Making History in the Bronx" event on March 28, 2007.

Upon hearing of the honor, Ms. Eldar, a transplanted Californian and David Rockefeller Fellow who made the trek from Wall Street to the South Bronx in 2003 to lead Casita Maria, reflected "I'm truly humbled to be in the company of those involved in Hunts Point's resurgence. It has been a privilege to serve and build upon the efforts of Casita's community, staff, alumni and board as well as local legislators and business leaders."

Casita Maria was established in 1934 and has operated in the South Bronx since 1958. Its mission is to create a gateway of opportunity through after school education in the Arts, Literacy and Job Readiness while addressing critical needs for youth, families and seniors in predominantly Hispanic communities in New York City and beyond.

The Hunts Point Economic Development Corporation (HPEDC) was established in 1988 as a not-for-profit economic development corporation with the aim of improving and enhancing the diverse and challenging Hunts Point business environment. With a dynamic Board of Directors and staff professionals in economic development, urban planning, small business development and community revitalization, HPEDC provides an active, unified voice for this valuable New York City business community. Included in the mission of HPEDC is service provision for local businesses, the cultivation of entrepreneurship and the empowerment of local residents to participate in the local economy. The Hunts Point Chamber of Commerce is a program of the HPEDC and serves to connect business owners, community leaders and government officials through informative networking events, which regularly attract more than 100 people per meeting. To join, please contact HPEDC at 718-842-1717.

JOY AND CELEBRATION AT CASITA'S HOLIDAY PARTY 2006

Casita Maria After School Flamenco Dancers

Alan Levin, Jackie Weld Drake, Anne Eisenhower Flottl, Peter Lyden and Martha Bograd