Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) steps up to support CHNJ during their Volunteer Week. HMH is a learning technology company based in NYC. The initiative started when Katie Russo, co-chair of HMH’s NY Community Investment Council, reached out to CHNJ looking for an opportunity for her and her colleagues to make an impact.
Following a call with Katie, CHNJ and HMH’s Corporate Responsibility Director, Jackie Bright, two ideas emerged. One was to offer virtual yoga sessions, led by members from HMH’s Mindfulness Employee Resource Group. Those sessions would build off of mindfulness training for CHNJ youth. Mindfulness is an important part of resiliency training at our Dove Learning Center (DLC). The DLC utilizes a blended-learning approach to strengthen the resilience skills of our youth. We have found these skills to be vital to maintaining a positive living environment when youth transition out of CHNJ.
Jennie Madama and Jennifer Alexander both offered their expertise to help our kids with a morning of calm reflection. Secondly, Katie was able to engage her NY colleagues to create 36 personal care kits for the youth, filled with needed items. The kits were then hand delivered to our Newark location.
According to Jackie, “At HMH, we value supporting local communities where we live and work. We’re grateful that HMH’s annual Volunteer Week brings colleagues together in community service. Thank you to Covenant House NJ for enabling our employees to give back in a meaningful way, beyond our day-to-day job responsibilities.”
Thank you to our new friends at HMH. If you are looking for ways your company can help support NJ youth facing homelessness and human trafficking survivors, click here.
