LICADD's BUDDY Program Officially Kicks-Off This Month

The brand new BUDDY (Building Unique, Dynamic & Diverse Youth) mentoring program brings together three of Long Island’s premier nonprofit organizations – the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD), the Long Island Council of Churches (LICC) and the Mentoring Partnership of Long Island (MPLI) to launch and sustain a mentoring program for children in Nassau County whose mothers are incarcerated.

 Funded through a three-year grant from the federal Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), the program kicks-off with an orientation on January 19, 2010 at 6:00pm in the Peter & Paul Room at the Church of St. Aidan, 505 Willis Avenue, Williston Park, NY 11596.  This session provides an opportunity for prospective mentors to meet each other and learn more about the structure and goals of the program. The Mentoring Partnership of Long Island will provide “Mentoring 101” workshops for new mentors in early February.

“LICADD’s BUDDY program is off to a great start and we are thrilled to be training our first class of volunteer mentors,” said LICADD Executive Director Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds. “Children of incarcerated parents in Nassau are among our region’s most vulnerable residents and we look forward to ending the multigenerational cycle of addiction, poverty, illiteracy and estrangement.”

LICADD Project Manager Valerie Taylor, MS, MHC, stated, “This unique collaboration builds on Long Island’s strong volunteer base and furthers LICADD’s mission as a fundamental source of prevention and support for at-risk youth. We are actively looking for volunteers who can mentor a child for at least an hour a week; it’s one of the most worthwhile and rewarding things you can do in 2010.”