A Very Special Place: In The News

AVSP’s Annual Sports Awards Dinner Celebrated
Athletic Achievement

June 8th was AVSP’s Annual Sports Awards Dinner, which was held at The Staaten. It was a great evening of excitement and good cheer, as athletic achievement, individual and team efforts, as well as sportsmanship was celebrated. Athletes, their family and friends, and AVSP staff enjoyed an evening of award presentations, excellent food, sports poetry, and great company. Awards were received for many sports, including softball, bowling, and swimming. The Awards dinner was actively planned by members of the Community Center. It was a great chance for everybody to socialize and support one another. Congratulations to all AVSP Sports participants! The evening was a success, and it was a great year for all of the athletes.

Be a Part of AVSP’s 21st Annual Golf Outing –
Registration Going on Now!

On August 24th, 2010, AVSP will be hosting the 21st Annual Golf Outing at the South Shore Golf Course. This major fundraising event takes place thanks to many sponsors and Inkind donors. We have several raffles throughout the day, tee bags stuffed with goodies for each golfer, prizes awarded for golfers, and an exciting Silent Auction. We invite you to join us in making this a memorable and successful event by making a donation of goods or services. If you work for a company that would like to participate, sponsorship opportunities provide a great way to advertise. Also, 300 tee bags are prepared for our golfers. Any items donated for the tee bags will have far-reaching advertising potential. Not a golfer? Join us for the dinner! Cocktail hour on the patio and dinner afterwards at the South Shore Country Club, begins at 6:00 pm. Admission is $60 and includes an open bar, cocktail hour, as well as a full-course dinner. This is a perfect opportunity for socializing and enjoying the evening even if you’re not a golfer. We look forward to seeing our many agency friends and supporters! If you would like more information, visit our Golf Outing page or contact the Development Office at (718) 987-1234.

Get Your Ticket and Support AVSP for the 2010 Barclays Tournament

AVSP will be selling tickets for the 2010 Barclays Tournament, with the opportunity to receive 75% of the proceeds from each ticket sale. In addition, the remaining 25% will be distributed to The First Tee of Metropolitan New York charity. The First Tee is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to impacting the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development through the game of golf.

The 2010 Barclays Tournament will be giving New York and New Jersey charities the opportunity to participate in the “Tickets Fore Charity” fundraising campaign. The Barclays, the first event in the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup, will feature 125 of the top players on tour, from August 26th through 29th at the historic Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey. The Barclays is the first daunting challenge of the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup. The star-studded field will include the legendary Phil Mickelson, and many others to be announced later!

Tickets cost $50 for a weekly grounds pass (available for purchase from April 8th through June 30th) and $45 for each day of grounds access during the tournament competition – August 26th through August 29th.* The $50 ticket is the best value for your money, so we strongly encourage you to make the most of this great offer.

If you have any questions, contact the Development Office at (718) 987-1234.

*The ticket purchase is not tax deductible as a charitable contribution by the consumer/sponsor.

Seniors Reach Out to the U.S. Marines

This past winter, the program participants at AVSP’s Senior Network wanted to do something special to show their support for the U.S. Marines that are serving overseas. They made cards and wrote short notes as a part of the Marine Parents Care Package Project. Every ten weeks, the Care Package Project ships over 1,000 care packages to Marines deployed around the world. They look forward to the letters and cards in each package the most. The Seniors were so happy to get involved, that they decided to make this a year-long activity. Just recently they made Easter and Passover cards. They are also getting ready to make their Memorial Day cards. This is a great project! If you would like to get involved in this activity just like the program participants at AVSP’s Senior Network, you can check out the Care Package Project’s website at www.MarineParents.com.

In the News…
Pathmark Helping Hands
and you too can lend a helping hand!!

A Very Special Place, Inc. has partnered with Pathmark for “Helping Hands In The Community.” Recycle your plastic bottles, glass, and cans at any participating New York Pathmark and it can benefit AVSP.

Just simply take your redeemable cans, glass and plastic bottles to the recycling machines at the store. After entering your returnable items into the machine, take your receipt to the Instadeem kiosk at Pathmark and select A Very Special Place, Inc. as the organization you wish to donate to. You will receive a receipt for your donation from Pathmark. AVSP will receive monthly checks from Pathmark through your donation.

Thanks to Pathmark your efforts will be twofold because not only will you be helping our organization but you will also be helping our earth by recycling!! Giving back to the community has always been one of Pathmark’s main goals with its sponsorship of local charity events; you too can support us year round through Pathmark.

To receive more information on Helping Hands in the Community, please contact our Development Department at (718) 987-1234.

Online Giving Made Easy!!!
A Very Special Place would like to introduce you to a new feature on our Web site—The Donate Now button through Justgive.org. JustGive is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to connect people with the charities and causes they care about and to increase overall giving. As millions of people discover every day, the Internet offers an array of incredibly helpful information, services, and tools. For nonprofit organizations, foundations, and donors, the Web is a powerful resource to be taken advantage of.

Most of us have the best intentions of doing something for charity but often hesitate because we don’t have the time, knowledge, or trust to give to a specific cause, JustGive bridges the gap between having the desire to help and actually making a difference. By donating online through JustGive, you reduce the enormous fundraising costs for charities and reduce the amount of paper waste that adds to environmental destruction. JustGive also provide you with an account of your Donation History, allowing you to keep track of your donations throughout the year—especially helpful at tax time!

JustGive also offers a variety of ways to give to AVSP through the use of the Internet. Did you know that many of the Web sites you may shop on offer percentages of your purchases to go to the charity of your choice? Just another way that AVSP can gain support by a donor doing things they do every day.

Please extend your support to our online giving through Justgive.orgw.guidestar.org.

For more information about A Very Special Place, financial information and our Form 990 please visit AVery Special Place, Inc. on Guidestar.

We Will Address Your Group
Do you need a speaker to address your club or civic group? We would be happy to send an Agency representative to speak with your organization about the role we play in the community to help empower the lives of people with developmental disabilities. Call the Development Office at 718.987.1234 to arrange a speaker for your next group function.

Come and See What’s Fun to Do!
Fun to Do activities are updated monthly, so make a note to visit Consumers Corner regularly and see what fun we have in store for you!