Humpty Dumpty Institute Launches Wishing Well Sri Lanka

The Humpty Dumpty Institute, which Connie Milstein serves as Co-Founder and Chairman, recently launched a new online campaign titled “Wishing Well Sri Lanka.” The campaign was initiated to promote and raise funds for a series of initiatives that will provide fresh water and improve sanitary conditions to over 10,000 residents in northern Sri Lanka, including the districts of Mannar, Killinochchi and Mullaithivu. Funds raised during the campaign will also go to support the HDI’s well-known, long-term school feeding program in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna district.

With the “Wishing Well Sri Lanka” and the donations received through the campaign, the HDI will start off small by building and repairing 230 communal and domestic wells and 100 new toilets. The organization hopes to increase these numbers and expand to new areas as they reach their fundraising goals. Since the conclusion of the 30-year conflict in 2009, an incalculable number of Sri Lankans have returned to their homes in northern Sri Lanka. While the government is working to accommodate the influx of returning residents, the people continue to face challenges. The 30-year conflict left the area devastated and now everything must be rebuilt. There is very little fresh water for drinking, bathing or farming; there are few latrines.

“Please join hands with HDI and help kick start our new initiative by visiting www.wishingwellsrilanka.org and making a generous contribution,” wrote HDI President Ralph Cwerman.

Ford's Theatre Partners with Miriam's Kitchen for Holiday Fundraising

As the holiday season approaches, many D.C. organizations and philanthropists, like Connie Milstein, work to assist those who may need help during the upcoming winter months. The Ford’s Theatre Society, which Ms. Milstein serves as a trustee, is helping D.C. residents in need in a rather unique way this season. From November 18 to December 31, the theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol will raise money for Miriam’s Kitchen by accepting donations during the curtain call of each show. This partnership was inspired by the themes of charity found in Dickens’ holiday classic.

“Each winter, the story of A Christmas Carol renews in us, as it does in Scrooge, a compassionate and generous heart,” said Director of Ford’s Theatre Society Paul Tetreault in a press statement. “In selecting Miram’s Kitchen as recipients of this year’s donation drive, the cast of A Christmas Carol and our audiences can help make a difference in the lives of thousands in the D.C.-area struggling with hunger and homelessness.”

Miriam’s Kitchen has served as a resource for the 12,000 homeless individuals in D.C. for the past thirty years. The nonprofit offers warm, healthy means and case management services to those who may not otherwise seek help. In 2011, Miriam’s Kitchen served more than 4,000 homeless individuals through its comprehensive mental health, medical care, legal assistance, substance abuse counseling, employment resources and housing options.

This is the third year that the Ford’s Theatre society has partnered with a local nonprofit during its production of A Christmas Carol. In 2010, the theatre partnered with So Others Might Eat (SOME) and raised over $77,000. In 2009, the theatre partnered with Bread for the City and raised enough money to provide D.C. families in need with nearly 2,000 meals.

NCCU School of Law Named One of Country's 167 Best

Recently, the Princeton Review listed North Carolina Central University School of Law as one of the nation’s most excellent law schools. Constance Milstein earned her J.D. cum laude from the school after she completed her undergraduate studies at New York University.

NCCU School of Law was featured in the Princeton Review’s 2012 edition of The Best 167 Law Schools. The school is praised for its diversity within the legal curriculum and includes quotes from students who comment the school for its value, emphasis on practical training and the encouragement and guidance of educators and staff.

“Our law school appreciates the continuous national recognition we are receiving with regard to the quality of our program of legal education,” said Raymond Pierce, the Dean of NCCU School of Law, in a statement.

For each school selected by the Princeton Review, the book includes a summary on the school’s academics, student life, admissions and career placement. The law schools are selected based on the opinions of those at the Princeton Review and the integrity of the data collected from the school as compared with other law schools across the country. Student opinions way heavily in the selection as well; the Princeton Review surveyed approximately 18,000 students for this edition of the book.

Blue Star Families Builds Playground As Part Of 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance

As part of the 9/11 Day of Service and Rememberance, volunteers from Blue Star Families joined others from KaBOOM!, Northrop Grumman and the Fort Meade Community Covenant Council to build a new playground at Fort Meade’s Burba Park. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was present to lend a hand and get the volunteers fired up. The Day of Service coincided with Blue Star Families’ Operation Honor Cards initiative, which encourages citizens to honor military families, veterans and service members through volunteer efforts.

“It’s that [American] dream that brings us all out here today to make sure that through our work and through our service and through our dedication, we make certain that these kids have a better life in this country,” Secretary Panetta said at the start of the project.

The Burba Park playground will provide military families and hundreds of children with a new, safe place to play at Fort Meade. At the end of 2011, KaBOOM! will have worked to build over 150 playgrounds across the country. In the closing months of this year, the organization will partner with more than 10,000 volunteers to build the final 60 playgrounds as citizens donate their time in honor of military members, families and veterans.

“We are grateful to KaBOOM! and all of today's volunteers for this gift to the military children of Fort Meade,” said Mark D. Smith, Executive Director of Blue Star Families. “Military families have been hit hard by the years of war since 9/11 and this is a wonderful way to say thank you.”

For many years before she became a member of the Blue Star Families Board of Directors, Connie Milstein worked to help military families and veterans. Her accomplishments as a philanthropist and businesswoman made her a perfect fit with BSF.

Humpty Dumpty Institute Announces Higher Education Alliance

The Humpty Dumpty Institute and co-founder Connie Milstein recently announced a new program that will provide schools across the United States with an in-depth introduction to the United Nations. The program, known as the Higher Education Alliance, aims to build bridges between the U.N. and college students by bringing speakers from United Nations Specialized Agencies and U.N.-affiliated Non-Governmental Organizations to American college and university campuses.

On-campus alliance members will organize and run U.N.-related conferences on their campuses and have the opportunity to visit the U.N. headquarters in New York for intensive orientations further explaining the inner workings of the United Nations. Students who stand out for their work with the Higher Education Alliance may be invited to serve as interns in international organizations around the world. Alliance members also convene U.N.-related conferences at their campuses and are invited to U.N. Headquarters in New York for intensive orientations to learn how the U.N. actually works. And finally, select students at Alliance Universities/Colleges have the opportunity to serve as interns in international organizations around the world.

The High Education Alliance currently boasts a combined student enrollment of approximately 300,000 students from 18 universities and colleges in nine states. The Humpty Dumpty Institute is working especially hard to recruit institutions belonging to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and the Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCU) as well as community colleges nationwide, according to HDI Chairman William Rouhana, Jr.

“These centers of higher education are often underserved when it comes to global and international exposure. We are making a special effort to give these students in particular the opportunity to connect with the United Nations and to gain a better perspective about the global marketplace,” he said.

The Humpty Dumpty Institute is a unique non-profit organization widely-recognized for its work with the United Nations. Over the past four years, the HDI has become well known for its specialized outreach programs between the U.N. and various constituencies across the United States, which work to strengthen the United Nations as an international institution. The Humpty Dumpty Institute also implements large-scale humanitarian projects throughout the developing world. In the past four years, the HDI has begun major development projects in Lebanon, Angola, Eritrea, Laos and Vietnam, among others.

Northern Westchester Hospital Recieves Gifts from Local Brownie Troop

Northern Westchester Hospital Center in Mount Kisco, NY, certainly has a lot of help from the local community. In 2006, Connie Milstein partnered with the hospital to open a second Connie’s Bakery & General Store in the hospital’s main lobby. Earlier this month, ten 8-year-old girls from a Briarcliff Brownie troop visited the emergency room at Northern Westchester Hospital Center. But on that Friday night, there were no injured Brownies. The young girls came bearing gifts – activity bags they had made using troop earnings from cookie sales to keep children who come to the hospital for emergency treatment entertained. Each bag contained crayons, yo-yo’s and activity books and the scouts had decorated the bags inside and out with colorful, cheerful drawings.

The idea for the activity bags came from one of the Briarcliff Brownies herself, a second-grader at St. Theresa’s School in Briarcliff. Madison Mezzatesta’s brother had been taken to the emergency room last summer while on a trip to Maryland. There, he was given an activity bag, which helped distract him while the family waited in the ER.

Emergency Room Director Sharon Marino said that annually, about one-third of patients who come into the emergency room are children. And though the 100 bags would quickly disappear into the arms of waiting children, the troop leaders were already thinking about making more.

Connie’s Bakery Helping Women in Need

As part of her commitment to helping those less fortunate, Connie Milstein has set up the Foundation Sweet Success. This foundation helps to distribute 100% of the after-tax profits from Connie’s Bakery and General Store to needy organizations.

One such organization, that Connie Milstein supports with the Foundation Sweet Success is the Putnam/Northern Westchester Women’s Resource Center. This center provides essential resources, professional counseling, skills workshops and more to help women to work towards their potential and to reach their goals.

The many programs developed through the Putnam/Northern Westchester Women’s Resource Center are continually developed and constantly changing to meet the needs of a changing social environment and to reflect the needs of the women they serve.

Supporting CURE in San Francisco

CURE, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, is excited to see San Francisco getting into the action. On March 25^th, the 1^st Annual San Francisco CURE Benefit Dinner will be held at The Four Seasons Hotel on 757 Market Street in San Francisco.

Certainly, CURE, where Connie Milstein is on the Board of Directors, values all of its sponsors and patrons. As a nonprofit organization, they are dedicated to finding a cure for epilepsy and can only do so with the funds raised for research.

The 1^st Annual San Francisco CURE Benefit Dinner will include a sponsor reception at 5:30 pm and a general reception beginning at 6 pm followed by dinner. The keynote speaker is David Axelrod, a Former Senior Advisor to the President and there will be a special performance by Grammy Award-winner Peter Rowan.

Connie Milstein and BSF Team Efforts

Blue Star Families – the organization that was set up to help the military by assisting their families – seeks to “connect the community of military families, both active duty and veterans, regardless of rank, and provide them with the support and empowerment they need to create the best personal and family life possible.” BSF Director Connie Milstein saw the need for this service, which really joins together the soldiers, their families and the community at large. The BSF posts blog spots for this aim, writing about topics that are of interest to everyone. Military families can receive advice and support on how to cope when their soldiers that are deployed and sorting out everyday life matters on their own during this time. Just recently, a chapter director of BSF from southern California, Reyna Reyna, commented on how their efforts were towards raising “awareness of BSF to military families who live off base….Often when families live in the civilian community they feel isolated, especially when their spouse deploys, she said. “They think they don’t have the same opportunities or benefits as if they lived on base.” There are so many ways that the community at large can get involved in helping the military and their families, and the BSF seeks to be a bridge between the two.

Blue Star Families Lifestyle Survey

Earlier this week Blue Star Families released its 2010 Military Family Lifestyle Survey, in an attempt to get an idea of the major issues encountered by these families. The results were: “pay and benefits, the current operational tempo, the effects of deployments on children, spouse employment, and childrens education.”

Some months after the original survey was conducted, these results were presented at a Senate and House Military Family Caucuses joint session. It was then cited by a White House Report, ‘Strengthening Our Military Families: Meeting America’s Commitment.’ This was the “culmination of a Presidential Directive and the findings of the Military Family Interagency Committee, created in 2010 to institutionalize support for military families as a national security priority.”

Thus the initiative undertaken by Blue Star Families has been successful. A commitment has been made by President Barack Obama and his wife, along with Jill Biden for “Federal agencies to establish a coordinated and comprehensive Federal approach to supporting military families.” The goal is to now address four main areas: a) enhance the military family’s physical and mental welfare; b) excellent education and development for military children; c) establish “career and educational opportunities for military spouses” and d) improved and increased child care options.
A big supporter of the work of BSF is Connie Milstein, who sits on the Board of Directors.

HDI Spokeswoman Mary Wilson Sings with Connie Milstein at Dinner

Back in July of 2008, Connie Milstein hosted a dinner for the Humpty Dumpty Institute in which the HDI spokesperson, Mary Wilson, formerly of the Supremes, sang a few of her favorite songs. The mission of the HDI is to create innovative public and private partnerships which will lead to creative ways to solve some of the world’s most daunting humanitarian problems.

Featured in the photo above in Ms. Wilson singing one of her hit songs along with Connie Milstein.

Book Celebration at Jefferson Hotel with Connie Milstein

On January 24th, Ron Reagan will be celebrating the up and coming publication of his memoir, “My Father at 100,” at the Washington, DC Jefferson Hotel. The book’s forthcoming appearance coincides with the 100th birthday of the 40th President of the United States. Joining hostess Connie Milstein to celebrate will be her husband JC de La Haye Saint Hilaire, Tammy Haddad, Ted Greenberg, Jon Meacham and many others who will be there by invitation only.