St. Agatha's Alumni Association
PO Box 272
Nanuet, New York 10954
1-845-290-5466
July 15 2008
President Victor Castro, Treasurer Nidia Cancel-Santos, Recording Secretary Sandy Santana, Jr.

Hello alumni, I hope when you receive this letter all is well with you and your families. A lot has happened this year. More and more alumni are communicating through our website via the guest book. The old St. Agatha property is now an open space park with athletic fields, for the Nanuet schools and parks department. A few of our alumni attended the official opening of the grounds on June1st of this year. For me, the all day event brought back many mixed feelings & memories about my life at St. Agatha but in the end, I am personally glad that children from this day forward will continue to use our old (home) space.

The alumni officers & friends have been working diligently on two main projects this year.

The first project is "The Bell Tower Project."
We were able to save the bell and the bell tower that sat atop the administration/chapel before the completion of the buildings demolition. We have found a company in Ohio that specializes in bells similar to ours and have already forwarded the down payment for the bell (and all its working parts) to be refurbished and painted. Right now, the saved bell tower sits safely but unhappily on the Sister's of Charity land right aside "Little Flower" looking for a new home. On March 27 of this year, Mr. (Bill) Baccglini (who you may recall delivered the "Official St. Agatha's closing" announcement in the "band room," at the reunion in 2005) graciously offered to help with this project, offering services and setting aside funds that could be used for the projects completion. He suggested that we use the paid architects of the New York Foundling who were working on the improvements to the Duryea Lane Cottages [since they were already on salary]. Along with some of the officers from the alumni committee and the St. Agatha administrative staff, we all met on the land opposite "Third Cottage" and agreed that the chosen spot would be a good permanent site for the bell tower. With that decision in place, the alumni committee hired an artist who developed an artistic rendition of our collective ideas as a means of envisioning the suggested areas final look. As of this summer letter the landscape architect is in place and he can now complete the final designs according to the local codes so we can secure permits to begin construction. This is a wonderful situation for everyone involved. Many people and services have been put on hold, due to a lack of architectural expertise, great people, who have already volunteered their time and resources towards the completion of this project. We can now reengage them towards the projects completion.

The second project is the "Fall 2008 St. Agatha Alumni Reunion."
Let me be the first to personally invite you and your families to this very special occasion. This year's reunion will be held on Sunday October 12, 2008. This all day alumni event will take place in the old gymnasium that is now called the "Nanuet Family Resource Center" and on the new Nanuet school district grounds, (the old St. Agatha grounds.)

Our planned schedule for the day begins:

*At 11:00 am a very special guests, the Reverend Monsignor Francis Eugene Oliverio, who will serve a celebratory Catholic Mass.

*Afterwards 12:00 pm, a light buffet lunch. During lunch, we will have an alumni meeting, all alumni & friends are encouraged to attend. We hope to elect new alumni officers on that day.
We will also show DVD; videos & slide shows produced by alumni.

*At 3:00 pm, we will all proceed to the Bell Tower area for a blessing and the final naming of the site.

*The rest of the afternoon is open to our alumni & visitors as are the old grounds.
We do ask that you refrain from entering the cottages on Duryea Lane as a show of respect for the consumers who now live in these buildings, that they, now call home.

*In the early evening a dance & hot buffet dinner will begin at 7:00 pm and end at 11:30 pm.

What is the cost of an event like this?
How can you help?

First, let me be the first to encourage you to take action immediately upon receiving this letter to send in your 2008 alumni dues.

*Just a quick reminder here, the dues for joining the Alumni is $25.00 a year.
This early money will help in the planning and executing of both of these projects, plus there is a bonus for those who pay earlier.
(The first 25 people who register can pick up their special prize at the door.)

*The cost of the dance is $5.00 for a pre-paid-up Alumni member.

*The cost of the dance is $30.00 for a non-paid-up alumni member,
(This does not entitle them to a membership on that day.)

*The cost of each guest for paid-up and non-paid up Alumni is $20.00.

One of the most compelling points we struggle with each time we plan for an alumni event is the varied age groups and interest that this alumni represents. Please begin to plan for this now, we really want to see you at this event. Tell everyone you know and still have contact with and most importantly please, use the form below to send in your money and let us know how many are coming from your friends & family so we can plan appropriately.

As the alumni president, I feel very privileged to be given the responsibility to communicate for the rest of the elected officers, committee members and friends who contribute so much of their personal time and do so much hard work to keep the dream of the St. Agatha Alumni alive, for so many.

I have to contend with the fact that letters no matter how short or long do not do justice to the heart felt feelings of us all, for all of you.

Victor Castro
St. Agatha Alumni President

Sunday October 12th 2008 St. Agatha Alumni, RSVP event form.

Alumni name:___________________________________________________________
Will you be attending the alumni event? _____________________________________
How many guests are you bringing?_________________________________________
Will you & they be attending the dance?_____________________________________
Are you paying dues with this response? _____________________________________

Please send the completed form back before September 12, 2008. Thank you in advance.

From the President;
Victor Castro

Hello everyone!

I love visiting this site, The tidbits & explanations of a time gone by always makes me feel that I'm not alone in the once-in-a-lifetime experience of growing up at St. Agatha's home for children.

The present alumni is working hard to complete two very important projects for this year. The first is the completion of the "Bell Tower Project." This project involves finding a place to put the bell tower ( a permanent place) and then to refurbish it and secure it in such a way as to make it available to visitors.

The second project is to organize the next alumni event that will include a blessing and opening ceremony of the bell tower and a full day of events that will also allow you to see what St. Agatha's Services is doing now since it's closing. What has St. Agatha's become? The day will end with an evening party on the grounds. Now it's real easy to say what we want, but not so easy to do with out help. So anyone living in the New York, New Jersey, area should contact the Alumni association and get involved. We need your participation to make this an event to remember.

As it is Saturday March 22nd, 11:10PM Easter Eve, let me wish you all a Happy holiday. You can contact me at;

The St. Agatha's Alumni Association
PO Box 272
Nanuet, New York 10954

Or Email me at; Ngejungyellow@yahoo.com

Hello and happy holidays to all, alumni and friends of "St. Agatha Home for Children", A new year 2008 begins soon and once again we are blessed with an opportunity to reflect on the past and look forward to new chapters in our lives.

I'm proud to report the different activities that are going on in the foreground of our Alumni Association. The Alumni committee and its most active supporters continue to give their time and energy to meet and plan activities and events for our alumni. I want to take a moment and list them here, Nidia Santos, Sandy Santana Jr., Hector Medina, Norma Rodriquez, Manuela Deleon, Jose "Freedom" Carrion, Linda Shaner, Eddie Miranda and Nancy Canfield.

This year we sponsored a "Summer Return Home" party in New Jersey. The openness and warmth of the guests and friends in attendance made for a very uplifting experience. More and more it becomes clear how important these alumni events are as we all move up in our years.

I'm happy to report that all our Alumni meetings will be at a new address this year, thanks to the generosity of Joe Scott and the New York Foundling who have offered their administrative offices at 235 North Main Street, suite #14 Spring Valley, New York 10977. I want to take this moment to thank Hector and Kirsten Medina who have made their home our meeting place for a very long time; we'll miss their hospitality.

This year's work has established communications with new alumni, many of them making their first contact with our Alumni Association. They may not have had the information listed below, so I want to include it in this letter.

We have a website: stagathahome.org that has opened doors for many of the alumni to communicate directly with each other from across the country via the "Guest Book". This website has and will play a vital role now that the St. Agatha grounds are not the same. This website can be a real showcase of talent for many of the children (now adults) who where raised at St. Agatha. Letters, poetry, documents and photographs donated by alumni and friends that tell stories (as only photographs can) about all of us as children and young adults. Thanks to the generous work of Peter Feliciano and his brother, David T. Feliciano who manage the website and Nancy Canfield pays for this wonderful service. So I encourage you to go to the website regularly, talk and say hello, to friends who may still be looking just for you.

Your medical records may be obtained by contacting: The New York Foundling, Records Department 590 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10011.

Myrna Maldonado-Agosto's name was included in the 9/11 memorial erected at the Haverstraw Bay County Park. Eddie Walkley, a classmate, who graduated with Myrna made this proposal to Rockland County officials. "I just don't want her forgotten," said Ed Walkley. I have been to the site and it is a serene and peaceful place on the Hudson River.

The Nanuet Post Office was renamed the Anthony I. Lombardi Memorial Post Office. Tony called St. Agatha home prior to landing at Normandy on D-Day and was honored by the military with 2 Bronze Stars. Again, Ed Walkley made this proposal.

Nancy Canfield has written a book "HOME KIDS The Story of St. Agatha Home for Children". All profits from the sale of "Home Kids" are donated to St. Agatha Home Services, which includes over 100 group homes. It is in the hands of Oprah's reader right now, in hopes it will be included on Oprah's booklist early next year. That money from the sale of books, which may be a million dollars, will be used to build an endowment that will pay forever for children of St. Agatha Home Services. Nancy can be contacted at ncanf@san.rr.com

The Bell Tower, which was removed from on top of the administration building, is in need of alumni who would like to volunteer their time and energy to be on a committee and work to complete the preservation and prepare the project for an unveiling during our reunion in October of 2008. Anyone who is interested can use the contact information in the heading above to make contact with me.

One of the exciting plans the alumni officers are talking about now is to have our next reunion event in the old gymnasium, the school district has said they wish to refurbish it and let local community groups use it for activities.

The front lawn by the Administration Building will still exist with the gazebos so events can be planned for that space as well. Storyboards will be erected with excerpts from "Home Kids" that tell the history of St. Agatha Home.

We're hoping to make this a full day event; starting the morning out with a meet and greet and an alumni meeting, a lunch on the front lawns under the gazebos. After lunch, travel up to the old 5th cottage area where we can dedicate the new "Bell Tower" garden area, and then end the day with a dance back in the gym.

There's a lot of work involved in a project like this and we need your assistance to assure that this event takes place. Some of you live within driving distance of Spring Valley, I encourage you to attend the meetings, help with the planning and on the day of the event commit to being a volunteer, get involved now by contacting the alumni officers in advance.

There is still a great need in this "New Year 2008" for you to continue to send in the annual dues of $25.00. Your payments support this Alumni Association to cover the cost of our mailings, operate our PO box address and organize events we can all be proud of. Membership in this Alumni Association is not measured by your financial contributions alone. Any amount you can send is understood as what you can afford at this time. Make sure to note on your check or letter that the payment is for the Alumni dues 2008.

On a personal note, I have been back to the grounds many times in this past year to photo-document the demolition of the grounds that I knew like the back of my hand. There are so many memories attached to the time I spent growing up there. I know now how important those memories are to me. I also know how important it is to share those memories with others who have had that same common experience with their own personal spin attached to it.

Help us all to keep those memories alive. This year commit to making the St. Agatha's Alumni Association the place where our memories stay alive.

Thank you all on behalf of all the alumni elected officers.

Happy Holidays and a glorious New Year!

Regards.

Victor Castro
President of the St. Agatha Alumni Association.