Psych/Soc event proceeds help pregnant women and mothers

Members of the SUNY Poly Psychology/Sociology Club present a $10,000 check to representatives from Evelyn’s House in Utica, which aids women and mothers in need of safe housing.

Mothers and pregnant women in need of safe housing are receiving valuable support thanks to the generosity and hard work of SUNY Poly students who belong to the institution’s Psychology/Sociology Club which presented a check for $10,000 to Evelyn’s House of Utica.

The money was raised through the 14^th Annual Benefit Dinner held by the club each year to raise funds for an organization and cause. The 2017 Psychology/Sociology Club Benefit Dinner was held April 7 at Hart’s Hill Inn in Whitesboro.

Members of the club presented representatives from Evelyn’s House with the check at a ceremony in the Mele Room of the Cayan Library at SUNY Poly’s Utica campus.

Event organizers say that Evelyn’s House was chosen particularly for the work they do to support pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers who would otherwise be homeless without the services and support the organization provides.

“Pregnancy and the child’s first two years of life are the most critical for brain development,” said Dr. Joanne Joseph, Professor of Psychology at SUNY Poly and co-advisor to the Psychology/Sociology Club. “The services provided by Evelyn’s House help to ensure that the children of young mothers have an opportunity to develop to their fullest potential. The guidance and support provided to the teenage mothers ensures that their own adult trajectory is positive and productive.”

Evelyn’s House is a non-profit organization that provides a safe, nurturing, transitional home for women under age 22 who are pregnant or have children but do not have a suitable place to live. In addition, Evelyn’s House offers services focused on empowerment, with service coordination, on-site instruction, home visiting, child daycare enrollment, education access, career counseling, and parenting skills services that provide young mothers with the skills and networks they need to live independently.

“This effort shows extraordinary dedication on the part of our students.,” said Dr. Veronica Tichenor, Associate Professor of Sociology and co-advisor of the club. “It is unusual for an event of this magnitude to be sustained beyond ten years—especially by students who come and go after a few years. I’m proud to be associated with a group that is so civic minded.”

Club advisors note that student members of the Psychology/Sociology Club have raised more than $155,000 for various non-profit organizations since the club’s inception.