Helping Children Heal
When a child escapes abuse within their home, they need support to weather the crisis, heal, and move forward. Things of My Very Own, Inc. is a lifeline for children fleeing abuse. From providing basic necessities to teaching life skills that instill confidence and self-worth, our services lift fragile children from a place of harm to one of hope.
Helping Children Heal
When a child escapes abuse within their home, they need support to weather the crisis, heal, and move forward. Things of My Very Own, Inc. is a lifeline for children fleeing abuse. From providing basic necessities to teaching life skills that instill confidence and self-worth, our services lift fragile children from a place of harm to one of hope.
Hear about the positive impact our efforts make.
Things of My Very Own, Inc. provides crisis intervention services to children impacted by extensive abuse and/or neglect.
Services are also available to children who are, solely due to the lack of items necessary for sustainability, at risk of a Child Protective Services intervention.
Our goal is to keep children together with non-abusive family members, and out of the foster care system, whenever possible.
Hear about the positive impact our efforts make.
Things of My Very Own, Inc. provides crisis intervention services to children impacted by extensive abuse and/or neglect.
Services are also available to children who are, solely due to the lack of items necessary for sustainability, at risk of a Child Protective Services intervention.
Our goal is to keep children together with non-abusive family members, and out of the foster care system, whenever possible.
Connect With Us
Join the conversation on Facebook, learn where help is needed, and be inspired by a growing community that cares.
Things of My Very Own
Things of My Very Own, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation that provides crisis intervention se
Here is our 10 pm modest ask. We need water.
Today was an extremely hot and humid day. Many of our guests and their children walked miles to get to us and were out of breath by the time they arrived. Several of these guests are pregnant, some have heart and other significant medical conditions. A few are undergoing chemotherapy. For others, the humidity was just too much. We had one case of water that our boss had picked up for when we are unloading trucks. We distributed every bottle to families within minutes. We aren’t picky. We will take gallon bottles to keep in the refrigerator and disposable cups if that’s what we can get. Juice boxes and bottles of juice would also be great. We just want to keep these families safe.
If anyone is a plumber and can guess why our sinks are only dispensing lukewarm and hot water, but not cold, please give us a heads up. We have run the water for several minutes. The water does not get cold, even on cool days. We have never heard of such a thing, perhaps you have.
Please donate if you can.
The crisis intervention center is located at 249 Green Street in Schenectady. Our drop-off hours are on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9am-noon.
I have 4 six packs of water that my son was bringing to college next week but you need it more and I can just buy him more at Wegman’s when we get there. Which leaves more room in my car. It’s win-win.
Do you have shut off valves on the water where it comes in (but before the hot water heater/furnace) - usually in the basement? Is the "cold" open? If you are running water on a high floor and the building is hot, you have to empty all the water in the pipes that has been sitting exposed to ambient temperature until the water will be the cold water. If you run the sink closest to the main, it will be a lot quicker. You can check that it's not coming from the hot water by shutting off the hot ( shut off valve at the water heater/furnace) and turning on a cold faucet and see if it continues to run. If the water stops, it's plumbed wrong.
Donating $ for bottled water. The sink issue may be that the pressure is too high. Try releasing a little and see if that makes a difference.
Take your warm water from your sink and put it in containers in the frig. Then it would be cold. Ask for donations of cups instead of bottled water and help to save the environment and landfill space. I drink tap water and am alive and well. Good luck.
I can't make it down there but I just donated... thanks for all you do
I will be over with at least 4 cases of bottled water tomorrow.
Depending on the sink style it sounds like the hot water isn't shutting off all the way. If you only have one handle to.turn the water on and off then the mixing valve is bad. I would def try shutting off the hot supply valve under the sink
Just donated since I can't get there this week. Hopefully you can get a lot of water cases! ❤️
If the problem with the warm water didn’t happen this time last year, there are some things that can cause it. One of them is a bitcoin server farm using water lines for cooling, which makes the water hot.
Will gladly donate 😘
Geoff Micklas Jennifer Near does this plumbing issue ring any bells to you?
Someone prob messed w the shut off valve. Will drop off cases.
Has DeCrescente Distributing Company been asked for a donation??
There should be hot and cold water valves under your sink. Hot is on the left, cold right. Turn the left one off and see if cold comes out. If that doesnt work try the opposite (and if that works youre plumbed backwards). If that doesnt work look at your boiler and adjust the temp there.
Please note that our team has a new tenant on the premises. She is a Sphecius Speciosus who lives beneath the Japanese Maple in one of our planters. Her common name sounds intimidating, so to help her avoid possible persecution, we have gifted her with the name Lilly.
Lilly spends her mornings joyfully flying around her tree and drinking nectar from neighboring flowers. She appears indifferent when we pause to rest on the planters wooden edge. We are humans near her home and yet she doesn't exhibit fear or aggression. This is typical for females of this species. At night she rests alone in the burrow that she dug all by herself.
Yesterday one of our team members noticed that Lilly is preparing for motherhood. Like many of the families we work with, Lilly is excited about her eggs. She is working very hard, intently carrying what will eventually nourish her children into her burrow.
Yes, we realize that we are anthropomorphizing here. We have grown quite attached to Lilly and want to protect her at all costs. If you see Lilly near the planter, please do not swat at her. She is a gentle giant and means no harm.
Female Sphecius Speciosus only live for about four weeks. We have known Lilly for about three weeks already. You can bet there will be a staff celebration next July when Lilly’s babies emerge. No, we are not kidding. We will probably plant flowers.
Why are we telling you this? We tell the children we work with that the more we understand about the things around us, the less scary the world seems to be. Plus, science is cool and can be easily taught to others. You just need to break it down using concepts and language that everyone can understand. You too can help others in our community. Teach a child or adult something factual and interesting that they might not already know. It can be math, science, sport or even food related. You might help to lessen someone's fears or encourage them to try something new.
If you aren’t sure who to share your fun or interesting fact with, share it with us by commenting below. You never know who you will impact just by sharing what you already know.
1??! I have like 50! This one had a cicada the other day
Fun fact: According to the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, the sting of one of these gentle insects rates at about 0.5. For reference, a honeybee sting is rated at a 2.
I’ve never heard of them, but she is beautiful. Thank you for teaching!!
The beautiful person in this photo is Sarah. Sarah was initially hired as a seasonal support staff team member in September of last year. We liked her so much that we asked her to stay. She was thrilled and was immediately given a raise. A week later she earned another one.
Sarah is scheduled to start at 8 am but if we have large corporate pick-ups, she’s the first person to offer to come in at 6:30 am. That’s two-and-a-half hours before the crisis intervention center even opens. The majority of her time is spent packaging aid for families in crises but because of her background, she also asks to take on technical writing projects such as rewriting the organization's standard operating procedures. She comes to work each day with a genuine smile and an exceptionally positive outlook on everything.
Don’t let Sarah’s grey hair and calm demeanor fool you. This powerhouse can hurl a pallet, tame a dragon and accurately transcribe the most detailed phone messages we have ever seen.
Sarah’s background may surprise you. She previously worked as a corrections officer and taught technical writing at a university. Now her heart is in the non-profit field.
“My understanding of what a family is has broadened since working with the organization. As we work to provide for the families who come to us, we begin to see them not just as community members in crisis. We see them as cherished family members who need our support and deserve the very best we have to give. Together, we move forward in strength.”
Recently, Sarah was highlighted for her encouragement and support towards her fellow team members. To us, she is more than a capable employee. She is a wonderful mother, an incredibly supportive daughter, a friend, and a fantastic individual. We feel gifted to be able to offer her talents to the community that we work so hard to serve.
Sarah is a rock star! Love working with her! 😊💚
Congratulations! What an amazing job you have! I would absolutely love something like this!
Amazing, admirable, caring person A real asset
What a wonderful tribute to a wonderful woman!
Amazing! Thanks for all your hard work Sarah! This is something I’d love to do with my future, so I can absolutely see the dedication she has. It’s so rewarding to be able to help others ❤️
I heart this so much. Thank you for appreciating your employees in such a meaningful way.
Yay Sarah!! Didn’t recognize her with her hair down 😂 miss you all!!
Sarah is so absolutely amazing person! Congrats!
You are awesome Sarah!
I remember her....😉 great job
Beautiful tribute!
What a great asset to the organization!! So glad she showed up!!
So fortunate to have her in your organization.
Congratulations
Congratulations!!!!!
She is awesome 😍
Thank for what you do!
Hello to my over the fence garden buddy!! Nice write up for a sweet lady!💕
Awesome job Sarah!! Congratulations!! ❤️❤️
Yay Sarah!
Beautiful.
