Post on 15-Mar-2018
Hopkins House
2012 Venetian Masquerade Ball
“Motown at the Ritz-Carlton”
Saturday, November, 17, 2012
The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City
1250 South Hayes Street
Arlington, VA
Event Program
About Hopkins House...
Hopkins House provides high-quality, high-impact, community-
based education programs and opportunities to children, youths, and
their families with the goal to help them achieve, in measurably
effective ways, their full intellectual, economic, and social potential.
Founded in 1939, Hopkins House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization with four locations in Northern Virginia. The
Organization was named in memory of Dr. J. Milton Hopkins, a phy-
sician who tended to underprivileged children in Alexandria for more
than 30 years.
Hopkins House operates two nationally accredited preschool
academies and the Early Childhood Learning Institute/ECLI. Its pro-
grams are open to the public. More than 250 children, youths, and
adults are served at Hopkins House annually.
The Hopkins House Children’s Scholarship Fund
The Hopkins House Children’s Scholarship
Fund is central to the Organization’s mission
because it ensures that children and parents
from low-resourced, working households are
able to achieve their full intellectual, econom-
ic and social potential, regardless of their
family’s income. The Hopkins House Chil-
dren’s Scholarship Fund helps families in two
distinct ways.
First it helps families in need of tuition assistance, but are ineligible for government
support. Many of the children and families who are most in need of Hopkins House
services cannot afford the full cost of tuition. Many of the families at Hopkins
House earn less than $25,000 a year.
Even at this salary, these parents often earn too much to qualify for most government
assistance and too little to afford quality preschool for their children. The Children’s
Scholarship Fund helps these families by providing limited but critical tuition assis-
tance when the need is greatest: loss of a job, reduction in wages or working hours,
spouse’s failure to pay child support, divorce, or other challenging and sudden
events.
Secondly, the Scholarship Fund allows Hopkins House to not limit the number of
slots available to families receiving government subsidy, due to the difference in tui-
tion costs and reimbursement to child care facilities from the government - A differ-
ence that often causes major financial constraints on childcare providers.
A committee of volunteers not only helps to raise money for the Scholarship Fund
but also reviews applications for grants. Scholarships are based on written applica-
tions, including financial information, and a statement of compelling need.
In order to keep up with the urgent need for scholarships, Hopkins House must
annually raise at least $150,000 through various fundraising initiatives such as our
annual Venetian Masquerade Ball.
Contributions to the Scholarship Fund are tax-deductible to the extent provided by
law and directly benefit the children most needing your assistance.
The Venetian Masquerade Ball The earliest mention of a Carnival celebration is rec-
orded in a 12th century Roman account of the pope
and upper class Roman citizens watching a parade
through the city, followed by the killing of steers and
other animals. The purpose was to play and eat meat
before Ash Wednesday, which marked the beginning
of Catholic Lent - the forty day fast leading up to
Easter. The Latin term carnem-levare - to remove
oneself from flesh or meat - was used to refer to the
festival.
The Italian version, Carnevale, began in the ancient port city of Venice in the Mid-
dle Ages when the great squares of the city were turned over to aristocratic pageant-
ry, public sport competitions, and performances by roving minstrels and actors.
In 1981 city officials revived Venice Carnevale as a reincarnation of the aristocratic
festival it had once been. Characters from the 16th, 17th, and 18th century Italian
theater reappeared on the streets, along with masqueraders portraying counts and
countesses and other legendary figures. Today Venice Carnevale is open to every-
one and participants come from many countries and a range of social backgrounds
to take on the identity of classical personages and a variety of fantasy
characters.
Masks have always been a central feature of the Venetian Carnevale; traditionally
people were allowed to wear them between the festival of Santo Stefano (St. Ste-
phen's Day, December 26) at the start of the carnival season and midnight of Shrove
Tuesday. As masks were also allowed during Ascension and from October 5 to
Christmas, people could spend a large proportion of the year in disguise. Mask
makers (mascareri) enjoyed a special position in society, with their own laws and
their own guild.
Today, Venice Carnevale lasts for a two-week period leading up to Lent. During this
time, hundreds of thousands of people come from all over the world to enjoy the
celebration. For many it is an annual pilgrimage and much of the year is spent in
preparing their elaborate masquerades.
2012 Venetian Masquerade Ball Honorary Chair
Leon Harris Hopkins House welcomes back, for the
s e c o n d y e a r , V e n e t i a n
Masquerade Ball Honorary Chair Leon
Harris.
Award-winning journalist Leon Harris
anchors the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. news-
casts for ABC7/WJLA-TV. He came to
Washington after 20 years at CNN’s
Atlanta Headquarters, where he co-
anchored CNN Live Today and Prime News, and hosted CNN Presents
and American Stories.
Harris has covered a wide variety of stories including the September 11th
terror strikes, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Asian Tsunami of 2004,
the explosion and crash of TWA Flight 800 and the Los Angeles riots.
He has interviewed presidential candidates, and reported live from both
the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
Harris’ work has earned him a number of honors, among them multiple
CableAce awards for Best Newscaster, and National Emmy Awards for
coverage of the September 11th terror strikes, the Oklahoma City bomb-
ing and the 2000 presidential election. He was honored, too, with a Na-
tional Headliner Award and more recently with a National Capital Area
Emmy Award for Best Anchor.
A Cum Laude and honorary doctorate recipient from Ohio University,
Leon Harris is passionate about improving the lives of
children and serves on numerous charitable boards.
2012 Venetian Masquerade Ball
Honorary Co-Chairs
Mrs. Juliette McNeil The McNeil Family Foundation
Mrs. Brenda Moore The Mark & Brenda Moore and Family Foundation
Mrs. Amanda Stafford The Stafford Foundation
Thank You,
2012 Venetian Masquerade Ball Sponsors
Signature Sponsors The McNeil Family Foundation
The Mark & Brenda Moore and Family Foundation
The Stafford Foundation
Ruby Sponsors C3 Systems, Inc.
PNC Bank
Diamond Sponsor Mr. James N. Dresser &
Mrs. Mary Jane Maddox
Crystal Sponsors Virginia Commerce Bank
MCA Construction
EDJ Associates, Inc.
Honorable Mention Paul Pagnato, Jr. &
David William Karp
Mr. & Mrs. Curtis Nash
Elizabeth Partoyan
The Hart Family Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Craig Witmer
The McNeil Family Foundation
2012 Signature Sponsor
The McNeil Family Foundation is dedicated to furthering the ideals of
service to the community, high standards of educational excellence and
religious freedom. In their philanthropic undertakings, the McNeils share a broad
vision and uncommon devotion to the common welfare. It is those ideals, as well
as their philanthropic interests, to which the Foundation
remains faithful.
The McNeil Family Foundation is honored to partner with Hopkins House in
ensuring that all families have access to high-quality
preschool educational programs.
THE MARK & BRENDA MOORE and FAMILY FOUNDATION
2012 Signature Sponsor
The Mark & Brenda Moore and Family Foundation salutes the HOPKINS HOUSE :
Partners in Planting and Harvesting Seeds of HOPE
~as we have been blessed, so shall others be~
The Stafford Foundation
2012 Signature Sponsor
The Stafford Foundation is proud to partner with Hopkins House in providing access to high-quality educational
programs for all, in building strong family foundations, and in preparing generations, to come, to be future leaders.
Hopkins House…
A Community Treasure
Compliments of James N. Dresser & Mary Jane Maddox
2012 Diamond Sponsors
C3 Systems offers a diverse portfolio of Management Consulting Services and Strategic
Technology Solutions. Through our Areas of Practice (AOPs), we address the critical
challenges of today’s federal and commercial business community with our innovation and
initiative, providing a differential advantage—low risk, low cost, and unique value proposi-
tions while leveraging our custom tools and techniques. Our AOPs fall within the following
focus areas:
• Management Consulting
• Staffing and System Engineering
• Other IT Services
C3 Systems prides itself in giving clients solutions that go beyond the ordinary. We base our
services on the mantra “Innovation, Integrity, and Ingenuity” to ensure that our solutions help
our customers improve their organizations’ performance, in a cost effective manner.
2012 Ruby Sponsor
2012 Ruby Sponsor
Special Thanks To
MCA Construction
for their generous
sponsorship of the 2012 Hopkins
House
Venetian Masquerade Ball
“Motown at the Ritz-Carlton”.
2012 Crystal Sponsor
Save the Date!
Hopkins House
2013 Annual Heart of the Community Awards
Date:
Thursday, Feburary 07, 2013
Time:
6 pm - 8 pm
Place:
The Carlyle Club
411 John Carlyle Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Sponsorship Opportunities
Gold Heart Sponsor ($15,000) Pink Heart Sponsor ($2,500)
Red Heart Sponsor ($5,000) Yellow Heart Sponsor ($1,000)
Orange Heart Sponsor ($500)
Chair
James L. McNeil Vice Chair
Mark Eisenhour Secretary/Treasurer
Julie N. Jakopic President/CEO
J. Glenn Hopkins
Beverly Barr
Kevin Bergen
Robert L. Bogan
Kerry J. Donley
Darrall Griffin
David G. Gompert
Harry “Bud” Hart
Michael Hart
Charniele Herring
Robert Hicks
Willard Jasper
Clarence A. Johnson
Gregory H. Leisch
Amy Liu Witmer
Juliette McNeil
Alvin E. Nashman
Elizabeth Partoyan
Justin M. Wilson
Chair
Darrall Griffin Vice Chair
Beverly Barr Assistant Vice President
James Dabney
Cary Garcia
Lula Gaskin
Harry “Bud” Hart Resource Development Assistant
Candice Hayes
President/CEO
J. Glenn Hopkins
Michelle Jackson
Cynthia King
Beverly Moses
Petra Osborne
Monica Thibeaux
Hopkins House Board of Trustees
2012 Masquerade Ball Host Committee
Helen Day
Preschool Academy
1224 Princess Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 571-480-4081
Fax: 703-683-3056
James L. & Juliette McNeil
Preschool Academy
8543 Forest Place
Alexandria, VA 22309
Phone: 571-480-4261
Fax: 571-480-4279
Early Childhood Learning Institute
(ECLI)
5904 Richmond Highway, Suite 540
Alexandria, VA 22303
Phone: 571-480-4285
Fax: 703-347-6867
Hopkins House
Central Office
5904 Richmond Highway, Suite 525
Alexandria, VA 22303
Phone: 571-480-4094
Fax: 703-347-6867
Hopkins House - A Learning Center for Children and Their Families
www.hopkinshouse.org
Aid for Child Care Drops When Its Needed Most
Sabrina Tavernise - The New York Times - December 13, 2011
BALTIMORE – With states under pressure to cut their budgets and federal stimulus money gone, low-income
working parents are facing a paradox. Just when they have to work longer hours to make ends meet, they
are losing access to the thing they need most to stay on the job: a government subsidy that helps pay for
child care.
The subsidy, a mix of federal and state funds that reimburses child care providers on behalf of families, is
critical to the lives of poor women. But it has been eaten away over the years by inflation and growing
need and recently by state budget cuts, leaving parents struggling to find other arrangements to stay
employed.
“States have dropped their investment in child care substantially”, said Lind Saterfield, vice chairwoman of
the National Association of State Child Care Administrators, who oversees child care for the state of Illinois.
“We’re being expected to do more with less.” Her state has toughened eligibility for the subsidies and
raised co-payments from families to cover the growing demand.
Sheontay Smith, a single mother in Baltimore, and her son are among nearly 8,000 families on a waiting
list for the subsidy in Maryland. Pennsylvania’s list doubled last year to more than 10,000 children, and
Arkansas’ quadrupled to 11,000, according to the National Women’s Law Center.
At least two states, Arizona and Utah, are no longer appropriating state general funds for child care at
all.
According to a recent report by the law center, families in 37 states were worse off this year than last
year as waiting lists grew, co-payments rose, eligibility tightened, and reimbursement rates for providers
stagnated.
“We recognize that this is a tough time for states”, said Shannon Rudisill, who oversees the subsidy pro-
gram at the Administration for Children and Families, which is part of the Department of Health and Human
Services. “They have a hard set of choices that they have to negotiate.”
She said President Obama had recommended an increase in the subsidy in the 2011 budget, but that it
had not been approved by Congress. Stimulus money, which had raised financing by a fifth in 2009 and
2010, is now gone.
Christian Griffith, chief consultant of the California Assembly Budget Committee, said the state cut $335
million in child care financing this year, and with hundreds of millions in cuts to other public services -courts,
schools, and the public university system - ”there aren't many good options at this point”.
The nonprofit Child Care Resource Center, which determines eligibility for the subsidy for thousands of
families in northern Los Angeles County, said it had noted a 13 percent decline in licensed child care cen-
ters since June 2010 as budget cuts reduced the number of families on the subsidy.
The reduction is prompting advocates for poor women to question whether the implied social contract that
emerged during the federal welfare overhaul in the 1990s - that women go to work in exchange for help
with child care - is fraying.
“There’s a long store of recognition that child care is essential to helping low-income women work”, said
Helen Blank, the director of public policy at the National Women’s Law Center, who helped shape child
care policy in the 1990s. “That commitment is being eroded.”
For children and families waiting for subsidy, life becomes a kaleidoscope of caretakers. Women inter-
viewed said they left their children with grandparents, neighbors, cousins, siblings, and colleagues at a nail
salon. Such ad hoc arrangements hinder early-childhood development, state administrators say, just as
states are trying to make it a priority.
One mother on a waiting list in Virginia said her 11-year old daughter rode around in a city bus after
school, watched over by the driver who is the girl’s grandmother, until the mother got off work. The smaller
safety net comes as the share of working Americans under or just above the poverty line - the target group
for the subsidy, which is linked to income - is the highest in years. And while demand for the subsidy de-
clined with the recession, it has shot back up in many states as employment has returned, putting a strain on
child care resources.
“We’ve seen quite a steep increase in demand”, said Elizabeth Kelley, director of Maryland’s Office of
Child Care.
Ms. Smith, who works full time at the Baltimore Housing Authority, has been on a waiting list since last sum-
mer. She applied because her son’s father stopped paying child support, and the monthly $520 she need-
ed for her 3-year-old’s day care was more than her $22,000 salary could support.
She took her son out, but ended up losing half her paycheck in unpaid days off because her regular baby
sitters, among them Ms. Smith’s grandmother, who is on kidney dialysis, fell through. The only way to get
the subsidy, her case worker told her, was to stop working and go on welfare. (In Maryland, someone on
welfare is automatically eligible.)
“Is the system set up for me to fail? Because that what it feels like”, said Ms. Smith.
Her son is now back in day care, at the expense of other bills. Her phone was cut off this week, and she is
behind on her gas, electricity, and care insurance.
Another hurdle has been the rates at which the centers are reimbursed. The law center’s report found that
only three states reimburse at federally recommended levels, down from 22 in the beginning of the dec-
ade, and some providers say they can no longer afford to take families on subsidies. Toni Cacace-
Beshears, who runs a network of child care centers in southeastern Virginia, said families on the subsidy
paid at rates so far below her other customers - about two-thirds - that she had to do fundraising to help
make up the difference.
“I’m subsidizing my subsidized clients”, she said. The gap created a shortfall over the past year of about
$272,000 - or about 14 percent of her child care budget.
Parents in income brackets that are a little higher pay more as a result. Monica Jackson, a bakery worker
and a pharmacy technician in Norfolk, VA, was told that she and her husband, an Army reservist who is
looking for work, did not qualify for the subsidy because their income, around $20,000, is too high, a ruling
she is disputing. They cannot afford child care, which Ms. Jackson said cost $1,400 a month, more than their
rent.
“What do you tell people who call you for an interview?” she asked. “’I’m bringing my 3-year-old and 11-
month old?”
Those who have the subsidy live in fear of losing it. Lori Lebo, a customer service worker for an electricity
company in Pennsylvania, said she had to ask her new boyfriend and her 8-year-old son to watch her
baby girl, who was at home screaming with fever, because she had received too many warnings at work
about taking time off to care for her.
“If we get removed, it will be back on the waiting list for both kids”, she worried. That will be havoc for a
new job.”
Hopkins House
“A Learning Center for Children and Their Families”
5904 Richmond Highway, Suite 525
Alexandria, VA 22303
www.hopkinshouse.org