A Message from Leadership
In 2022, we had the opportunity to reflect on, and honor our past, while keeping our eyes on our future. We marked our 30th anniversary – Rooted in Resilience: Celebrating 30 Years of Innovation and Impact – with a year-long series of events, culminating in an inspiring community celebration featuring Andrea Elliott, author of Invisible Child, and recognizing state and local partners and long-time CCSI staff member Donna Peri with impact awards.
Today, CCSI is home to more than 500 incredibly talented and deeply committed staff working in communities across Upstate New York and beyond. And while we’ve grown, we’ve stayed grounded in our mission, which put most simply is to help the organizations working to improve lives and to strengthen communities.
We entered 2022 with a deep appreciation for the urgency of the time we are in, but also with a feeling of hope – and a strong commitment to build on that hope. We are encouraged by the increased focus on the critical role that community-based agencies must play as part of a system of care that meets community need and are hopeful that we will see more strategies to provide comprehensive and sustained funding. When coupled with intentional, continued efforts to understand and eliminate disparities, we believe this will help us to build toward a system of care that ensures that every member of our community has what they need to live healthy, safe, and joyful lives. We are committed to working toward this end and we believe that it can happen:
- When we set aside old ideas and create the opportunity to listen to and value all voices;
- When people in need are in charge of defining what support looks like to them – and where and how they want to receive it;
- When we have the ability to see our system of care through the eyes of those who need it most – and when we can see the love, hope, and resilience that lives within every individual and family;
- When we build new partnerships and collaborations – leveraging our strengths and filling in the gaps;
- When we work both at the systems level and the individual level, building the trust, connection, and relationships that are so essential; and
- When adequate and sustained funding is directed to where it is most urgently needed.
In this year’s Annual Report:
- We share stories that highlight our work in communities across the state, in partnership with our customers;
- We celebrate the dedication, collaboration, and innovation of our incredible CCSI workforce;
- We thank our customers for the trust they place in us as we work together to meet community need; and
- We acknowledge, with gratitude, the support of the CCSI Board of Directors.
With hope,
Anne Wilder
President
Eve Hosford
Chair, CCSI Board