“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always
look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” Matthew 18:10
Volume 3, Issue 2
A quarterly publication of The Cross Road Foundation
Spring 2013
From Small Beginnings - A Spotlight on Joe Forlenza
As we celebrate this spring our
twenty-fifth anniversary, one
person who has been actively
involved as a volunteer from
the beginning is our counselor,
Joe Forlenza. Joe, who taught
and counseled youth for years,
came just as our first center
was opening. It was, as he
describes it: “a less than perfect
space.” As the first office
manager, he admits that a large
part of his time was spent vacuuming up the flood waters
after a heavy rainfall.
At that time, a pregnancy resource center was a fairly new
concept. And while there were
not many clients initially, Joe
admits that it changed his view
on how precious life is. It
taught him a lot about mothers,
their children, and their challenges. He notes, “We learned
that to help save the child you
have to listen to, respect, and
have genuine compassion for
their mom. Listening to our clients helped us to get to know
their real needs and fears.”
In his years of counseling at the
center, he has gained much insight from his experiences that he
regularly
shares with
newer volunteers. In
his lighthearted, selfdeprecating
manner he
recalls the
time the
mother of a pregnant teen spit in
his face as he defended the
daughter’s decision to keep the
child only to see that same woman came in a few months later
holding her grandchild and smiling proudly. Joe could only marvel at the change that had taken
place in this woman’s view after
the child was born.
For Joe, the success of Cross
Road depends on hard work,
a love of our ministry, and
above all on God’s grace. As
he observes, “Accepting an
unexpected pregnancy is
often the defining moment in
a woman’s life. It involves
overcoming fears about the
future, anxieties about what
others may think, and doubts
about one’s own abilities.
Yet, as our Blessed Mother
demonstrated in her ‘Yes’ to
the angel Gabriel, life blossoms when the mother-to-be
entrusts the child that is
within her to the grace of
God’s Holy Spirit. This
grace gives her confidence to
confront and overcome the
obstacles that would otherwise be overwhelming.”
That is why Joe views his
twenty-five years of volunteer service, not as a burden,
but as a blessing.
2013
Birth Announcements
Arielle – January 1
Neveah - January 4
Christopher - January 9
Zavior - January 12
Luis - January 17
Deja Noemi - January 17
David Eliseo - January 20
Javier - January 27
Alexander - February 1
Emperol - February 5
Emmi - February 5
Gael - March 13
Alejandro - March 14
Brittany - March 20
Kimberley - March 22
Happy Birthday Baby!
UPCOMING EVENTS
25th ANNIVERSARY GALA - Join us Thursday, May 16 at 7:00 p.m. in Nicotra’s Ballroom at the Hilton Garden Inn as we
celebrate 25 years of saving lives at the Cross Road Foundation! Tickets are available for $125 per person.
Forget-Me-Not HIGH TEA & BREW - Ladies and Gentlemen are invited to join us for a delightful afternoon of food & entertainment at The Lake Club at Clove Lakes Park on Sunday, April 14 at 1:00 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person and include lunch,
and tea for the ladies and brew for the gents.
WALK FOR LIFE - Come out for our 3rd Annual Walk for LIFE on Saturday, June 1. Join us at Clove Lakes Park for a 9:30
a.m. rally and 10 a.m. walk to benefit our work with youth at Cross Road. If you aren’t able to join us on the walk, please
come out and support the cause! YOUTH GROUPS WELCOME! Register online at www.crossroadfoundation.org.
Cross Road Foundation
15 Treadwell Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10302 (718) 556 -3474
www.crossroadfoundation.org
The Guardian Angel
Page 2
William Harder, Executive Director
[email protected]
On May 16th we will be
celebrating our silver
jubilee of service to the
Staten Island community. While our organization has faced many
challenges during this
time, the key to our
survival and to our success has been the
commitment and the compassion of our
volunteers and supporters.
Whether it was advising expectant parents
about their options, encouraging them
through the period of their pregnancy, supporting them as they began their new roles as
parents, or encouraging our youth to remain
chaste until marriage, the volunteers who
worked at Cross Road each week have been a
blessing to our organization.
We are grateful as well to those who have taken on the important role as board members to
ensure that we continue to remain on that
compassionate course set by our founders.
We have also
“the key to our survival and to
been blessed to
our success has been the commithave a steadfast
ment and the compassion of our
group of supvolunteers and supporters.”
porters. We
would not have
been able to continue our mission without the
help from our pastors who have taken up collections or allowed us to conduct our Baby
Bottle campaign in their parishes.
We are also grateful to our individual supporters, many of who make monthly donations to
our HOPE (Help Our Parents Excel) program.
Through this program we are able to offer a
regular curriculum of parenting and education-
Public Concern over CATCH program
We appreciate as well the families around the
island who have donated cribs, strollers, car
seats and gently used clothing items for our
new moms.
As Father John Powell, S.J. reminds us: each
child is sent into the world by God with a unique message to deliver, a new song to sing, a personal act of love
to bestow. Over our first twenty-five years, we
have seen the smiles and heard the songs of
hundreds of children who would otherwise
have been lost.
With your assistance we will continue to help
expectant mothers get through their critical
moments so that they may experience the great
joy that comes as they bring their babies into
the world.
Wanted: Pro-Life Health Care
Professionals!
at NYC High Schools
On Wednesday, April 17 at 12:30 p.m., the
Cross Road Foundation will host a luncheon/
discussion for parents of NYC public high
school students.
The luncheon will be held at Cross Road at
15 Treadwell Avenue. Items on the agenda
include discussing concerns regarding the
al courses for our mothers throughout the year
as well as provide the needed baby items for
their home.
NYC Department of Education’s Office of
School Health CATCH program, and ways to
advocate for a parent-friendly ‘opt-in’ abstinence-based sex education program.
If you are a parent of a NYC public high
school student, please make plans to be at this
meeting. RSVP to Bill at 718-556-3474.
Do you have pro-life views and work in the
health care field? We are working on
assembling a Pro-Life network for medical
professionals. Please contact us if you are
interested in more information.
Blessings in Bottles
Our heartfelt thanks go to those who participated in
Baby Bottle Campaigns during Winter 2013:
OLHC 7th Grade CCD
Immaculate Conception Parish
Blessed Sacrament School
Holy Child Church & CCD
Church of St. Clare Parish & School
Upcoming Dates! Look for us in Spring 2013 at:
 Holy Family Parish (April 20 & 21)
 Church of the Ascension (April 28)
Pictures from left to right: Kiwanis Club Member John Hatsfield &
President Joe Cafiero present Jeanette Munda & Janna Gaudiuso with
baby items collected at a Baby Shower held to benefit the Cross Road
Foundation at Li Greci’s Staaten on March 6.
 Sacred Heart Parish (Mother’s Day Collection, May 11 & 12)
 St. Peter’s Boys High School (May)
If you are interested in running a Baby Bottle Campaign in your church or
organization, or if you are interested in volunteering in one of the campaigns,
please contact Bill at 718-556-3474.
Volume 3, Issue 2
Page 3
Janna Gaudiuso, Director of Development
[email protected]
This past February, I was
shocked and saddened to
read about the death of a
29 year old Westchester
woman and her 33-weekold preborn daughter due
to complications resulting from a late-term
abortion (For more information, see
www.usatoday.com/story/news/
nation/2013/02/21/woman-late-term-abortionbled-to-death/1935799/). I identified with this
young mother for a few reasons: we are in the
same age bracket, we both married in 2009,
and I also had a friend who was 33 weeks
pregnant at the time, the same point in her
pregnancy when this abortion was performed.
So, when I read this story, it was as if one of
my friends had gone through this horrible
ordeal. She and her husband had recently
found out that their baby girl could be born
with fetal abnormalities, and so they traveled
to Maryland where late-term abortions are legally performed. Then after the 3 day procedure, according to the autopsy results, she died
when the amniotic fluid
“..every life is beautiful;
spilled into her every life is worth living.”
bloodstream.
As New Yorkers, we live in a state that already totes the highest abortion average in the
nation. According to the Guttmacher Institute,
the 2008 national average rate of abortion was
19% , as opposed to New York State which
claimed a 33% abortion rate.
The Reproductive Health Act that has been
proposed by Governor Cuomo will increase
access to abortion in New York State. As of
now, women have the right to have an abortion up to 24 weeks gestation, and in later
weeks if the mother’s life is at risk. If the Reproductive Health Act is passed, late-term
abortions in New York would be legal for al-
Loyal Patrons
We would like to acknowledge support received from the winter of 2013
from the following individuals/organizations:
Our Lady Help of Christians Parish
Moonlight Quilters of Staten Island
The Vitaliano Foundation
Monthly HOPE Donors
North Central Kiwanis Club
most any health reason.
Over the past month, I have felt compelled
to share the story of this young woman and
baby Madison. My heart breaks and I wonder, What could we have done as a society to
help prevent this tragedy? What can we do
to help promote the truth that all children are
precious gifts from God, worthy of all the
dignities a child of God deserves?
We at Cross Road recognize the difficulties
that can surround pregnancy, and we are here
to help. We want to thank you for the work
you do to help build a society that promotes
life. Thank you for your help in spreading
the message that every life is beautiful; every
life is worth living. Let us all say a prayer for
baby Madison, her family, and all the unborn
in danger of abortion. Please contact your
state representative and ask them to oppose
the Reproductive Health Act.
2011 Abortion Rates


New York City 39.55%
Staten Island 29.89%.
www.nyc41percent.com
Honoring the Call
In 1985, one man found out that the call of the Holy Spirit knows
no limitations. One Sunday, while at mass at the Church of St.
Clare, Charlie Sanfilippo listened while a representative from the
Archdiocese spoke about the need to open a crisis pregnancy center on Staten Island. At the time, Charlie thought his call might be
to donate some money or furniture to the effort. What he can see
now, 25 years later, is the Holy Spirit leading him to a much deeper
call; to be the one to lead the effort. Charlie recounts this in his
own words:
“At the meeting, I walked into the room full of people and sat
in the back, trying to be inconspicuous. So I was sitting there,
with a speaker talking about how important it is to get a
Crisis Pregnancy Center opened up on Staten Island, and
how they needed someone after the presentation to come for-
ward to start a corporation and get it going. All of a sudden, a
feeling came over me that I just could not resist; I had to do this. I
stood up and interrupted him right in the middle of his sentence and
called out, ‘I’ll do it!’
25 years later, through many highs and lows, God continues to bless the
“yes” that Charlie gave on that day. Many lives have been affected by
the generosity of Cross Road’s supporters throughout the years.
In celebration of the foundation’s 25th Anniversary, 15 individuals will
be honored at a dinner to be held at Nicotra’s Ballroom at the Hilton
Garden Inn on Thursday, May 16 at 7 p.m. Honorees include: Dolores
Celentano, Joseph Delaney, Frances Flood, Joseph Forlenza, Gloria
Gadzinski, Joseph & Rosemary Gaffney, Susan Hayes, Dorne Marciano,
Salvatore Marra, Joan Mutone, Don Resse (in memoriam), Charles Sanfilippo, Dcn. James Stahnecker, and Jane Thompson (in memoriam).
"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I consecrated you." Jeremiah 1:5 NASB
Non-Profit Organization
Cross Road Foundation
15 Treadwell Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10302
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 303
Staten Island, NY
Helping expectant and new mothers in need since 1987.
Wish List—PLEASE NOTE
Due to the generosity of our supporters and our limitation of space, as of April 1,
we are no longer able to accept donations of used baby clothing.
The Needy Mother’s Program at the ALBA House does accept donations of baby
items on Tuesdays, between the hours of 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
We are in need of Client Service Advisers for our pregnancy hotline. If you are
interested in receiving training, please contact Bill at 718-556-3474.
Our Mission
“Each of us is WILLED,
Each of us is LOVED,
each of us is NECESSARY.”
—Pope Benedict XVI
Officers
Joann Gilmartin, President
Dolores Celentano, Vice-President
Salvatore Marra, Treasurer
James Stahlnecker, Secretary
The purpose of our organization is to assist women and families who are facing
unplanned pregnancies by providing them with accurate information
about their options and by offering them ongoing support.
Our goal is to empower women to make healthy choices
for themselves and their families.
Board of Directors
Rev. Michael Cichon
Joseph Delaney
Nancy Delaney
Charles Sanfilippo
Executive Director
William Harder
Administrative Assistants
Jeanette Munda
Ana Suarez
Director of Development
Janna Gaudiuso
Director of Parenting Program
Annette Esposito
Cross Road Foundation
15 Treadwell Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10302 (718) 556 -3474
www.crossroadfoundation.org