NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT: SCHENECTADY CITY MISSION
“...in any community, everybody has something to give and something to receive.”
It has been well-established that the Arts builds community amongst creators and patrons alike, bridging gaps between cultural, economic, and countless other divides. However, in the case of Proctors and the Schenectady City Mission’s Ambassador Program, community building is more than just a social connection—it is a way of improving lives by providing meaningful employment for the men and women of not only the City Mission, but also Albany’s Hope House, an addiction treatment center, and Saratoga’s RISE Housing and Support Services. Mike Saccocio, City Mission Director, spoke with me about the origins of the program and all it has become since.
The partnership began 15 years ago after a dialogue began between two unlikely neighbors. “City Mission is right across the street from Proctors. If you think about that objectively, you say that might not be a great combination, to hold the shelter across the street from the theater. That naturally would be a place of tension or difficulty,” Sacoccio admits.
Between himself and Proctors’ CEO, Philip Morris, though, that tension would never have a chance to arise. “Philip and I made a commitment that we were going to show people that we could make it a win-win. We were going to be neighbors, not just glaring at each other across Clinton Street.”
A plan was devised in which the men and women in the City Mission shelter, as well as City Mission graduates, would greet Proctors’ patrons, welcoming them into the venue with open arms. “Philip had said [welcoming patrons], that's a need they have,” Sacoccio recalls. “So we started doing it and it became more than just greeting people. It was helping people get to restaurants, directing people to parking, helping people across the street.”
What began as a simple partnership between neighbors quickly expanded beyond what Morris and Saccocio had dreamed. “It really became a full scale hospitality service that became so popular, it expanded across downtown Schenectady. Now we have not only ambassadors hospitality programs, but ambassadors outreach programs. And the whole purpose of it is to say, in any community, everybody has something to give and something to receive. The men and women of City Mission, although clearly they have problems and struggles that have brought them to the Mission, they have much to give. This became a way for them to demonstrate that they could be real contributing members to the community.”
While providing a service to local businesses, ambassadors are involved in a workforce development program, what Saccocio refers to as “stepping stone employment”; it has led many of the City Mission men and women to building full careers outside the Mission. And while it may be a stepping stone to a larger career, the work is no doubt challenging and something the ambassadors take seriously.
“I mean, you're going out in the cold and the heat and the rain. So it's not just a simple thing. You gotta be paying attention. You've got work to do,” Saccocio relays.
The money for this endeavor was initially raised by Morris via Proctors Collaborative, but others soon began to take note and contribute. Most recently, they have received assistance from the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority after downtown areas like Schenectady Light Opera Company and Jay Street reached out asking for the ambassadors to come to them.
Morris himself noted several different organizations supporting them, noting that “the joint commitment of Whiteman, Osterman and Hanna – the law firm – and BST and Co. CPAs [to] the long term success of the effort to offer opportunity with and through our community cultural organizations is guaranteed!”
The ambassadors have become so renowned in Schenectady that they were asked to be the marshals at this year’s holiday parade. To Saccocio, this honor represented all that they had been working towards.
“We want them to be featured. As I said at a couple events leading up to the parade, we've gone from being tolerated to being celebrated.”
The future for the ambassadorship is bright, both within Schenectady and among the region. With new programs created for Albany’s Cap Rep through Hope House and, most recently, for Saratoga’s Universal Preservation Hall with RISE Housing and Support Services, the ambassadorship program has become deeply rooted within the Capital Region.
“The key is to not just have it be men and women coming out of a shelter, but into their own town,” Saccocio says. “That's what's gonna make it work. They know the streets, they can learn the rules of [the venues]. But if there is stuff that happens, if there's people panhandling or in need on the streets, the folks from RISE or City of Mission or Hope House have had personal experience with it and they can do good with it.”
For the future of the program, Saccocio has his hopes set on Ambassadors 2.0, an outreach program they have developed. “The folks at the Mission have a wonderful expression. They say my mess has become my message. I love that expression because we all have messes that we have to deal with in life. And there's a wonderful truth that when you overcome it, it's not something you have to hide. It really is an asset when you can say, ‘I've experienced this, but now I can help someone else who's there now’. In Schenectady, Ambassadors 2.0 is not just hospitality, but actually goes looking for people who are in need but are not connected to shelters and, for whatever reason, choosing to be on the streets. That is working very well too. I'd love to see over the next 15 years that each community also develops an Ambassadors 2.0 program.”
“It’s a total honor to work with Michael and the City Mission,” Morris adds. “Bottom line is that we both work to make our communities better.”
As for how you can help the ambassadorships across the region, there are plenty of opportunities from donating your money to donating your time. Proctors Collaborative, City Mission, Hope House, and RISE all accept donations on their websites, listed at the end of this article. If you’d like to put on the red coat alongside the men and women of City Mission, please reach out to them or Proctors Collaborative. And regardless of venue, please thank these ambassadors for their work when you see them at your next show—our local arts communities would not be the same without them.
Websites/Phone Numbers:
City Mission: citymission.com // (518) 346-2275
Proctors Collaborative: proctorscollaborative.org // (518) 382-3884
Hope House: hopehouseinc.org // (518) 482-4673
RISE: riseservices.org // (518) 587-6193
Photos by Julia Goldstock
