Founder/President

The Coalition for Change Community Impact Event was a wonderful success. With the help of Co-sponsors and private donors our team was able provide an environment of positivity, fellowship and fun for the youth and young adults of the Atlantic County Community. We were join by the Atlantic City and Pleasantville High School Girls Basketball Teams and coaching staffs. We provided the opportunity for each Basketball Team to engage with WNBA All Star Betnijah Laney who gave words of inspiration, encouragement, and real-life experiences on her road to stardom. Betnijah was accompanied by her Mother Yolanda Laney (Philly Sports Hall of Fame Inductee 2021), and Brother Shakiris Laney. We provided a full course meal and 10 activity stations ranging from Portrait painting, stress management to basketball corn holes. We did not leave accompanying parents out of our experience Dr Stacy Hayes of Little Hands Family Services and Lives in the Balance conducted a seminar with parents with topic that range from juvenile mental health to peaceful parenting techniques. I’m thankful for my Board Members VP Melanie Griffin and Treasurer Rich Bouknight for their unwavering support and commitment to our program. Lastly, I would like to thank our kitchen staffers and youth volunteers for making this event a success…

Special thanks to Jorge Restrepo and Restrepo Publications for his professional videography.

• Mission Statement: To mentor and prepare young people for employment, aid in obtaining wrap-around services ie. mental health, educational assistance, vocational trades, financial literacy. To help families with educational support, mental health services, financial literacy, and career placement.
• Partner with Coalition for Change in providing educational field trips, vocational training, and Pre-employment testing for our youth and young adults. We thank you in advance for your financial support.
• Coalition for Change, a NJ Non-profit, 501 c3 hosted a Community Impact event featuring WNBA All Star and New York Liberty Betnijah Laney.  Ms. Laney presented to the youth her journey with the WNBA and her ability to overcome a sports injury. Ms. Laney emphasized the importance of mental health and helping youth to overcome challenges.  The youth participated in 10 Basketball themed mental health stations that stressed the importance of self-regulation, self-confidence, mindfulness and creativity.
• Dr. Stacy Haynes, Ed.D., LPC, Executive Director/Owner of Little Hands Family Services provided a parenting workshop on the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions model. Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) is the evidence-based model of care that helps caregivers focus on identifying the problems that are causing concerning behaviors in kids and solving those problems collaboratively and proactively.
• Coalition for Change, President and Founder, Mark Benjamin and Board Members in attendance, Melanie Griffin and Richard Bouknight presented Ms. Laney and her mother, Ms. Yolanda Laney, with awards for their service to the community.  The families had a community dinner, participated in the activities and received items that children can use at home to help with their stress and mental health.
• Coalition for Change provides an aftercare program to the Atlantic City community with the goal of helping youth and families with academic, mental health services, financial literacy, and career development- “From Preschools to Pensions”.
• Stacy Haynes, Ed.D., LPC, ACS
• Little Hands Family Services  Washington Professional Campus
• 900 Route 168 D-1  Turnersville, NJ 08012, 856-228-1005
• Shaynes@littlehandsagency.com,   www.LittleHandsServices.com, www.RaisingBlackGenius.com, www.DrStacyHaynesLPC.com, www.Livesinthebalance.org