Tory's Maternity Leave Fund

Many of us know Tory Sammartino as a brilliant and deeply committed poet, teaching artist and youth worker who has been a tireless advocate for young people caught up in the justice system. She was a mentor to me in my early days of youth work and over the years I've watched her continue to support countless youth, families and organizations working with incarcerated youth.

After many years of being a mother figure to many young people, she is now a biological mama of some little ones (a 4 week old and an 18 month old to be exact:) and she needs our support. Because she works based on contracts and isn't employed full-time by one particular organization, she doesn't get a paid maternity leave. This was the same situation I faced, and what got me through was my community coming together to create a maternity leave fund for me. This is especially important given that Tory just had her second cesarean section in a row, so she is healing from major surgery while also trying to care for her 2 babies with very little support amidst some unexpected challenges. She is not supposed to lift anything for a total of 8 weeks (4 more weeks from today) so she needs help with basic life tasks as well as support with her 1.5 year old daughter and the other complications that have come up with her premature newborn son. If you have been inspired by or supported by her at any point, please donate whatever you can to help her have a post-partum period that is as supported as possible!

If you don't know Tory or need a reminder of who she is, here's a little more about her: 

Victoria Sammartino grew up in the Bronx, and participated in numerous arts and youth leadership programs as a teenager. At the age of 22 she founded Voices UnBroken, an organization that makes high-quality writing workshops accessible to youth (ages 12-24) in the juvenile and adult justice systems, where she served as Executive Director from 2000-2015. She currently serves as a nonprofit consultant, primarily with organizations working in the justice system or working to reform the justice system. She began her career as an educator at the school for girls on Rikers Island and has worked extensively with young people in juvenile justice facilities; and with incarcerated women and girls. She holds a BA in Community Arts from Bennington College and a Certificate from Georgetown University's Center for Juvenile Justice Reform.  Victoria is a recipient of the Union Square Awards, a Practitioner-Research Fellowship from the Robert Bowne Foundation, a Petra Fellowship, the Neighborhood Leadership Award from the NY Women’s Foundation, and the Elizabeth Coleman Visionary Leadership Award from Bennington College; she was also named one of 25 Influential Bronx Women by the Bronx Times. She is on the founding board of the national Prison Arts Coalition and the Advisory Board of the Center for Bronx Non-Profits.