The NYC vaccination data show lower rates in the communities that were hardest hit by COVID-19. While many eagerly await their opportunity to get the vaccine, many New Yorkers still face barriers to vaccination, fear, and distrust rooted in inequities in our healthcare system. Isaacs Center took active steps to mitigate the harm of this reality by fully vaccinating 468 community members, who would not otherwise receive access to the vaccine.
Generous donors provide funding to help our students close a modest financial aid gap, or pay for books or transportation. This investment in young lives creates pathways to long-term 
– changing the trajectory of an individual life, and combating the generational poverty that exists in the very vulnerable communities where our scholars live and go to school. Download our scholar update by clicking here.
ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021
FROM 1:00-3:00PM ON ZOOM
The event will feature:
Women panelists who “Choose to Challenge”
A reading by Soheir Khashoggi from her novel, “Mirage”
Singer Alicia Waller
Community member performances
Isaacs Center is proud to honor these women for their leadership in our community:
Lorean Valentin,
Manhattan Borough Outreach Director, Test & Trace
Gail O’Neill, Isaacs Center Board Member
Saundrea Coleman & La Keesha Taylor,
Holmes/Isaacs Coalition Co-founders
Join by
URL: https://zoom.us/j/96841208624
Meeting ID: 968 4120 8624
Phone: +1-929-205-6099
We are proud to share that more than 460 community members – public housing residents of Holmes Towers + Isaacs Houses and older adults – were vaccinated at the Isaacs Center during our temporary service as a City vaccination site last week.
A tremendous thank-you to our City partners in this effort: New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and Test & Trace Corps, who brought vaccines to our center, and Gale A. Brewer, Manhattan Borough President and Council Member Ben Kallos, who are relentless advocates in support of public housing residents and older adults.
Finally, thank you to the staff and volunteers, including Junior Board members (Heather Gidaly, Billy Freeland, Olivia Elee, Anthony Ford, Sourav Bhowmick, and Jaime Berghorn), who provided support onsite and off to help make this operation smooth and effective.
This month, we commemorate and celebrate the extraordinary accomplishments of women and honor the collective history that has been made by those who have sought relentlessly to bridge the chasm between the society we are and the one we aspire to be. As we reflect on the pervasive inequalities and inequities that continue to plague our society, we acknowledge the burdens of those who led the fight for women’s suffrage, education equality, economic and social justice, and the unrelenting quest to break the chains of patriarchy. We stand proudly with those in our City and our sector who now continue on this same, complicated path to liberation.
This Women’s History Month – and every month – we seek to share stories too often untold about the extraordinary leadership, bravery, and sacrifice of women – especially women of color and LGBTQ women. The following citywide events are free to the public (in order by date):
The Rewind: A Celebration of Women’s History Month with an Introduction by Vanessa Reed
Thursday, March 4, 2021 7:00pm-7:30pm EST – Virtual
Women’s History Month: Women in Conservation
Sunday, March 7, 2021 11:00am-12:00pm EST – Brookfield Park, Staten Island
NWHM Presents: And She Could Be Next Film Screening, Episode 1
Monday, March 8, 2021 6:00pm-7:30pm EST – Virtual
In Dialogue: Smithsonian Objects and Social Justice
Thursday, March 11, 2021 5:00pm-6:00pm EST – Virtual
Women’s History Month: Honoring Women in Central Park
Saturday, March 13, 2021 11:00am-12:00pm EST – Central Park
Women’s History Month: Gravesend Cemetery Tour
Sunday, March 14, 2021 11:00am-12:00pm EST – Gravesend Cemetery, Brooklyn
NWHM Presents: And She Could Be Next Film Screening, Episode 2
Monday, March 15, 2021 6:00pm-7:30pm EST – Virtual
VP Records Founder, Ms. Pat in Conversation with Catalina Maria Johnson and 40th Anniversary Show Reel
Thursday, March 18, 2021 7:00pm-7:45pm EST – Virtual
Brave Girls Virtual Story Time: Ambitious Girl
Wednesday, March 24, 2021 12:00pm-1:00pm EST – Virtual
Talking About Race Matters – Lecture Series
Wednesday, February 3, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual
Lift Every Voice: Celebrating 150 Years of James Weldon Johnson’s Legacy
Thursday February 4, 2021 7:00am-7:15am EST – Virtual
Doc Chat Episode 14: Exploring the Black Alternative Press of the 1960s and 1970s
Thursday, February 4, 2021 3:30pm EST – Virtual
Civil Rights Legacies: Martin, Malcom, Gwen, and Julian
Thursday, February 4, 2021, 6:30pm-8:00pm EST – Virtual
Black History Month: Black History in Queens
Saturday, February 6, 2021 12:00pm-1:00pm EST – Virtual
Four Hundred Souls by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
Tuesday February 9, 2021 7:00pm-8:30pm EST – Virtual
Talking About Race Matters – Lecture Series
Wednesday, February 10, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual
“Rodney King” Screening & Conversation with Roger Guenveur Smith and Dr. Stephanie Leigh Batiste
Thursday, February 11, 2021 7:00pm-7:45pm EST – Virtual
Black History Month: Seneca Village
Saturday, February 13, 2021 1:00pm-2:00pm EST
Black History Month Celebration: Songs, Dance, & Stories
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 3:30pm-4:30pm EST – Virtual
LAUNCH: Unsung: Unheralded Narratives of American Slavery & Abolition
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 7:00pm-8:30pm EST – Virtual
Talking About Race Matters – Lecture Series
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual
The Rewind: A Celebration of Black Culture with an Introduction by Greg Tate
Thursday, February 18, 2021 7:00pm-7:45pm EST – Virtual
Racism’s Hidden Costs: Heather McGhee
Thursday, February 18, 2021 8:00pm-9:00pm EST – Virtual
Black History Month: Brooklyn and the Underground Railroad
Saturday, February 20, 2021 11:00am-12:00pm EST
Mother Tongue: The Philosophy of Malcom X
Monday, February 22, 2021 6:30pm-8:00pm EST – Virtual
The Harry Belafonte Black Liberation Speaker Series: Charles Blow with Hilton All
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 8:00pm-9:00pm EST – Virtual
Talking About Race Matters – Lecture Series
Wednesday, February 24, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual
Black Entrepreneurs Who Are Making History
Thursday, February 25, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual
30 Years of Easy Rawlins with Walter Mosley
Thursday, February 25, 2021 6:30pm-8:00pm EST – Virtual
Michael Mwenso: Hope, Resist, & Heal, Performance and Conversation with Shannon Effinger
Thursday, February 25, 2021 7:00pm-7:45pm EST – Virtual
Black History Month: The Birthplace of Hip-Hop
Saturday, February 27, 2021 1:00pm-2:00pm EST
Talking About Race Matters – Lecture Series
Wednesday, March 3, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual
Talking About Race Matters – Lecture Series
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual
Ongoing Black History Month 2021 Exhibitions:
Other websites and resources:
As we approach year-end, and face both a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and another rise in food insecurity, we’re doing all that we can to protect the safety of the communities we serve and meet their growing needs. More than ever, we’re grateful for the donors and volunteers who are stepping up to ensure that our food and nutrition services are running fully, particularly during times when our team members – our always essential workforce – is challenged to manage their health and wellness. Thanks to you, seniors continue to receive daily Meals on Wheels and, with the support of a few exceptionally generous funders, we’re re-opening our Community Kitchen for neighbors in need.
Your generosity reminds us all that we, as a community, take care of each other.
– President and Executive Director, Gregory J. Morris
Give now and double your impact!
With our $25,000 Holiday Match, your gift by December 31st will go twice as far.
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Thank you for being a friend to the Isaacs Center.
Your contribution makes a real difference to our community.
Check out our COVID-19 Impact Report to see the hard work our essential staff is doing and the impact we’re making on our community.
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The Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center (Isaacs Center) has doubled meal production at its Community Kitchen in response to the growing needs of NYCHA residents and older adults impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis. The expansion was centered around the provision of internship opportunities for young adults, enrolled in the Center’s Culinary Arts Training Program, living with significant challenges such as homelessness, mental health issues, justice involvement, and foster care system history.
For the first time in the Isaacs Center’s history, the kitchen is operating with two shifts of cooking teams made up of chefs, kitchen aids, and culinary students. The morning team produces 800 meals per week for delivery to homebound and medically fragile older adults, while the afternoon shift produces 1,600 meals per week for community residents in and around the Holmes Towers and Isaacs Houses NYCHA developments, provided through on-site distributions.
The Isaacs Center has seen food insecurity in the neighborhood increase dramatically since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, receiving 9 times its usual volume of requests for food assistance.
“Food preparation and delivery has always been a central part of our work here at the Isaacs Center,” said Gregory J. Morris, the Issacs Center’s President & Executive Director. “By expanding our operations and launching a community kitchen program, we are more than doubling our meal production at this critical time to meet the needs of our community, while increasing our capacity to tailor our menus for those with dietary restrictions and creating a training space for young adults interested in a career in culinary arts.”
The expansion was centered around the provision of internship opportunities for young adults enrolled in the Center’s Culinary Arts Training Program and living with significant challenges such as homelessness, mental health issues, justice involvement, and foster care system history. The expansion of the Community Kitchen has allowed the Center to address rapidly increasing neighborhood hunger and provide critical job training for particularly vulnerable youth, who would otherwise be without necessary pathways to economic security and supportive services.
“I had been working in catering, but I wanted to learn more about the work inside the kitchen, so I started the Isaacs Center’s Culinary Arts training program,” commented Saraii Isabell, an Isaacs Center Culinary Arts Intern. “Because of COVID-19, I lost my catering job, so it’s a good thing I made this decision. This internship in the community kitchen gives me a job and allows me to help people in need, which makes me really happy.”
Support for the expansion has been strong and widespread from the Isaacs Center’s public and private community partners alike.
“The rapid expansion of the Community Kitchen program demonstrates the resourcefulness and resiliency of the nonprofit sector and assures us that New Yorkers will get through this crisis” said Irfan Hasan of The New York Community Trust and Maria Torres-Springer of the Ford Foundation, co-chairs of the human services grantmaking committee for the NYC COVIC-19 Response and Impact Fund. “The Fund is proud to be able to invest in our young people so they can provide critical help to their neighbors.”
The Isaacs Center’s Junior Board hosted their Annual “Sips for Isaacs” event on October 23rd at Latitude in midtown. Junior Board members, along with co-workers and friends, huddled around the upstairs bar to socialize with guests and enjoy yummy drink specials.
All the proceeds benefited students who attend the After School Learning Center with the following:
– Preparing students for academic success at NYC middle schools
– Supporting a robust science, technology, engineering, art, & math curriculum
– Helping close the 6,000-hour learning gap that our students experience
– Allowing students to receive tutoring, test preparation, and social-emotional skills development
If you are interested in joining the Isaacs Center Junior Board, please contact Bryn Towner at btowner@isaacscenter.org.