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As the weather cools, many people start thinking about the holidays: What am I making for Thanksgiving dinner? What gifts do I get my family? Do I need to get out my warm boots? 

The Isaacs Center also asks these questions, but on a much larger scale. No matter the season, we keep working with over 20,000 people to cover their practical needs of food, shelter, education, and care. We’d love for you to join us! 

If you are interested giving in-kind donations to Isaacs this holiday season, please consider the following urgently needed items: 

• Toiletries and personal care items 
• Winter coats, boots, gloves, hats, and socks 
• School supplies 
• Twin-sized bed linens 
• Metrocards or Amazon gift cards for $10-15 
• Books in Spanish for children and adults 
• Tablets (models no later than 2019) 

Due to health and safety regulations, items must be new and unused, except for tablets, which must be wiped.  

Donations can be dropped off at any of our main offices between November 1 and December 12 from 9am-4pm:

• Isaacs Center at 415 E 93^rd St. (and First Ave.)
• Goddard Riverside at 593 Columbus Ave. (at 88th)
• Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center 250 W 65^th St. (near West End Ave.)

If you would like a tax acknowledgement letter, please include a note with your contact information with the donation.  

If you have any questions, please contact us at 212-618-2896 x1026.  

Beyoncé thumped out of the speakers. Staff and young people helped themselves to a full spread of barbecue, rice and beans and fried chicken. In the room next door, a lively pool game was underway. 

That’s how the Teen Expansion program at our Youth Center brought another summer of good times to a close.  

Teen Expansion is funded by the New York City Housing Authority to serve young people living in public housing at the Isaacs Houses and Holmes Towers. It runs on weekday evenings in the summer to provide a safe and enriching place to go. This year it offered a wide range of things to do, including cooking classes, a spelling bee, podcasting, a cupcake decorating contest, and a group project to paint a colorful, abstract mural on the wall. 

“The Spelling Bee was a highlight,” said Program Coordinator Yazmine Ortega. “Friendly competition is where the fun happens!” 

16-year-old Mikey came nearly every night. His highlights included field trips to the Wildwater Kingdom at Dorney Park and paintball at Area 53 in Brooklyn. He also liked playing games on the Youth Center’s Nintendo Switch.  

“They have a lot of activities,” he said. “It’s a really fun place to be at.” 

A longtime Isaacs Center volunteer and three other Upper East Siders are among the six people honored with Good Neighbor Awards this year.

“This is a woman who constantly fights for her community. I want to say thank you for the constant work you do,” said Maribel Mejia, who runs one of the Isaacs Center Beacon programs, while introducing honoree Wilma Lorraine Johnson.

“My love for my community is a love for each and every person that I can help to smile or laugh,” said Johnson, who volunteers at our Older Adult Center and After School Program in addition to the Beacon. “Just think, if each one of us could give someone else some love, some joy and some peace, what a wonderful world this would be.”

Dorothy Reiss, a founding member of Friends of Webster Library, said the benefits of volunteering run in both directions. “I didn’t choose this life of volunteer work so much as it chose me,” she said. “It’s a gift to me.” 

The awards are presented by our partners at Goddard Riverside and honor people in Yorkville, East Harlem, Harlem and the Upper West Side who invest significant time and effort to build a stronger community.

This year’s winners are: 

Wilma Lorraine Johnson – for her volunteer work and community leadership. Lorraine has volunteered with the Stanley M. Isaacs Center at the Older Adult Center, After School Program, and Beacon for over 23 years. She is the President of the Stanley Isaacs Older Adult Center, and is currently serving on the advisory board of Metropolitan Hospital. At the Isaacs Center she regularly coordinates and leads free art events for all age groups, including art lessons, crochet activities, and making flowers out of recycled materials. She donates art materials, and has always been available to assist during community events. She is a community activist who continues to put her best foot forward and is involved in all aspects of the community.  

Emma Justus – for her commitment to helping families facing cancer. While in the sixth grade at Wagner Middle School, Emma cofounded the charity organization Club Care, after her father was diagnosed with terminal glioblastoma brain cancer. Club Care’s mission is to support children and families dealing with cancer, and Club Care has created care packages for pediatric oncology patients at a local hospital, hand delivered staff appreciation gifts for the oncology team, created room makeovers for pediatric cancer patients, and more. Emma has worked throughout her time in middle school and high school to expand Club Care, and is working to open chapters across the country. 

Melissa Elstein – for her volunteer work with housing, education and environmental advocacy on the Upper West Side. Melissa has been involved in community organizing for over 20 years, starting when she and several neighbors started the West 80s Neighborhood Association, which protected numerous historic brownstones and saved their tenants from eviction. In addition to serving as secretary of the West 80s Neighborhood Association, she is the cofounder/lead organizer of Love Your Street Tree Day and is the board chair and secretary of Stop the Chop NY/NJ, whose mission is to address the air and noise pollution caused by nonessential helicopters in the NY metropolitan area.  

Dorothy Reiss – for her work with New York libraries and bookstores. Dorothy is one of the founding members of the Friends of Webster Library, which worked to get the library designated landmark status. In 2004, the Friends opened the Book Cellar, a used bookstore in the basement of the Webster Library, which collects and sells donated books from community members. Dorothy has been there for over 19 years and can still be found behind the cash register. Through the Book Cellar, she helped to raise over $1 million for branch libraries of the NYPL. That money has funded special projects at the libraries, buying computers, books, and most recently a selection of books called the Harlem Collection. 

Carolyn Breidenback – for her longtime volunteer work with her local elementary school, PS 198. Carolyn has been volunteering at PS 198 for twenty years, coming in four days a week to serve as an assistant teacher, helper, and overall positive presence. She helps the PTA with fundraising and obtaining items for the school auction, encourages her friends and family to donate to the school, and, at 94 years old, she has seen four principals come and go during her time volunteering. Carolyn has a close relationship with the teachers, students, and school community, and is constantly trying to find ways to improve the school.  

Margarita Curet Osorio – for her work representing the residents of Amsterdam Houses. Margarita held the position of president of the Amsterdam Houses Residents Association for over 16 years, and went above and beyond while representing over 2000 tenants who live in the development. She advocated for maintaining safety and cleanliness of the facilities, and held monthly meetings with presentations from local organizations. She also facilitated family days which, in addition to barbecuing and entertainment, included tabling by cultural and health organizations that presented information and sign-ups for residents, making programs and services more accessible to residents, and organized educational activities such as computer classes for tenants. She has also served as a board member of the Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center. 

From a quilt inspired by quantum mechanics to a triumphant musical about the power of community—older adults at the Isaacs Center and our partner, Goddard Riverside, created and enjoyed amazing art this spring.  

Isaacs Center members joined professional actors to perform the original show “Geezers: The Musical” in front of a packed house in the Isaacs Center dining room. The script was inspired by “Scrooged” and told the story of the fictional “Stanley Isaacs Senior Home,” whose residents are threatened with eviction by miserly landlord Mr. Manson.  

Eight Older Adult Center members were in the cast.  “They came to practice twice a week for 3 months, and they really gave it all up there,” said Director and Co-Playwright John Ruiz-Miranda. “They showed up on time, always ready to work.” 

Member Marsha France had always wanted to try acting. She said she got alot out of the experience. “I learned about projecting—and being present in the moment, because sometimes things happen and you have to just cover it up,” she said with a laugh. 

Isaacs Center members also met throughout the spring to do creative crochet.  

“I hated crocheting,” said class member Raquel Cimino. “Now I’m in love. I’m like an addict. I have to crochet.” Cimino showed off pictures of a big orange shoulder bag she made with the words BE KIND in white, along with a sweater she made of colorful squares. “I didn’t know I could crochet BE KIND,” she added. “I didn’t know that existed!” 

Older adults at Goddard Riverside’s Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center enjoyed a weekly exploration of Latin music with “Songs Across America,” a series of performances organized by the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance. “It was very soothing and relaxing and fun. We were thrilled to have them here,” said Program Coordinator Alan Mehl. 

At Goddard’s Older Adult Center on Columbus Avenue, participants created a colorful quilt based on a seemingly unlikely inspiration: quantum mechanics. Artist Sika Foyer said her starting point for the design was the concept that every being and object on Earth is made up of particles.  

“Every one of us, we are electrons. All of us, the table, the chair, the floor,” she explained. “That’s all we are.” She put dots on a piece of paper to represent these particles. Then, members of the class connected the dots into shapes, which they cut out of fabric and ultimately stitched into a quilt. 

All these artistic endeavors were made possible by the city’s SU-CASA program, which partners with local organizations and elected officials to place artists at older adult centers across the city. We’re grateful to City Council Members Julie Menin and Gale Brewer for their support of these programs, as well as the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and NYC Department for the Aging.

Our GED program is currently accepting new students—for more information please fill out this form! 

“Is that the same size? Is it slim or regular fit? Do they have other colors?” 

A young man in business slacks and a button-down shirt checked his look in a full-length mirror while Justin Melis, Business Developer at our Education and Workforce program, peppered him with questions.  

“I think they’ve got blue,” the student replied. “Let me go see.” He disappeared back into the racks, searching for just the right look to give him confidence in a job interview. 

These GED and pre-GED students were buying business clothes—with a little help from E&W staff. Polo shirts or collared shirts with nice pants were the order of the day. “You don’t need a suit for a lot of interviews these days,” Melis explained. “And these guys are still growing. You don’t want to drop a lot of money on a suit you can’t wear in a year.” 

Another student approached the dressing room, arms laden with clothes. “My ‘fit is 80 dollars but we gotta figure out the pants,” he said. 

“Dude, the grey looked dope with this. The black is gonna look basic!” Melis said, sorting through the pants. 

The students had $150 each in gift cards, supplied by the program’s professional development budget. They all came over to the giant Newport Centre mall in Jersey City on NJ transit together, along with Education and Workforce staff. The young men and women shopped separately, then gathered to have lunch in the food court together. 

“Today is a business trip but to be taken out of state for it is amazing,” said student Joey Candelaria. “I got myself some nice button downs. I enjoyed it.” 

Candelaria followed his older brother to the GED program at the Isaacs Center to get his high school degree. “I was in school, I kinda enjoyed it but I didn’t really like it so I decided hey, I’m gonna give this program a chance,” he recalled. He found he really liked both the staff and the opportunity to do paid internships: “I was able to buy so many cool things, like a skateboard; I got my mom so many gifts and then I got stuff for my grandma and my cousins. And all the teachers are nice to me.” 

As he looks forward to graduation, he’s still trying to pin down what comes next: Firefighting? Law school? Health care? “It’s the picture of what I’m able to learn that inspires me to keep going,” he said. “If I didn’t have this program and I was somewhere else, I probably wouldn’t be as energetic as I am here.” 

At the next table over, Jashica Morrison, who goes by Jayda, was having lunch with some program staff. Morrison is 23, with a seven-year-old son. She came here after scheduling difficulties made high school impossible. 

“My son kept getting sick and I couldn’t bring him to daycare and I couldn’t leave him in the house by himself,” she explained. “I kept staying home and staying home and staying home. Eventually I just stayed home all the way and I couldn’t go back to school. They told me to go to a program or an alternative school.” 

Morrison said it took a while to find the right place to finish her degree, but the Isaacs Center was it: “I’ve been doing my own thing by myself and I needed a lot of help. I just needed motivation. When I need that, they’re here for me. I actually care for their opinions. I care for their guidance.” 
 
When she graduates, she’d like to join the Education and Workforce staff and help other young people like her. 

“I stuck here, and they stuck beside me. I’m a little handful!” she laughed. “They stuck beside me. I really do see them as my family.” 

Getting a high school education isn’t just about reading, writing and arithmetic. It’s also about “adulting”: learning how to do things like handle your finances and cultivate professional networks. That’s what our Isaacs Center GED students and the Learning to Work students at our partner, Goddard Riverside, did at twin events one day in late April.

It started in the morning with financial literacy training at the Isaacs Center. GED and pre-GED students paid close attention as young volunteers from Citi Financial Group walked them through the basics of handling money.

“How many of you know the general process for opening a checking or savings account?” asked Citi’s Emmanuel Ngbemeneh. Hands shot up around the room and students chimed in with answers like “ID” and “proof of address.” Ngbemeneh and fellow Citi volunteer Lacroix Scott went on to explore topics like interest and fees and FDIC backing. They tackled questions from the students like “How do you get a credit card?” And “How can you improve your credit score?”

“That’s the first step in your financial literacy journey,” Director of Engagement and Success Justina Sharrock of the Isaacs Center Education and Workforce program told the students as they wrapped up the session and headed to their regular classes.

That afternoon, staff at Goddard’s Learning to Work program hosted volunteers from Rockefeller Capital Management in a speed-networking event. Volunteers sat at individual tables while the students rotated, introducing themselves to a new person every 5 minutes. It took a little while for the students to get comfortable, but soon the room was buzzing with conversation, questions, and laughter.  

LTW student Quentin Arthur said he’d talked to the volunteers about their careers, professional advice, and his uncertainties about his plans. “One woman told me about how she changed her mind about going to law school,” he said. “We can change our paths anytime, but we have to make sure that we do it right.”

Learning to Work is embedded at Edward A. Reynolds West Side High, a transfer school for students who have faced challenges at other schools. The program helps young people reengage with school, overcome barriers to attendance and get their diplomas. Program Aide Ashley Vargas Ball helps the LTW students with job readiness through events like these. She enjoyed watching them gain confidence as they interacted with working adults.  

“These kids are special,” Vargas Ball explained. “They have inspirations and passions, and you can see it in them when they speak.”  

We’re grateful to the excellent volunteers at both events from Rockefeller Capital Management and Citi Financial Group!