As we honor the rich history of Black Americans, and demonstrate in our words, actions, and deeds that Black Lives Matter, we reflect on the excruciating struggles for freedom and equality in our nation, as well as the remarkable demonstrations of perseverance and achievement. It is the effort we make – not just for a month, but every day – to call out and confront what is unjust and inequitable that defines us, and it is the commitment we make to struggle and overcome that heals us and brings us hope.
I hope you will join us at our Virtual Celebration of Black History Month.
This month…
Our Community Kitchen relaunches
During the first wave of the pandemic, we prepared and delivered 64,462 meals to our neighbors in need. With funding from our generous donors and partners, our Community Kitchen is back to address the food insecurity that far, far too many New Yorkers are experiencing. Our new emergency food pantry resource and supplemental meal service, Soups Up, will work throughout the winter and spring to meet the needs of our neighbors.
Senior Suppers (click for video) unite leading culinary professionals with aspiring young chefs from low-income neighborhoods to provide inspired meals – and virtual connection – for homebound seniors.
Our Culinary Training Program returns
Young workers are the age group that has been hit hardest by the economic effects of the pandemic and Isaacs Center rallied in support by providing onsite job training safely, putting classes online, and giving our participants access to the technology necessary to stay connected. While the food service sector resets itself, we are continuing to train and graduate dynamic cohorts of young professionals who are securing placements at Michelin-starred restaurants, community-owned coffee roasters, and in restaurants throughout the city that are opening up mid-pandemic with business models designed to survive and thrive.
They’re Young, Unemployed, and Facing Bleak Prospects – Isaacs Center in The New York Times
Our Scholars continue to excel
Every member of our current class of Isaacs Center Scholars (click for update) has navigated the pandemic – remaining in school to pursue their dream of a college degree. Each year, our scholarship program provides monetary awards to young adults to close a financial aid gap or help with books and transportation. Many of the awards honor loved ones who have passed away, and in that way, our scholars connect the generations, and carry on legacies and traditions that keep those we’ve lost in our hearts and minds.
Thank you for making the above possible. I know I speak for my colleagues when I share that it is truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime to provide support to those in need, to be relentlessly committed to cultivating self-reliance and dignity, and to work to build a New York City that works for everyone.
Gregory J Morris | President and Executive Director
The Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center (Isaacs Center) is a non-profit, multi-service organization located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan focused on the needs of children and low-income families, out-of-school and out-of-work youth, and aging New Yorkers, including our isolated and homebound elderly neighbors.