Week of Compassion 2022

Throughout the week we’re sharing a story from each of our six program areas about how Goddard and the Isaacs Center have shown compassion in our community. Your support makes a difference!

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Day 1

Day 2

Through college access and success counseling, educational assistance, job training, and social work, Goddard Riverside and the Isaacs Center put young people on the path to success.  Sergio* entered the Isaacs Center’s Advance and Earn program struggling to focus on his GED. With the help of the Isaacs Center’s dedicated team, he was able to understand all that a GED could do to help his career, and he became a dedicated participant. Once he completed the program, he was hired as a full-time Community Engagement Specialist where he continues to thrive. Make a year-end gift and help young people like Sergio build a successful career.

Day 3

Goddard Riverside and the Isaacs Center believe people living with mental illness deserve respect, care, and support. We offer individuals mental health services, vocational skills, and positive social interaction. Darren* struggled with mental illness from a very young age. Last year he was able to join TOP, a space that provides services for adults with mental illness. He had three goals: get his GED, move to a better apartment, and make friends. Goddard helped him with all three. He started taking math classes. He moved to Lower Manhattan, away from his previous apartment’s dangerous location. And he has become a valued member of the TOP community with old and new friends. Darren is moving his mental health in the right direction and well on his way to meeting his goals.  You can make a difference in Darren’s life and the lives of all our TOP participants by making a year-end gift.

Day 4

From providing financial and legal resources for parents to offering arts programming for kids, Goddard Riverside and the Isaacs Center strive to support families' needs at every stage of life. This year the Bernie Wohl Center was finally able to host a Halloween party in person again. Guests were invited into the Community Kitchen to learn to make pumpkin brittle. While there, a guest named Chandra* revealed that she’d attended After School at the Center in her youth and was happy to be able to bring her daughter and granddaughter back to celebrate and make new memories.  A year-end gift can bring joy and strengthen the bonds of local families and communities.

Day 5

Goddard Riverside helped pioneer homeless outreach and supportive housing. Now together with the Isaacs Center, we are proud to continue that fight today. Jack* was living on the streets in 2018 when he connected with Goddard’s homeless outreach team after over a decade of being homeless. He wanted to get into permanent housing, but his mental illness made it a struggle to adapt to living inside. The Goddard team worked patiently with Jack in small steps to increase his time in his new apartment. He has been living there successfully since fall 2021.  Help people like Jack stay in permanent housing and connect to needed services with a year-end gift.

Day 6

Goddard Riverside and Isaacs Center’s programs for older adults help them thrive at home through case management, exercise programs, nutrition, nursing, educational workshops, and social activities. Veronica* lives in Phelps House, our affordable residence for older adults, and has a severe hearing impairment in both ears. She was barely able to understand her doctors at important medical appointments. Medicaid provided her with only one poor-quality hearing aid, but Goddard was able to provide her with a pocket talker. This device uses a microphone and earphones to amplify sound and reduce background noise. Now Veronica can communicate more clearly with her doctors and fully participate in caring for her health. Just one day left to make a year-end gift!