City Year Brings Health, Wellness, and Fun to East New York, Brooklyn!

Today’s guest blogger is Jane Horowitz, Corps Member on the P.S. 345K team, serving in  East New York, Brooklyn.

This past Saturday, the Bridge Builder zone, serving in Brooklyn, hosted a health and wellness fair for the community of East New York. Held at I.S. 302, Empower New York was an enormous success. Whole families turned out to run healthy food relay races, make bracelets, eat snacks, and hang out with their favorite City Year Corps Members.

To everyone in attendance, the event seemed effortless. However, a lot of preparation went into the day, with multiple teams meeting once a week or more for the last few months. Partnerships had to be formed with different organizations that would either provide resources for East New York families, or run engaging workshops on important topics. From zumba and yoga to a workshop on “Communication at Home,” no leaf was left unturned. Corps members had to work tirelessly to in-kind snacks, and to make personal phone calls to ensure that Empower New York would be well attended.

There were plenty of bumps along the way, and all involved were nervous that such a big event would fall flat. What if we have no food? What if my students don’t bring their families? What if there is no bouncy house? As May 4^th crept closer, many of us felt the pressure and anxiety that all our hard work would be in vain. The entire zone began to arrive at 8:30 in the morning to start the set-up. There were balloons! There was masking tape!

There was heavy lifting galore! Everyone found some way to lend a helping hand. The weather was beautiful, and after  a few hours the small parking lot outside of I.S. 302 had been transformed into a well-organized (and well-decorated) family fair. Yet still, as 12:00 quickly approached, we worried: now that we have built it, will they come?

As it turned out, no one was disappointed. Actually, many were pleasantly surprised. There was a steady stream of families arriving throughout the event. So steady, in fact, that the lines in front of the bouncy house and the face painting station did not disappear until the stations were shut down shortly before 5:00. At that time, everyone made their way over to the make-shift holding dock stage for the closing ceremony.

All of the families crowded around to watch a performance of I.S. 302’s  karate club, and then cheered on a dance crew of students from Sheepshead Bay High School.

This performance was a particular highlight—a group of poised young women, matching in green cargo pants and black shirts, who had been brought together by corps member Cole Carothers.

All of the uniformed City Year members watching were beaming with pride, as we got to show off the kind of amazing opportunities that we get to organize and be a part of with our students.

As the event came to a close, the happily exhausted Bridge Builders gave one final push to clean up the space, and circled up to share joys of the day before heading home. It is safe to say that Empower New York can be accurately summed up in the words of a fourth grader from P.S. 345: “Best. Party. Ever.”

Five Things Friday: #makebetterhappen

Do you want to know what it’s like to make a difference in the lives of children? Our dedicated corps members are in schools daily working to turn things around for students in New York City. Check out five tweets from City Year New York corps members who make better happen every day.

Click here to find out how City Year corps members all over the country #makebetterhappen!

Civic Engagement Spotlight: Alcoa Serves Powerfully in Hunts Point

Today’s guest bloggers are Simone Sampson and Charles Dannett of the City Year New York Civic Engagement (NYCE) Team. They are current service leaders and alumni of the City Year New York corps. The NYCE Team supports our corps members’ work with students in schools by planning and implementing physical service events for corporate and community groups.

It’s October, the leaves are changing, and the weather has started to become more brisk. People are ready to dress up for Halloween and the holiday season is just around the corner. Another exciting aspect of October is Alcoa’s Worldwide Month of Service! It’s an exciting time, where thousands of Alcoa employees give their time to make a difference in communities all over the world. Alcoa, a mining, manufacturing and innovation company, has supported City Year’s mission for 8 years and sponsors two teams, PS 48 and MS 424 in the Hunts Point community of the South Bronx.

In the spirit of Alcoa’s month of service, Alcoa employees joined City Year for an impactful day of volunteerism. Yesterday, Alcoa partnered with City Year and the students from MS 424. Together they provided over 54 hours of service to transform a local park.

Civic Engagement Service Leader, Daniel Cruz and a volunteer build a planter box to protect the new plants and flowers.

The service event took place at the Bedrock Park which is a recreational area and garden that is owned by the Mutual Housing Association of New York (MHANY). MHANY is an organization committed to increasing affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate income families. The organization not only assists families to obtain housing but also works with current residents of their buildings to improve community conditions and increase neighborhood participation.

Bedrock Park was unkempt and housed a deteriorating playground that was deemed too dangerous for children to play on. Alcoa provided the people power necessary to transform the park by constructing planter boxes, tree guards, painting chess boards on community tables, landscaping, and installing two barbeque pits. After their hard work, the park was much improved and ready for use. However, there still remained the issue of the deteriorating playground.

Alcoa Chairman and CEO, Klaus Kleinfeld and some students from MS 424 take a moment from service to chat over a newly painted chess board in the park.

During his closing remarks, Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman and CEO, Alcoa announced a surprise donation from Alcoa Foundation to MHANY, providing them with the opportunity to purchase a new playground. “Partnering with City Year is a source of great pride for Alcoa, and we are excited to contribute our time and dollars to create a fun and safe place to play for the children of MS 424,” said Klaus Kleinfeld, who presented the $10,000 generous gift to MHANY. Alcoa was able to not only transform a park but also assist MHANY in one of its organizational goals to unite residents and improve a community. The BBQ pit, chess boards and playground will provide a place for residents to join together as a community. The planter boxes provide extra gardening space for the residents of the MHANY housing development.

Senior Corps Member, Jordan Halane, served his first corps year at MS 424. He was able to catch up with a student from the school at this service event.

I.S. 126 Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Today’s guest blogger is Elizabeth Ward from the I.S. 126 City Year team in Long Island City, Queens. Elizabeth, 23, is from Astoria, Queens and she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Stony Brook University. Elizabeth also graduated with two minors in English and Journalism and has a passion for blogging.

Corps members (L-R) Jessica Ewing, Elizabeth Ward, and Jacqueline Oregel lead parents and students through a trivia game about Hispanic celebrities and countries.

Homemade empanadas, dancing and pounds of hard candy were all part of I.S 126’s celebration for Hispanic Heritage Month last Thursday, October 13^th. The I.S. 126 City Year team hosted a potluck dinner to honor and end the final week of National Hispanic Heritage month. The first floor cafeteria was decorated with student projects and hand-drawn posters of Spanish speaking countries and celebrities. Over 40 guests attended including parents, students, faculty and staff.

The night began with a bilingual summary of the origins and timeline of Hispanic Heritage Month. Next, City Year corps members presented guests with brief biographies of notable Hispanics in media and sports.

Team Leader Vashti Valerius and corps member Raymond Chin served traditional Hispanic dishes to parents, students, and staff.

Lastly, a trivia game engaged parents and students in friendly competition where guests were awarded with candy for their participation. “I’m happy City Year did this,” said Lesli, an 8^th grade student at I.S 126. “Everyone was treated nicely and every country was represented.”

The night ended with dinner served by corps members, after- school staff and the assistant principal. Fried chicken, rice and beans, arroz con leche, corn bread and tostada’s were just a few of many dishes that parents brought to the potluck. Students and corps members danced to bachata and merengue music as parents relaxed and enjoyed their dinner.