User:Isaacs Center/sandbox

=Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center=

As a not-for-profit settlement serving the Yorkville and East Harlem areas of Manhattan, the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center (Isaacs Center) provides a variety of social services to New Yorkers across all generations. The center was founded in 1964 as the result of a partnership between the Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Today, the Isaacs Center remains dedicated to its mission "in working with the poor, the isolated and disconnected of all ages, genders, backgrounds and abilities" so as "to promote social and physical well-being and encourage growth, self-reliance and dignity throughout every stage of life." (Lenox Hill has the number of employees/volunteers and the number of programs that they run, maybe we could have the same up here?)

History
In 1959, the NYCHA started the planning process for what would eventually become the Stanley M. Isaacs Houses and the John Haynes Holmes Towers housing development, located on First Avenue between 93rd and 95th street. Anticipating an increase in the demand for social services, the NYCHA invited the Lenox Neighborhood Association and other not-for-profit groups to plan, develop, and fund raise for a new neighborhood settlement situated in the housing development. The Isaacs Center formally opened in 1964 and quickly adopted a focus on care for the elderly, an issue that was particularly pertinent in light of the fact that 45-60% of the apartment units in the Stanley M. Isaacs Houses and the Holmes Towers were to be reserved for the aged. Initial "services included a low-cost cafeteria where lunch was served daily, referrals and counselling, a health clinic and an innovative 'Senior Resident Advisor' who lived in the housing project and helped tenants adjust to the challenges of life in a new community."

Services for the elderly were later accompanied by an even wider range of programs and resources. Childcare, English and citizen classes, tutoring, job training, and nursing classes were all added to the list of projects overseen by the Isaacs Center. Meals on Wheels, a program dedicated to bringing free meals to home bound elderly, also quickly became a key part of the Isaac Center's mission with over 2.4 million meals delivered since 1966. The geographic scope of the center expanded alongside its expanding selection of services. Today, Isaacs Center serves not just residents of the NYCHA housing developments, but also the population of the broader Yorkville and East Harlem neighborhoods.

Services
The Isaacs Center is known for providing a variety of innovative services. In the past, the Isaacs Center has: hosted singalongs for home bound elderly over group telephone calls (audio can be found here), overseen programs where youth use new technologies to record their own music, put on modern art exhibitions, and conducted job training camps for teenagers entering the field of medicine. Other currently offered services include:

Food Services:

The Isaacs Center helps ensure that the elderly have easy access to nutritious food. Last year, 166,000 meals were distributed to eligible recipients through both Meals on Wheels deliveries and service at an onsite cafeteria. Meals distributed by the Isaacs Center aimed to improve both the physical and mental health of home bound elderly by interrupting periods of social isolation as part of an effort to "nourish both the body and the soul." Finally, the Isaacs Center has taken a leading role in empowering low-income seniors by helping them claim benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps).

Fitness:

In an effort to improve the health of the community that it serves, the Isaacs Center has partnered with Asphalt Green to provide aquatics, dance, and exercise classes to the local youth and elderly. (ASK DAVID) Collaboration between the Isaacs Center and Asphalt Green "Water Proofed" the Holmes Towers and Stanley Isaacs Houses in 2014 by teaching over 60% of the resident children to swim. Youth fitness programming is also offered through Cyclopedia, a program that takes youth on guided bicycle tours of Manhattan and the surrounding area. Additional physical exercise programs for the elderly can be found in Zumba and Yoga classes that are offered onsite at the Isaacs Center's main facility.

Childhood Services:

Through summer camps, after school programs, and tutoring, the Isaacs Center provides an array of services that aim to enrich the lives of the children and families who they serve.

Summer and after school programs offer snacks, homework help, exercise, and field trips to over 600 children. Other programming directly works to improve academic outcomes. OnTrack uses counselling and the active participation of parents and teachers in order to ensure the promotion of 9th grade students into the 10th grade, while a partnership with Parker Academics helps students to improve test scores and earn enrollment into New York City's elite public and private schools. Other activities for students--such as instruction in the STEM fields and graphic design--are facilitated by a partnership with the Beacon Community Center (a full list of programming offered by the Beacon Center can be found here).

Education and Workforce Development:

The Isaacs Center operates a number of programs that aim at reconnecting "disconnected" youth who find themselves out of school and out of work. GED-Plus, for example, helps students study for and pass the GED exam. The YES program complements test prep by training adolescents for entry into the workforce. Training is focused on the four career fields of Home Health Care, Child Care, Customer Service, and Food Preparation/Service. Additional opportunity for training is offered in partnership with the Museum of the City of New York and Jewish Home Lifecare, where YES participants can receive valuable career training through internships. Many YES participants are placed into jobs following completion of the program, and retention specialists provide two years of continual assistance to all graduates of the Isaacs Center's employment programs.