Ready, Set, Action!
Dear Colleagues, There's been a lot of action over the last month, and great things are taking shape! We
launched our newly redesigned website; increased STEM opportunities for youth
through recent support from Con Edison and Best Buy; completed our first big step
towards assessing Grand St. Settlement's organizational culture (thanks to all 165 staff
members who completed the OCAI survey!); and laid out the groundwork for our new
senior center and social enterprise venture at Essex Crossing. On Friday, November 20, be prepared to think about strategic planning at our Staff
Development Day. It will be an important day for us as we come together to set forth a
new vision for our future, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas! We'll
then cheer to a new year and celebrate the start of a new century of service with a
Holiday Party at the Educational Alliance on January 15. We have so much to do and so much to be proud of so far as we draw closer to our
100th anniversary. For now, I can't wait to complete my visits to all of our dedicated
program and partner sites. Bed‐Stuy ‐ I'll be coming to see you next!
All the best, Robert Cordero
happening now
BOLD INITIATIVES
GRAND STRATEGY
INSPIRED WORK
A recent visit to Marcus
Garvey Village in Brownsville
may lead to an opportunity
to build a new community
center that will help us serve
more Brooklyn neighbors.
Our first quarter board meeting
and full‐day Strategy Road Map
Retreat created the foundation
that will improve our mission,
vision, competitive advantage,
and advocacy work.
300 community members
received costumes courtesy
of the Brooklyn Nets through
a Halloween Costume Drive at
our Bushwick‐Hylan
Community Center.
a brand new home
stepping up for our older adults, 65 and better
Last month, I met with our beloved senior community at our 80 Pitt Street Main
Community Center to share news and details of the plans of Grand St. Settlement's
new senior community center to be developed at Essex Crossing. For those who don't know, our seniors are some of the most active members of our
community. Last year, they took part in nearly 800 exercise and dance classes including
Salsa, Tai Chi, and Zumba! Many of our seniors also dedicate their time to volunteer for
our various senior programming activities ‐‐ sharing their skills and experiences by
teaching or assisting with arts and crafts, computer literacy, and English language
classes. This kind of spirit and commitment deserves special recognition and a place of
its own. And what better way to acknowledge our adults 65 and better than with a
brand new second home!
The new multi‐floor center will feature an outdoor roof garden, a social adult day care
program, a medical and urgent care facility, and a full kitchen that will provide 100+
meals each day. It will also provide 100 units of affordable housing for seniors. I'm so
excited about this much needed addition for our growing extended family! Rendering of new Grand St. Settlement Senior Center
TOP 11
MOMENTS OF THE MONTH
an educational powerhouse
I had the pleasure of meeting the
principals of all three schools located at
our Beacon Community Center ‐ School
for Global Leaders, Marta Valle High
School, and Lower East Side Preparatory
High School. Combined with our Beacon
and SONYC youth programs, this center is
a real force to be reckoned with.
making new friends
During a tour of 80 Pitt Street, Dr. David
Gomez (President of Hostos Community
College) made an adorable new friend
who asked him for a big hug. Dr. Gomez
is a great connection for us in building a
relationship with the City University of
New York. It looks like Eileen Newman
(Executive Director of the Center for
Bronx Nonprofits) also made some
positive connections too!
advocating for one NYC
As a voice for communities in the Lower
East Side and Brooklyn, we were delighted
to have native Lower East Sider, Roberto
Perez (Deputy Commissioner of the Mayor's
Community Affairs Unit), drop by for a visit!
The Unit works with organizations like ours
on advancing local issues. celebrating settlement
house leaders
We joined 37 other settlement houses
in honoring "New Yorkers Who Make A
Difference" at United Neighborhood
Houses' Annual Benefit, which included
a heartfelt send‐off to UNH's longtime
Executive Director Nancy Wackstein.
hanging with the Wonder
Women of Brooklyn
We met with Deputy Borough President
Diana Reyna to discuss our Brooklyn
services and expansion plans. As a native
Brooklynite and a former City Council
Member, we are lucky to have her as a
generous supporter of our work. creating a safer community
We're excited to be a part of the NYPD's
Community Partner Program, which will
help strengthen trust and our relationship
with neighborhood officers. Recruits from
the 7th Precinct and the Housing Bureau's
Police Service Area 4 stopped by to learn
about our work, and met SONYC Program
Director Maurice Rawls.
time is of the essence
We're improving our time keeping
method from traditional manual time
sheets to a new online system with the
installation of Biometric Time Clocks. This
exciting new upgrade will be fully
implemented at 23 sites by early 2016,
and will really help increase our
efficiency. JUMPing into success
I welcomed our new class of JUMP!
volunteers. These awesome young
professionals serve as mentors for our
youth, taking them on monthly trips that
expand horizons and foster imagination.
Their first trip was to an upstate farm for
hayrides and pumpkin picking as well as a
visit to Fresh Air Fund's Sharpe Reservation!
touring Jacob Riis
The team at Jacob Riis Houses gave me an
excellent tour of our Community Center
and Cornerstone program. Special shout
out to Program Director Luis Concepcion
for his dedication to meeting the needs of
our young learners and to Brandon
Palmer for keeping our participants safe!
all treats, no tricks
I got to meet Iron Man!
Giving out goodies to the young visitors from our Early Head Start and Head Start
classes really made my day, and got the rest
of our staff into the Halloween spirit too.
Check out more photos from their office‐to‐
office trick‐or‐treating adventure here. a welcoming reception
I received a warm welcome from our
board, partners, and supporters at the
lovely home of Ellen and Andy Celli
(Andy is one of our amazing board
members). It was a packed house, and I
felt lucky to be among so many great
community leaders committed to our
mission. Thanks to all who attended
and to the Celli's for hosting! Grand St. Settlement | 212.674.1740 | [email protected] |
WWW.GRANDSETTLEMENT.ORG
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Grand Street Settlement, Inc. | 80 Pitt Street | New York | NY | 10002