Blog & News

Help a Child Thrive: Star Learning Center Seeks Volunteer Tutors

Goddard Riverside Community Center’s highly-regarded Star Learning Center is seeking volunteer tutors for the 2015-16 school year. “We have more kids than ever before who want tutoring, but we need volunteers to work with them,” said Director Deena Hellman. The program serves low-income students from across the city. Each tutor works one-on-one with a single […]

Summer Evening Programs Offer Positive Activities for Youth

Jonathan Oliver takes basketball seriously. It’s clear from his authentic Michael Jordan jersey, and from the way he rattles off the names of his favorite players. “Michael Jordan. Allen Iverson. Anthony Carmelo. Those three,” he said between games at Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center. “Oh, and Julius Erving!” Thanks to a grant from the New York […]

NYC Basketball Legend Felipe Lopez Shoots Hoops with Beacon Kids

Felipe Lopez knows something about success. As a college freshman, before playing a single minute of NCAA basketball, he was splashed across the cover of Sports Illustrated in his St. John’s uniform. When he graduated four years later en route to the NBA, he was the third-highest scorer in the university’s history. So when he […]

Former NBA Player Felipe Lopez to Star at Goddard Youth Basketball Clinic

Goddard Riverside Community Center is thrilled to welcome New York basketball legend Felipe Lopez to our Beacon youth program on Thursday. Lopez will share some advice – and some on-court moves – with young people in the program at an NBA Cares basketball clinic. Up to 100 youth will participate, and each will get a […]

Goddard Students Honored with Trip to White House

During a week like this, with the city facing its first heat wave of the summer, elders who can’t leave their homes are at risk. A call from a trusted friend can be a lifeline. Goddard Riverside Community Center’s Telephone Reassurance program provides just that. “It’s checking in on them to see what they need,” […]

Phone Calls Help Elders Get Through Hot Times

During a week like this, with the city facing its first heat wave of the summer, elders who can’t leave their homes are at risk. A call from a trusted friend can be a lifeline. Goddard Riverside Community Center’s Telephone Reassurance program provides just that. “It’s checking in on them to see what they need,” […]

The Sights and Sounds of Star Learning Center

My work day starts at 10 a.m. But my office really comes alive after 3 p.m. when the buzz of students and volunteers fill the nooks of our space, eager to begin. As the director of the Star Learning Center at Goddard Riverside, I have a front seat view to what blooms between tutors and students, […]

Volunteer: Opportunity and Impact

Remarkable and unexpected! That’s what I think about my volunteer experiences at Goddard Riverside Community Center.  When I walked into the doors more than twenty years ago, I had no idea that coming to buy cookbooks at the annual Book Fair would put me behind a table selling fiction the following year.  I did not […]

Access and Engagement Through Board Membership

How did I become a member of five NYC nonprofit boards? Given my social work background and a personal commitment to “doing good work”, I have always served on advisory committees. However, prior to the mid ‘80s, I had neither thought about board membership nor served on one. My board story began when our sons […]

When Clearing Walkways Means Caring for the Community

First thing in the morning, before many arrive and even some awake, these paths are cleared, salted and readied for those who begin their days at Goddard Riverside Community Center. To some, this may look like just a walkway, but for the maintenance and management team at Goddard, it represents commitment to our community. In […]