Blog & News

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Goddard Thought Leaders Shape the Conversation

As the politicians we elected in November get ready to take office, they’re appointing transition teams to provide insight on the issues. Being on a transition team means having the chance to shape an elected leader’s philosophy and future policies. So we’re proud to say that Director of Advocacy and Organizing Larry Wood has been named to incoming Manhattan Borough President […]

Lawmakers and advocates, including Goddard Riverside Deputy Executive Director Susan Matloff-Nieves, look on as Governor Kathy Hochul signs the bill (Photo: Office of the Governor) 

Governor Visits Our Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center to Sign Housing Bill

Calling people experiencing homelessness “our brothers and sisters,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul visited our Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center on Friday to sign a bill increasing the value of state housing vouchers.   “Everyone deserves the dignity of a roof over their head, and I am proud to sign this legislation that will make that a reality for New Yorkers […]

Photo of a metal bowl of chopped green peppers. In the background, a woman wearing a hairnet and masks stacks meals ready for home delivery .

“It’s good food”: Isaacs Center Leads in Fight Against Hunger

It was a busy afternoon at Goddard Riverside’s strategic partner, the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center in Yorkville. In the Dining Room, Senior Center members were finishing up lunch. Kitchen staffers were hard at work making food for grab-and-go meals. In the common area next to the kitchen, a food pantry was underway, and community […]

Teaming up for a Joyous Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at Goddard is always a celebration of food and community—and this year the holiday joy was flowing on both sides of Central Park, thanks to our strategic partnership with the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center.  Goddard Executive Director Roderick Jones joined Isaacs Center Executive Director Gregory J. Morris on the Upper East Side to help dish up turkey and all the trimmings in the morning. Then they came to […]

Keeping the Lights On After School

What do young people like about After School? This week at our Beacon Program, they put it in writing.  “After School is important because kids need to make friends.” “After School is fun because you can meet friends and learn new games. Also you can go outside, and you can get snacks.” “What I like about After School is computer coding, because it’s fun […]

Goddard, Isaacs Center Gatherings Celebrate the Power of Community

Long-parted friends hugged and supporters toasted another year of community-building as Goddard and our strategic partner, the Isaacs Center, held our first in-person galas since the start of COVID.  Goddard’s Annual Gala at Monarch Rooftop on 35th Street featured panoramic views of the Empire State Building and city skyline. Guests watched a video featuring our Young People’s Chorus and a wrapup of this year’s challenges and landmarks […]

The covers of Pura's Cuentos and Children Under Fire displayed side by side on a tan background with a light green border

Social Justice Book Prize Winners Announced

Children Under Fire: An American Crisis and Pura’s Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories have won Goddard Riverside’s 2021 social justice book prizes.  Pura’s Cuentos, by Annette Bay Pimentel with illustrations by Magaly Morales [Harry N. Abrams], won the Goddard Riverside CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice. The book captures the exuberant spirit and passion of Pura Belpré: celebrated storyteller, author and folklorist, and the first Latina […]

Your Favorite Fall Events are Back!

Fall means events at Goddard Riverside: especially the Gala, Book Fair and Book Bash. Last year we took them online due to the COVID pandemic. Now they’re back in person, with measures designed to keep you safe.  Annual Gala: We’ve booked the Gala for Monday, October 18. This year’s Gala will take place at Monarch Rooftop, a spacious indoor/outdoor lounge bar with stunning views of the Empire State Building […]

A silver metal sign reading TOP Opportunities, on a black metal decorative fence, seen from below with a view of a sunlit brownstone and blue sky overhead

“I want them to know it’s possible”: a TOP Opportunities story

Nicole is a woman in her fifties, neatly dressed with a radiant smile. She currently works as a receptionist and soon will begin a public-facing job for a government agency.   She’s also been living with mental illness for almost two decades.   It started in the early 2000s when her great-grandmother, who had raised her like […]

Goddard Riverside Isaacs Center Strategic Alignment

A Partnership Years in the Making: Goddard Riverside and Isaacs Center

Two Historic Settlement Houses Announce Strategic Alignment  Goddard Riverside Executive Director Roderick Jones is New York City born and raised, but when he took over the leadership position here he was also the new kid on the block. He’d been the head of a settlement house in St. Louis for several years, and before that […]