Greetings Riverdale friends and neighbors,
As a Riverdale resident for the last 19 years, I am so honored to have started, last month, as the new Executive Director of Riverdale Neighborhood House. RNH is a special place for me, for my family, for our community. It is a second home and second family for many of us.
The last two months at Neighborhood House were full of hustle and bustle on our campus on Mosholu Avenue and in our programs at IN-Tech Academy and RKA. There were so many highlights over the last two months for me, including:
We enrolled 60 kids in our after-school program and 100 kids in our early childhood center on the Mosholu campus with all the joy (and tears) that brings.
We enrolled over 300 middle and high schoolers in our teen programs across our IN-Tech, RKA, and Mosholu campus sites.
On September 9th, we had a magical Music in the Garden event. Over 200 members of our community listened to Nation Beat’s funky tunes and ate BBQ roasted on site.
The pool club ended in early September after a successful summer season, including the daily opening and our new early morning lap swim.
This week, we held our monthly food distribution and over 125 bags of food were distributed.
Our telephone reassurance program held a volunteer appreciation tea-party. Zenobia and the volunteer team are doing such important work. As many have documented, loneliness is a serious health risk and one that older members of our community experience disproportionately.
On Sunday October 16th, we held one of the biggest events we hold each year, our annual benefit. This year marks the 150th birthday of RNH, a remarkable achievement and we celebrated under the tent with community members, staff, and elected officials.
Our campuses have been abuzz with activity. And, November promises more:
Our Pickleballers’ will continue their Saturday morning games and our new Fall programs (Pilates, West African Dance, Tabata, Salsa, Basketball and more) are now underway
Our education and after-school programs for 3- to 18-year olds will continue with all the joyous noise that brings to our campuses.
Our Youth Internship Programs and Youth Market continues selling delicious, organic fruits and vegetables
My personal focus, for November, continues to be listening and learning. Listening to and learning from our staff and to community members like you, who I bump into in the parks, streets, and shops around our community. If you see me and you have ideas, stop me, you’ll find a friendly ear.