The Neighborhood Center #980
The mission of The Neighborhood Center is to enrich the lives of individuals and families through cooperative opportunities, resources, and advocacy which embrace diversity, promote empowerment, and foster responsible citizenship.
The agency provides a full range of outreach, preventative, developmental and therapeutic human services for over 20,000 individuals in the local and surrounding communities - a majority are children and their families. Through its sustained pattern of activities that benefit children, families and the community, The Neighborhood Center, Inc. continues to advance in our enduring mission of truly "human" service.
The Neighborhood Center is currently fundraising for and outdoor play space for our school age children and teen after school programs. Built in 1995, the current playground equipment is more than 20 years old, providing a limited range of activities. A wooden structure is surrounded by wood chip impact surfacing and a small amount of grass. Originally, there was a large, asphalt area with two basketball hoops and a space to play ‘four square’, and a swing set. There is a large sandbox, however, it is ten years old, and does not meet the needs of the children. Aside from replacement of ground cover and the addition of the sandbox, the structure has not been updated, renovated, or improved. During the building renovations for phases one through three of the Campus Master Plan Project, the swing set was removed as it was no longer in use due to safety concerns, the ‘four square’ area had to be torn out and the basketball court blocked off.
Children need to be active every day in order to develop appropriately. Funds will be used to enhance and remodel the existing play space for children. It has become increasingly difficult to keep expenses low while continuing to provide quality services to our most vulnerable population. The cost of replacing outdated equipment, providing appropriate ground cover that meets safety standards established by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services Day Care Licensing regulations and providing children with materials they need is prohibitive to our agency. It is extremely expensive to provide a safe playground with updated equipment. For our most recent playground, fundraising efforts took over three years.
The project will involve providing a safe outdoor play space for children from their child care and Group Work Department. The Group Work Department offers programming for high risk and high needs children and families in and around the neighborhood. These include a free drop in after school program for youth ages five through 18; Project AIM (Achieve-Inspire-Motivate) for at-risk youth, their Kinship Caregivers Care Management Program. The new play space will include the original wooden structure, a new and safer basketball court and foursquare area, improved green space for running and team games, a water feature for hot summer days.
Fundraising Goal: $2,000
Contact info:
Jen Benn, Director of Development and Public Relations
The Neighborhood Center, Inc.
624 Elizabeth Street
Utica, NY 13501
Phone: (315) 272-2630