Asian Americans are the fastest growing ethnic group in New York City, and they often face unique and difficult challenges, including an unfamiliar language and culture; poverty; and conflict between immigrant parents and American-raised children. The Child Center of NY’s Asian Outreach Program helps families handle these challenges by providing mental health screening, information, and counseling to low-income Asian American youth and their families.

The Child Center of NY took a big step toward providing integrated care when we partnered with Northwell Health in 2017. Now we’re taking things to a new level, thanks to a generous award from the Altman Foundation.

Every day is a celebration of the young child at The Child Center of NY, but during the annual Week of the Young Child, sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, our Head Start programs participate in a national observance to spotlight the needs of young children and their families — and how early childhood programs meet them. It’s a fun-filled week with a different daily theme and activities that children engage in with teachers, families, an

We are pleased to share the exciting news that The Child Center of NY has been awarded a federal grant to provide two new home-based Early Head Start (EHS) programs in Astoria and Woodside. These programs will serve 100 children from birth to age 3 and pregnant women, 50 in each community.

The scholars at August Martin High School sure know how to put on an event. Their Winter Arts Festival on January 8 featured percussion and dance performances set to the backdrop of culinary and fine arts presentations — and everyone in attendance was impressed by the diverse talents on display!

One of the things we’re proudest of at The Child Center of NY is instilling in young people that there are many avenues toward success, which they can find based on their own individual strengths. You can see this principle at work at August Martin High School, where The Child Center serves as lead CBO (community-based organization).

The Child Center of NY will be celebrating a huge and meaningful anniversary next month. This December marks the 20th anniversary of the agency’s Youth Development division. With dozens of sites and programs, ranging from afterschool services to alternative high schools and internships, YD serves 10,000 children and young adults annually, preparing them for adulthood with the skills, support, and confidence to compete and succeed at school and in life.

I am excited to announce that starting today, your year-end donation to The Child Center of NY will be worth even more — because our generous advisory board member Russell Carson will match what you give 1:3. Estefania and Ariana are two preschoolers who have suffered unimaginable tragedy and could desperately use your help.

Autumn is such a special time in New York City—especially for children. With the fall foliage, turning of the weather, and spirit of renewal and new beginnings, The Child Center of NY’s early childhood education and youth development programs approach the season as we do most things — with education, fun, and a commitment to connecting the two.

To celebrate afterschool programs and their vital role in the lives of children, families, and communities, the Afterschool Alliance hosted its 19th annual Lights On Afterschool event on October 25. The Child Center’s afterschool programs were happy to participate in true Child Center style, showcasing participants’ strengths, involving families, and spreading joy to the community.

“What good can a splash of color do in a community of gray? As Mira and her neighbors discover, more than you might ever imagine!”

September is Attendance Awareness Month, and there’s no better place to spotlight the importance of attendance — and attendance efforts — than August Martin High School in South Jamaica, Queens.

It’s been a year since the Redfern Cornerstone Community Center reopened after abruptly closing its doors the spring before. In a spirit of gratitude and in keeping with The Child Center’s emphasis on giving back, the theme this summer has been dubbed Redfern Plan.

A core principle of The Child Center of NY is that children learn best from relatable role models. Sometimes that takes the form of alumni sharing their journeys with current students.

The Child Center is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to help our children succeed in school. That’s why we’ve invested in efforts like in-school counseling and mentorship to ensure kids are socially and emotionally ready to learn.

As New Yorkers, we like to think of our city as one of the most progressive, where people of all walks of life are not only tolerated, but accepted and celebrated. It’s mostly true — New York is a great city that generally values its impressive diversity — but, sadly, it is also true that LGBTQ youth, even here, experience higher rates of isolation, depression, and suicide, in some communities more than others.

Last week, we began the campaign for Far Rockaway’s Redfern Cornerstone Community Center, which closed abruptly last year. I’m from the Far Rockaway community — grew up here, went to school here, and now serve as Director of the Cornerstone program.

When people hear the term “afterschool program,” they tend to think, “supervision.” But The Child Center of NY’s afterschool programs offer way more than a watchful eye.

The whole nation, it seems, has been in mourning these past few weeks due to gun violence. Here in our own community of the Rockaways, the heartbreak has been intensely personal, as we have lost two 15-year-old boys, Trevor Rhudd and Youssef Soliman, in the past two months to senseless gun violence.

At The Child Center of NY, we are constantly inspired by the creativity of the children in the communities we serve. That’s why we decided to mark the agency’s 65th anniversary year with a campaign to celebrate the artwork of students in our youth development and early childhood education programs.