Welcome to Around the Settlement, our monthly blog post sharing a deeper look into all of the vital programs and services provided by Grand St. Settlement throughout the Lower East Side, Brooklyn, and The Bronx.

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Head Start East conference

Our Early Childhood team felt energized and inspired after a fruitful week at the Head Start East Conference! The team joined hundreds of esteemed early childhood professionals from over 30+ states and territories to discuss the challenges facing today's early childhood workforce and how to continue advancing health, education, and opportunity for families we serve. 

West Side Story on the Lower East Side

Something’s coming, something good...yes, it’s our Youth production of the hit Broadway musical West Side Story (school edition)! Our two casts under the direction of Kelly Ortiz brought the house down with their performances! Congratulations to the production team and cast of SONYC participants from the Rose Center, Cornelia Connelly Center, School for Global Leaders, and Transfiguration School on your dazzling productions! 

Thank you to Broadway Arts and Cornelia Connelly Center Theaters for your partnership in bringing the show to life!

Self-Care is Self-Love

Baruch Elder Services Team NORC hosted a Beauty Day unlike any other for our Seniors. With the guidance of Assisted Home Care volunteers, participants learned simple routines, like simple and proper skin care, the importance of hydration, and the benefits of drinking a soothing cup of antioxidant-rich mushroom coffee. Thank you to our volunteers for helping our Seniors experience the joy in taking care of themselves!

Honoring Women's History Month

Celebrating Women in the Community

A special shoutout to our Beacon Community Center team for putting together an incredibly successful Women’s History Month Event! The celebration featured a Sylvia Center-led workshop on creating hydrating matcha lip scrubs, a claw clip decorating station where attendees could personalize an essential haircare item, and a HerStory Board filled with the stories of the staff who organized the event. Delicious food from local women-owned businesses was served, and community members and partners donated items as exciting raffle prizes, making it a great way to wrap up this year’s Women’s History Month!

The Next Generation of Women Leaders

Grand Street Settlement is supporting the next generation of women leaders. Daniella, a distinguished senior at Juan Morel Campos Secondary School and a Grand Street participant, was recently awarded the esteemed Posse Scholarship! Daniella is a leader among her peers and served as Student Government Association Treasurer, alongside being deeply involved in Grand Street's programs. Whether she's volunteering for the school pantry, serving as a Peer Group Connection mentor, or participating in the City's workforce development initiatives, Daniella has made a meaningful and lasting impact on her school and community. Daniella will attend Lawrence University in the fall after receiving the prestigious Posse Scholarship, which is awarded to young, driven high-school leaders nominated by their schools and organizations. Nearly 17,000 students are nominated each year, with only around 900 scholars chosen! Congratulations, Daniella!

Honoring our Volunteers

Our Baruch Elder Services Team NORC hosted a joint Women’s Day and March Birthdays celebration, sponsored by Assisted Homecare. Along with the spirited energy of the festivities (complete with Macarena dancing and multilingual karaoke), Seniors also received adorable homemade pipecleaner sunflowers! We also honored one of our incredible volunteers and March-borne women, Mrs. M., for all her heartfelt contributions to the center. We’re grateful to have such joyful and dedicated volunteers who help make these meaningful events possible. 

On the Track and At the Museum

This month's JUMP field trips found some of our participants on the "racetrack" and others in the Liberty Science Center!

Big JUMP participants practiced their driving skills at RPM Raceway's indoor go-kart circuit (with a pit stop at the RPM arcade to round out the afternoon). Little JUMP bounced from the Liberty Science Center's VR dinosaur safari trail to its planetarium before ending on one of their favorite activities, the touch-tank featuring underwater creatures like the spiny sea urchins, slippery shellfish, and slimy snails!

Reading Around the World

Our Sunset Park Child & Family Center kids are hitting the books! As part of reflecting on the neighborhood’s predominantly Asian American and Pacific Islander community, students learned about the rich cultures of the Asian American diaspora while working on their reading skills. 

AmeriCorps Week

This month, we celebrated AmeriCorps Week, honoring the service of our AmeriCorps members and volunteers! Grand Street has provided AmeriCorps programs since its inception in 1993. AmeriCorps volunteers stationed with Grand Street engage in meaningful community service projects, whether they're tutoring and mentoring our youth, supporting our older adults programs, or helping keep New York's green spaces clean and vibrant.

The Rose Center Art Gallery

The marvelous Older Adults staff at The Rose Center organized a stunning art gallery at the site featuring the artistic creations of our Seniors. Participants have been working on their paintings all month and were thrilled to be featured in the exhibition. Congratulations to our artists on their fantastic showcase!

Early Head Start Orientation

The Rose Center’s Early Head Start program is getting ready to open for the community’s youngest learners! We hosted a Parent Orientation, during which families toured the center and learned more about the program. 

That's the Boba tea!

Local entrepreneur, founder of Food Craft NYC, and Boba tea connoisseur Aime Moslares-Aguirre hosted a hands-on boba (or bubble) tea making workshop! Youth participants across our programs were making their bubble tea from scratch while also learning about the history and cultural roots of the drink. Participants got to customize their drinks and take home bubble tea packets so they could make their own tasty and refreshing teas!

Inspiring the Younger Generation

Lyons SONYC middle schoolers led an inspirational and meaningful community-building experience at the Williamsburg Community Center. Older students read the heartwarming and important book Hair Love to Williamsburg participants. They then facilitated a thoughtful discussion about individuality, representation, and the importance of embracing people’s uniqueness with kindness and respect.

Pirouttes at Sunset Park

You’re never too young to learn how to plié! Sunset Park students put on their tutus to build balance and coordination skills while twirling, leaping, and dancing to their heart’s content. We’ll be sure to see them in a few years at the New York Ballet!

Smoothie-Making Day

Gowanus Community Center Youth are getting ready for warmer weather, and what better way to stay refreshed during hot days than with a delicious smoothie?  Participants learned about the nutritional benefits of fruit and how to make their own smoothies. Yum!

Graduating Art Therapy

Our Baruch Community Social Worker and Health Coach has been leading a series of community art therapy workshops for our Older Adults. Participants were encouraged to explore their creative instincts and express their emotions through the power of art. Seniors also enjoyed a delicious potluck during their art therapy graduation!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Young Dr. Seuss fans at Sunset Park honored one of the most iconic children’s book authors by dressing up as their favorite Seuss characters on his birthday. We think he’d like their celebration and that they used their imagination!

Creativity and Community at Gowanus

Gowanus Community Center participants are coming together for some creative crafts! Folks in the neighborhood enjoyed refreshing drinks and tasty bites while enjoying good conversation and some relaxing painting.

Artsy Marcy

Clay sculpting is all the rage nowadays, and it's no different at Marcy Community Center. Participants used their imagination to visualize what they wanted to sculpt that afternoon…before diving hands-first into the clay!

Baruch Tenant Association Meeting

The Baruch Senior Housing tenant meeting brought neighbors and staff together for a productive conversation. In collaboration, Baruch Residents and the BEST NORC team discussed ways to make the space feel more welcoming and brighter, where improvements can be made with building upgrades, and how to continue uplifting the community.