The New York Junior League’s (NYJL) Community Improvement Project (CIP) has selected Lantern Community Services and the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter as its 2022–2023 community partners. Each year, the NYJL’s CIP partners with Manhattan-based nonprofit organizations to renovate their facilities to increase their impact. Over the next eight months, CIP will lead NYJL volunteers in restoring the Lantern Community Services and Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter’s spaces by providing a trained team of volunteers to paint and renovate their spaces and donating a total of $70,000 in supplies and in-kind services for capital improvements, ultimately helping the organizations expand their capabilities for their constituents.
“We are thrilled that our Community Improvement Project (CIP) will once again work with two community partners, rather than one, for the second year in a row, in order to have the highest possible impact,” said NYJL President Serra Eken. “As homelessness continues to be an increasingly prominent challenge that many New Yorkers face in the wake of COVID-19, we are proud to partner with Lantern Community Services and the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter. I am excited to see the beautiful spaces that our volunteers will renovate and look forward to the ribbon-cutting ceremonies in 2023.”
Lantern Community Services’ Schafer Hall, located at 117 East 118th Street in East Harlem, is a 91-unit supportive housing site that houses formerly unhoused single adults, young adults exiting the foster care system, and low-income families. NYJL volunteers will upgrade the dining and community areas to foster vibrant spaces that support therapeutic programming for residents. With flexibility built into its design, these renovations will create new opportunities for counseling, culinary education, meditation, movement, and leisure.
Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter serves those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. CIP will renovate Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter’s Chance for Change, an outpatient substance-use treatment program, located at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church at 921 Madison Avenue. Chance for Change provides substance use treatment and mental health services for homeless or formerly homeless clients. NYJL volunteers will renovate the program’s community room and client lounge to create a welcoming, comfortable environment for guests to relax, gather, and meet with case workers.
To learn more about the NYJL and CIP, visit nyjl.org or email cip@nyjl.org.
About the New York Junior League
Since 1901, the New York Junior League (NYJL) has responded to New York City’s most pressing socioeconomic challenges. Powered by more than 2,300 women volunteers, the NYJL works with more than 60 community-based organizations to advance children’s social-emotional learning and to provide life skills programs to youth and adults who are navigating periods of difficult transition. Bringing their diverse experiences and talents, trained NYJL volunteers engage women and children in health, education, and arts workshops specially customized to their needs. The NYJL also advocates with state and city government for women- and children-centered policies and develops volunteers’ leadership skills for service in the NYJL and on other nonprofit boards, all while cultivating a community that reinforces women’s personal relationships and collective power as drivers of positive change.
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About Lantern Community Services
Founded in 1996, Lantern Community Services champions the independence and well-being of New Yorkers impacted by or threatened with homelessness. Across Lantern’s 19 supportive housing and shelter programs, person-centered programs bring residents and staff together to work towards the empowerment and independence of those they serve. Lantern’s passionate staff lead with empathy and provide their residents with meaningful opportunities that promote ongoing stability, independence, and quality of life.
About Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter
Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter (NCS) helps New Yorkers who have a history of homelessness, often compounded by mental illness or substance use, to achieve their highest level of independence. The organization was established in 1982 by faith and community leaders on Manhattan’s Upper East Side who believed that homelessness is the responsibility of the entire community. NCS provides New Yorkers who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with a home, a community, and access to the services that they need to thrive.
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