News
 |
Mercy Center in 2016
12/22/2016
Mercy Center is a community center located in the poorest Congressional District in the US. It offers many programs and services to underprivileged families and help them to take charge of their future and pursue their goals for an improved quality of life. In 2016 Mercy Center served nearly 2,200 participants, ranging in age from one to a youthful 95.
Michael, Beverly and Jack Kazickas have been previously volunteering at the Mercy Center and Kazickas Family Foundation have been supporting it with pride. Stephen J. Stritch III, Mercy Center's Executive Director shares their accomplishments in 2016 and strategies to keep it strong. The need for free programs and services that improve lives continues to rise.
- In 2016 Mercy Center successfully competed to renew their NYS Office for New Americans Opportunity Center contract for 3 more years, and filed 210 Naturalization applications; since 2013 with Mercy Center's help, 154 participants have achieved citizenship.
- In 2016 Mercy Center enrolled 666 ESOL students; 527 completed the course and 99% graduated to the next level.
- Social Services staff assisted 186 individuals over 319 sessions with accessing public benefits and other resources.
- In Spring 2016 57 students sat for the high school equivalency diploma exam; 15 attained their diplomas, 35 passed at least one of five sections, and all students who did not attain their diplomas will be encouraged to continue their studies until they do.
- 100% of After School and Saturday reading programs youth participants were promoted to the next grade level at the end of the school year and 84% showed significant improvement in reading or math; 94% of participants responding to the Youth Feedback Survey stated that they intended to continue education beyond high school.
- 71 children in grades K-8, center's largest group ever, attended 5 week summer camp, where this year's theme, Iron Chef, integrated lessons about food and nutrition to teach children different aspects of the arts, sciences, history and film, all while having summer fun.
- The March 2016 graduation of the financial literacy class was attended by dignitaries including the Mexican Ambassador to the United States Sandra Fuentes-Berain, and the 2012 Mexican presidential candidate, Josefina Vazques Mota.
- In September 2016 the New York Yankees honored Mercy Center in an on-field ceremony for their contributions to the community as part of the Yankees's Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.
- The NYC Department of Youth and Community Development awarded amendments to two of four DYCD Adult Literacy grant contracts, increasing center's capacity to provide ESOL classes in 2017 to 200 more people per year.
Mr. Stritch emphasizes that building strong partnerships with other nonprofit service providers is a key strategy for enhancing and expanding services available. Another good strategy for building strong outreach in the community is to create and maintain strong "feeder" program that will draw participants in. To survive and strive, a nonprofit human services organization, such as Mercy Center, must remain relevant to the people it serves. From its inception, Mercy Center has always based its roster of programs and services upon the expressed needs and feedback of the community it serves.
"We are very grateful to the Kazickas Family Foundation for your renewed commitment to Mercy Center and for your support this past year which has helped make our programs so successful," concludes Mr. Stritch.
Photo: Courtesy of Mercy Center