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Children's Causes
The
After-School Corporation
Partially funded by George Soros's Open Society Institute, TASC
works to implement and improve after-school programs around New
York City and State.
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Artistic license: Kids get a head start on creativity with Art Start.
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All Stars Project, Inc
This performing arts organization for underprivileged youth holds frequent talent shows and productions. Volunteers can help recruit kids ages 5-25 from Harlem, Coney Island, Bedford-Stuyvesant and the South Bronx for auditions or help man the light and sound boards at the theater.
Art Start
Featuring hip-hop, graphic-design, and fine-arts
programs, Art Start targets low-income and homeless
youth. Volunteers, many of whom are professional
artists, lead classes in their area of expertise, from
drumming to short-story writing.
Association to Benefit Children
Among ABC's programs: Baked in the 'Hood, which " has created a thriving industry in East Harlem by producing, merchandising and delivering elegantly packaged baked goods as corporate and individual gifts."
Big Brothers Big Sisters
212-686-2042
Nearly a century old, Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC provides long-term
one-on-one mentoring for 7- to 17-year-old kids from single-parent families
and underserved communities. Donations go toward matching kids with
volunteers, who mentor children in schools and the juvenile-justice system
or are assigned "littles" to take on cultural, educational, and recreational
outings.
Camp Vacamas
Located in the foothills of New Jersey's Ramapo mountains less than
an hour from Manhattan, the camp offers an escape for kids from
low- to moderate-income families, with fees based according to need.
Children's Aid Society
212-949-4936
The Children's Aid
Society strives to improve the lives of the 120,000 families it serves annually
with recreation programs, academic tutoring, and medical resources.
Computers for Youth
Every two weeks, devote half your Saturday to teaching computer basics to students and parents of low-income, public middle schools in Canarsy and East Harlem (in December).
Fresh Youth Initiatives
A Washington Heights-based initiative to foster the community service spirit through programs with neighborhood kids.
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More than playing ball: New York Yankees centerfielder Bernie Williams reads to children
in Harlem RBI's REAL (Reading and Enrichment Academy for Learning) Program.
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Harlem RBI
Play ball: the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities project gives a uniform, a glove and a baseball or softball education to 350 boys and girls aged 7-18. The Web site notes that the Grays, the flagship team of the boys baseball program, have even appeared on a General Mills “Team Cheerios” cereal box.
Learning Leaders
Join this educational group’s Core Program and
conduct one-on-one or small-group in-school tutorials
(a minimum of two hours a week during the academic
year is required) for academically underperforming
kids, grades kindergarten through 12, at one of 850
participating public schools. Or opt for the Art Works
program—volunteers take third-graders to the
Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of
Art.
Lower Eastside Girls Club
The club fosters all kinds of activities for girls 8-18, including photography, book groups, and baking.
Make-a-Wish Foundation
516-944-6212
Make-a-Wish Foundation grants
wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses. The program was founded
22 years ago after a terminally ill boy in Arizona -- who dreamed of being a
state trooper -- inspired his community to get him a motorcycle and a tiny
uniform and arrange for him to spend one day on patrol.
Mentoring USA
From playing with younger kids to helping older kids shape their goals, this organization helps put role models in touch with youth. Read more.
New Yorkers for Children
The nonprofit arm of the city's Administration for Children's Services accepts both financial and in-kind donations, such as books and toys that can help foster children get through tough transitions.
PENCIL
646-638-0565
Established in 1995, PENCIL (Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in
Learning) is an educational
nonprofit that encourages the private sector to get involved in the city's
public schools. Their Principal for a Day program invites celebs and CEOs to
visit schools and create partnerships with them, like providing management
advice or starting scholarship funds. All proceeds target specific school
needs, ranging from library books to refurbished playgrounds.
Project Reach Youth
Serving neighborhoods in Brooklyn, PRY provides education, counseling, and youth leadership development programs to help low-income children and youth.
Safe Space
The former Center For Children + Families works to serve kids in neighborhoods with the highest rates of abuse, poverty, and other threats to young people.
Seeds of Peace
Donate $2,500 and send a teenager to the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Maine, where regular camp-like activities are supplemented by non-violent conflict resolution workshops. Foreign campers from regions of conflict join their American hosts.
Smaller donations welcome as well.
StreetSquash
Volunteers spend
one afternoon a week at the Harvard Club or Columbia
University teaching reading, math, and the like to
Harlem middle-school and high-school students,
followed by an hour of squash. (Volunteers can help
academically, athletically, or both.)
Student Sponsor Partners
SSP selects students from low-income families and
transfers them from high schools with low graduation
rates to schools with high ones (nineteen of the
twenty participating institutions are Catholic).
Sponsors pay an average of $2,200 toward the typical
yearly tuition of $4,200 per child and spend time with
the students four to six times a year. So-called Time
Sponsors can donate $250 and meet with a child
regularly.
Variety—the Children's Charity
212-760-2777
Kids' charities may not be able to create a carefree childhood, but they can
supply necessary aid and programs for the city's children in need. Variety
— the Children's Charity funds pediatric
services in inner-city hospitals, special-education programs, and
after-school activities.
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