#TGIF!

It’s something in the air. Here at Grand St. Settlement, we knew it was fall when our afterschool and early childhood programs settled into the rhythms of the school year. New classrooms, friends and teams have sprung up all over the place – we start this school year with twice as many youth program opportunities. We now partner with 11 NYC public schools. Check out our brand new map to see where we are.

THIS WEEK’S INSPIRATION

We celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Head Start – the early childhood education program that changed how America invests in education. See our photos on Facebook for your Friday dose of adorable.

Our Computer Clubhouse is turning out some awesome projects. Thanks to funders like Best Buy – who just awarded our Clubhouse a grant for more supplies! – our new 3D printer almost never stops running. Check out this robot created by one of our middle school students – or see the printer in action.

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

How ’bout them Mets?! While our own Executive Director is psyched to finally see the Cubs make the playoffs, we can’t help but be thrilled to see the Mets moving on in October baseball. Why? For every home run hit at Citi Field, Citi Bank makes a $2,000 donation to New York charities – including United Neighborhood Houses, the membership organization that supports settlement houses like ours.

The Essex Market is one of our favorite community fixtures, so are overjoyed that its vendors are being empowered to create a non-profit organization to take over management of the historic facility. We love this little market and all the wonders within it – hip hip!

Finally, we want to give big thanks to the local outlets who helped us get the word out about a brand new venture of ours. We can’t wait to welcome you to the Think Grand Cafe – the new social enterprise establishment we’re creating in partnership with Think Coffee in the new Essex Crossing development. Read on in The Lo-Down and DNA info for more about how we’re bringing a new model of youth opportunity to the Lower East Side in 2018.

Enjoy the weekend – we recommend finding some crunchy leaves and something with cinnamon!