News and Events Archives - Page 6 of 14

Our school-based staff speakers! From left to right: Taide Acevedo, Stephanie Ruiz, Shanice Peters, Johnny Tapia, and Andy Li

The Extra Mile 2023

July 5, 2023

On June 7th, we celebrated our incredible school-based staff and leaders-in-training at our annual Extra Mile event! We are so glad that our guests were able to hear the unique experiences of these outstanding young adults and to appreciate their journey along our “ladder of leadership.”

Read below to learn about our school-based staff members’ journeys up the ladder!

Taide Acevedo: Taide was born and raised in Sunset Park, starting her journey with CFL as a 5-year-old participant in the afterschool program at

PS 503/506. As a teen, Taide started volunteering her time at PS 503/506 and joined the Counselor-in-Training Program. Later, she graduated from Sunset Park High School, the first public high school in the neighborhood, and climbed just about every rung of leadership in the school-based programs. Taide is now the Program Director at PS 971 and has a MSW from Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College.

Andy Li: Andy is a junior at Telecommunications High School. He is a graduate of Sunset Park Prep (M.S. 821), where he participated in the “Life Lines” program for all three years. Andy has been a Leader-in-Training (LIT) since 10th grade and still participates in the Life Lines high school program.

Shanice Peters: Shanice was part of the first graduating class from Sunset Park High School where she spent all four years involved in the Life Lines program by participating in their performing arts troupes. Throughout her time at CFL, she has been a participant, group leader, high school advisor, LIT supervisor, an assistant and director of the Life Lines Summer Arts Camp, and a Program Coordinator for Life Lines. Shanice is now the Program Director at MS 136 and holds a MSW from Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service.

Stephanie Ruiz: Over the years, Stephanie has climbed up the ladder of leadership in the school-based programs including office aid, assistant group leader, group leader, CIT coordinator, high school advisor, and activity specialist. Stephanie is now the PS 169 Co-Director, has her BSW, and is attending Hunter College to obtain her MSW!

Johnny Tapia: Johnny started CFL in 2015 as a Life Lines group leader. He has also been a high school advisor, LIT supervisor, parent liaison, activity specialist, CIT supervisor, and an AmeriCorps supervisor. This summer, Johnny has been promoted to Program Coordinator and will co-lead the PS 94 program.

Thank you to our Board of Directors, esteemed guests NY City Councilwoman Alexa Aviles and Congressional Field Representative Mayra Molina from the office of Congressman Dan Goldman, along with CFL staff members and all of those who attended and supported our special event. We are so proud of our young leaders and are excited to see them continue to grow!

June: BrightlyⓇ Launches in Philadelphia

June 30, 2023

by Kathleen Lion Economic Well-being Programs News and Events

BrightlyⓇ, the first worker-owned cleaning cooperative franchise in the United States, was launched in 2018 with enterprise incubation support from Center for Family Life in Sunset Park. Since then, CFL’s Cooperative Development Program (CDP) has supported Brightly’s expansion to five successful franchise outlets in New York City. We are thrilled that this month we were able to celebrate the launch of BrightlyⓇ South Philly, the sixth cooperative outlet in the BrightlyⓇ franchise and the first launched outside of New York! The Philadelphia expansion demonstrates the scalable impact of this powerful model that brings opportunity to domestic workers in the cleaning industry.

The cleaning franchise provides low-income immigrant workers with the opportunity to receive a fair and livable wage and to avoid becoming subject to the wage exploitation that so many domestic workers face when attempting to negotiate prices and terms of work without any support. BrightlyⓇ provides workers with higher wages, stability, leadership roles and places them in control of the management and strategic growth planning for their business.

We are so grateful for grants provided by the WES Mariam Assefa Fund and the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation which enabled us to expand this incredible model outside of NYC, providing this business opportunity to even more low-income communities across the U.S. We are also very thankful for the Robin Hood Foundation for their support of this ground breaking work and for joining us at this celebratory launch. In partnership with the not-for-profit organization The Welcoming Center, BrightlyⓇ South Philly launched on June 2nd. At the launch party, which followed a year of trainings and preparation, new members shared their excitement and hopes for this new venture. New York City-based worker-owners joined the celebration and shared their congratulations with BrightlyⓇ Philly members. New Philadelphia members expressed feeling supported by those at the launch knowing that they can rely on their BrightlyⓇ colleagues in New York and Center for Family Life to be their trusted partners as they grow their business.

Karina Mongue, CFL’s Coop Developer shared how the launch of BrightlyⓇ South Philly demonstrates the reach that the franchise can have and how the launch was a culmination of CFL’s work to pilot innovative growth strategies. She shared how exciting it was to be a part of the dynamic and evolving cooperative franchise movement and stated that the expansion to Philadelphia is “just the beginning.”

At CFL, our Cooperative Development Program works to promote the mission of economic and social justice in partnership with worker-owners from communities across the U.S. The expansion of BrightlyⓇ and the values it stands for mirror our mission, and we could not be prouder that our Cooperative Development Program continues to grow and positively impact the lives of people in New York and beyond!

May: Life Lines Community Arts Project Presents “TOGETHER ON 40TH”

June 6, 2023

by Kathleen Lion News and Events Youth and Community Development & School Partnerships

“Life Lines” Community Arts Project is a free, nationally-recognized year- round arts and leadership program for youth, ages 10-21, that brings together the arts, education and social work to engage young people in group experiences that promote individual growth, encourage mutual aid, develop leadership and build community.

Each year, Life Lines presents an improvisational play that brings to life the struggles and vitality of young people and families in our diverse neighborhood. Although there is a skeletal outline of scenes, there is no written script for the final show. Instead, the characters play out their situations in improvised dialogue that changes from performance to performance.

For the spring show, participants share their ideas, feelings and experiences with staff, which are then integrated into original pieces for the production. Students build their dance, vocal and improvisational acting skills before participating in a three-day rehearsal retreat in February in upstate New York to develop core content for the show. A second three-day rehearsal retreat in April brings together the dances, songs, ensemble pieces, scenery and props created by all of the Life Lines Groups and Troupes. Finally, after three months of intense creative collaboration and rehearsal, participants are ready to perform their final show in six matinee and evening performances for school and community audiences!

In celebration of Life Lines 40th anniversary, “TOGETHER ON 40TH” presents a glimpse into a lively 40th Street apartment building in Brooklyn, home to the extended León family and a few other “chosen” family members. We meet the four adult León siblings, their teenage children, the building super and his son, a neighbor who just moved in, and an up-and-coming social media influencer. We follow their day-to-day struggles and triumphs during the course of a school year as they encounter economic stress, manage their fears and anxiety, and navigate life transitions while striving to stay connected to the people they love. Family and friends turn to imaginative worlds and places of the mind to find levity and to fortify themselves to face the future.

The scenes, songs, dances and fantastical departures from reality illustrate that relationships have the power to carry us through life’s challenges. From our building on 40th Street, we see how individuals and communities– both here in Sunset Park and the world over– are sustained, nurtured and strengthened by the bonds we share with each other.

We are thrilled that our performances reached 1600 middle and high school students and over 500 family and community members. We are deeply grateful to our participants, parents, family members, school and community partners for joining us for this momentous milestone and for reminding us…

“We are strengthened by each other,
We are strengthened by our care,
We are strengthened by the moments that we share.”
(lyrics from “I Will Be There” finale)

The Extra Mile

June 5, 2023

by Kathleen Lion News and Events

We are delighted to announce that we will be holding The Extra Mile event in-person and online on Wednesday June 7th, from 6-8pm at L’Wren in Sunset Park, Brooklyn!

Please join us here in Sunset Park and meet some of our amazing school-based staff leaders as we celebrate the strength of youth!

A hallmark of CFL’s program model is our ladder of leadership that provides meaningful roles and opportunities for young people and fosters long-term relationships that enrich our program environments. Participants build leadership skills in elementary school group experiences, move up into middle school service learning activities and then, in high school, become Counselors-in-Training (CITs) who serve as role models for younger children. CITs become our hiring pool of youth workers and group leaders who staff our elementary and middle school programs during their college years. Our ladder of leadership continues to recognize leadership potential and to promote capacity as group leaders move up to AmeriCorps members and Instructors. As staff progress through higher education and demonstrate increasing levels of competence, they advance to BA level Activity Specialists and then to Program Coordinators and MSW Program Directors!

Seventy Eight percent of our current school-based staff, including 10 of our Program Directors and Coordinators began as our participants, demonstrating the success of our ladder of leadership and ensuring that our programs are both responsive to and representative of the diverse community of Sunset Park.

We hope you will join us in celebrating our incredible school-based staff!

You can purchase tickets for the event by clicking the ticket link above or visiting our website centerforfamilylife.org.

We look forward to seeing you in-person or online!

Teachers and CFL Artists-in-Residence worked with students to incorporate math and ELA in the designing of a quilt

April: “Life Lines” Interdisciplinary Arts Projects

May 3, 2023

by Kathleen Lion News and Events Youth and Community Development & School Partnerships

At Center for Family Life in Sunset Park we emphasize the important role that the arts play in promoting skill development, creative expression, community-building and educational progress. We are proud to partner with MS 136/Charles O. Dewey and MS 821/Sunset Park Prep giving 6th grade students the opportunity to participate in the “Life Lines” Interdisciplinary Arts Projects which integrate the arts with social studies, science, math and/or ELA, fostering active participation and enthusiasm for learning.

During this program, which is funded in part by the New York State Council for the Arts (NYSCA), each 6th grade class participates in a 10-12 week-long project. Classes receive two Interdisciplinary Arts sessions per week facilitated by CFL teaching artists in partnership with MS teachers. Each class combines two academic subjects with two art forms (dance, theater, music and/or visual arts), resulting in unique projects that immerse students in an in-depth artistic process.

The primary objectives for the Interdisciplinary Arts Projects are for students to engage in group cooperation, develop communication and self-expression, try new activities and expand their art skills, create and perform a presentation and deepen their understanding of academic subjects through the arts.

Working in small groups, students develop skills as they create, compose and choreograph. They build a vocabulary to discuss, critique and communicate ideas and to learn to interpret art in a cultural and historical context. Students collaborate in designing and implementing each aspect of semester-long Interdisciplinary Arts Projects, in a process that promotes leadership and teamwork, engages students with diverse learning styles, reduces anxiety around learning and requires active participation.

To support students’ learning and their process, CFL artists and their teacher-partners meet weekly to map a framework of activities for each session that aligns with student-designed projects. In addition, programming, logistics and curriculum alignment are coordinated by MS principals and assistant principals in collaboration with CFL Interdisciplinary Project Partner coordinators.

Each project culminates in a presentation of students’ work exhibiting the broad scope of students’ learning to an invited audience of family members, school staff, artists, agency staff and community. Presentations are interactive and engage audience members in student-led demonstrations, gallery walks and through questions and answers. At the conclusion of each project, students, teachers and artists engage in self-assessment, peer feedback and program evaluation.

Jessica Mercado, a 6th grade math teacher at MS 821 and a former MS 136 student participated in the in-school program as a student. Of her experience as a child, Jessica said:

“I participated in CFL as a 6th grader. We learned about science through music and dance. MANY years later, I still remember the song/dance from that unit (it goes something like…”amoebas live in water and in soil”). As a kinesthetic learner, I benefited from movement. It was great! Now, I get to participate in the CFL as a 6th grade math teacher. My students get to learn about plotting coordinates through art and drama! CFL has been such a blessing to Sunset Park and I am thankful to play a small role in what they are doing.”

The “Life Lines” Interdisciplinary Arts Projects not only provide a hands-on approach to learning but are also an opportunity for students and teachers to get to know each other better and to work as a community. We are so grateful to our partners at MS 136 and MS 821 for collaborating with us to implement programming that is instrumental to youth development in Sunset Park.

Center for Family Life

Posts in category: News and Events

The Extra Mile 2023

June: BrightlyⓇ Launches in Philadelphia

May: Life Lines Community Arts Project Presents “TOGETHER ON 40TH”

The Extra Mile

April: “Life Lines” Interdisciplinary Arts Projects

Take Action

Contact