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October: Volunteer Partnership with the Brooklyn Oratory

by News and Events

This past summer, a group from the Brooklyn Oratory inquired about volunteer opportunities at Center for Family Life. This led to a beautiful partnership that we are excited to highlight in this month’s Stories from the Field! 

The Migrant Accompaniment program, operating under the Oratory’s Social Justice Action Committee, focuses on supporting recently arrived New Yorkers and was eager to engage with Brooklyn’s immigrant community.

They conducted a needs assessment through a series of interviews, surveys, and meetings—including with CFL’s Adult Employment program—to determine how their volunteering could be most effective. Ultimately, they decided to facilitate English conversation circles in partnership with our ESOL classes!

In Fiscal Year 2025, 223 students enrolled in our free English classes, making conversation circles an excellent addition to our programming.

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Snapshots from some of the conversation circle sessions!

For two and a half months, a dedicated group of 15 volunteers facilitated 4 English conversation circles weekly. The aim was to create a foundation of care through accessible and relevant conversations, making the experience comfortable for learners. 

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These sessions provided essential opportunities for learners to drive the discussions, fostering genuine connections among participants.

One volunteer remarked that “the conversations quickly morphed from the recommended topic of the day to what happened in people’s lives during the week, like a group of friends catching up”.

After breaking the ice, the sessions also evolved into a space for resource-sharing and mutual aid, where both volunteers and learners exchanged knowledge on topics like low-cost lunch options, neighborhood events, library assistance, and more.

Another volunteer noted “the most positive aspect for me was the enjoyment everyone in the group seemed to feel: there were serious explanations, and laughter, at each session”.

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Brooklyn Oratory volunteers celebrating their partnership with CFL Co-Executive Director Julia Jean-Francois and Adult Employment Program Director Maria Ferreira. 

We are so grateful to our partners at the Brooklyn Oratory and look forward to continuing our collaboration.

Thank you to all our supporters and volunteers, you make

Center for Family Life’s vital work possible!

Learn more about volunteering with Center for Family Life

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September: Summer Youth Employment Program

by News and EventsYouth and Community Development & School Partnerships

Every summer, Center for Family Life in Sunset Park coordinates paid work opportunities for youth aged 14 to 24 through the Department of Youth and Community Development’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). 

This critical program empowers young adults to explore future career paths, acquire essential job readiness skills, earn paychecks to support their families, and make a meaningful impact in their communities. 

We are incredibly proud of the 1,159 participants who generated close to $2,000,000 in earnings this summer! 

Among them, 318 Younger Youth participants, aged 14 to 15, engaged in Project-Based Learning (PBL) Groups. These groups collaboratively address community needs by creating projects focused on social justice or youth development. PBLs provide participants with opportunities to practice civic engagement and enhance their leadership skills.

This summer, PBL participants conducted five intergenerational workshops for over 100 elementary-aged students. One of these workshops was a carnival-style event at Sunset Park High School!

Other PBL participants worked with community-based organizations like Community Help in Park Slope (CHiPS) and City Meals on Wheels to address food insecurity through packaging and delivering meals.

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For our Older Youth participants, the SYEP experience begins before summer even starts!

In early June, hundreds of students attended CFL’s annual in-person Job Fair. With resumes in hand, they participated in informational interviews with a variety of worksites. Partner worksites included medical centers, political offices, arts organizations, and CFL’s own programs! This unique event helps young people discover opportunities that align with their career goals.

In total, 841 Older Youth participants, aged 16 to 24, worked at 83 different worksites across the South Brooklyn area.

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One of our newer SYEP worksites is Socceroof, an indoor space where soccer meets community through youth and adult programming. Participants got the chance to explore what a career in athletics would be like by supporting the classes, events, and pick-up games!

The Green-Wood Cemetery is a beloved worksite where SYEP participants help restore the 478-acre landmark while learning about the intersections of horticulture and history. This also included a cumulative research project presented to staff and parents.

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We even had our very own group of SYEP participants working in the Center for Family Life offices! These wonderful participants helped Community Service Staff with food vouchers, stocked the food pantry, observed benefit enrollment, and assisted with Maimonides and NYU health studies.

We extend our deepest gratitude to our partner worksites and our utmost congratulations to all SYEP participants for their amazing work! 

If you would like to support the Center for Family Life and this kind of programming, please consider making a donation today.

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Celebrating Community 2025: Honoring Co-Executive Director Julie Stein Brockway

by News and Events
PURCHASE TICKETS

You can purchase tickets for Celebrating Community by clicking the button above or by visiting this website. 

We are thrilled to announce that our annual Celebrating Community event will take place on October 21st from 6–8 PM at 501 Union in Brooklyn, NY 11231. 

Please join us in honoring Co-Executive Director Julie Stein Brockway before her retirement (or, in her words, “rewirement”) in December 2025. 

Together, we will celebrate Julie’s leadership over the past 43 years, including the founding of the nationally-recognized “Life Lines” Community Arts Project, her decades-long advocacy alongside community members for the creation of Sunset Park High School, and the growth of free, high-quality programs that today engage 8,000 youth and family members across 11 Sunset Park schools. 

Learn more about purchasing event tickets, placing a tribute ad, and/or donating!

Watch A Reflection on 40 Years | Life Lines Community Arts Project Documentary  to learn more about Julie’s work at CFLSP and within Sunset Park over the past four decades.

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Save the Date: The Extra Mile 2025

by News and EventsYouth and Community Development & School Partnerships
RSVP & PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

We are delighted to announce that we will be holding our annual staff recognition Extra Mile event in-person on Tuesday, June 10th, from 6-8pm at L’Wren in Sunset Park, Brooklyn!

Please join us here in Sunset Park to celebrate Center for Family Life’s “Life Lines” partnership with public schools, MS 136 and MS 821. Our unique collaboration engages students in interdisciplinary projects that blend academic subjects with the arts to build community in the classroom and enrich student learning.

We are grateful for this partnership and are excited to recognize the MS 136 and MS 821 principals and our Life Lines teaching artists. We look forward to celebrating decades of creative collaboration!

Watch our “A Reflection on 40 Years | Life Lines Community Arts Project Documentary” above to learn more about our partnership which has spanned four decades. 

RSVP & PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

You can purchase tickets for the event by clicking the button above or by visiting this website. 

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March: Tax Season

by Economic Well-being ProgramsNews and Events

For over twenty years, Center for Family Life has been providing free tax-filing assistance to our neighbors in Sunset Park via the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, and our usually busy tax season hasn’t shown any signs of slowing!

As a VITA site, CFL has certified volunteer and staff tax preparers on hand to assist those who are eligible for VITA in filing their taxes.

Juan Obando, CFL’s VITA Tax Manager, conducts extensive outreach each year to recruit volunteer tax preparers. In addition to recruiting via NYC Service and NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Juan and his tax team have successfully secured partnerships with Fordham University, Kingsborough Community College, NY Cares, and Royal Business Bank to solicit volunteers. All volunteers receive thorough tax-preparation trainings and must acquire their official IRS Tax Certification before working as tax preparers.

A client with Juan Obando

This year, we’ve been lucky to have fifty-seven tax preparers support us in filing nearly three thousand returns, yielding over four million dollars in refunds! Thank you to all our CFL staff and volunteers who help make this program possible. The funds our neighbors receive in returns can be crucial for them to make rent, pay bills, or buy groceries.

A tax preparer working with a client

Indeed, Juan has emphasized it is the ability to “help someone get the most money in a year, and hearing [our clients’] stories” which has been the most meaningful to him in his two decades of providing tax-free filing assistance professionally.

If you qualify for free tax preparation, we encourage you to make an appointment with us. More information on eligibility and appointments is outlined below.

Alternatively, if you have the means and are able to support our tax-filing assistance program, please consider donating to Center for Family Life today.

Interested in making an appointment?

In 2024, if your income was up to $65,000 as an individual — or up to $93,000 as a family — you are eligible for free tax filing services.

Appointments are available at CFL’s main office from 11am to 7pm on Mondays through Fridays, as well as on Saturdays from 9am to 4pm.

An appointment can also be made at our partner NYU Langone location — which is located on Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park — on Tuesdays through Thursdays between 12pm and 7pm.

Make an appointment with us today at either Center for Family Life’s main office or at our NYU Langone location. 

 
Filing and Self-Employed?

If you work for yourself as a freelancer, gig worker, or small business owner, you need to file taxes annually and make estimated payments quarterly.

Our tax preparers through our Self-Employed Tax Program (SETP) are here to help; book an appointment with someone from our team today.