Our Initiative
United Way of Westchester and Putnam
Helen Andrus Benedict Foundation
September 2011
Implementation
Starting in the Fall of 2010, our Communities For All Ages team gathered information via a series of focus groups and one-on-one conversations with community leaders. After identifying the key challenges and positive assets of New Rochelle (listed in Our Community section of this website), we chose Education and Lifelong Learning as our initiative's focus.
New Rochelle
is a
Community For All Ages
Eager to Teach, Eager to Learn, Eager to Grow
Since New Rochelleans have long valued education and its empowering benefits, the CFAA initiative in New Rochelle focuses on Lifelong Learning and Education as its vehicle to strengthen our community.
New Rochelle will be a better place for growing up and growing older when its residents are engaged and its institutions are collaborating.
Our residents will acquire new skills to better their lives while building relationships with fellow residents.
Our organizations will work more efficiently, and our future will be brighter, with engaged residents of all ages.
We will strengthen New Rochelle’s sense of community through education, making New Rochelle a safer, more vibrant place for growing up and growing older. We have identified four main strategies to meet these goals.
Lincoln Avenue Corridor and
Downtown New Rochelle
In year one, we will focus on the Lincoln Avenue Corridor and a .5 mile radius of the New Rochelle Public Library as our area of impact.
CAMPUS COURSES
Our campus course concept is designed to bring people of different backgrounds and ages together in various learning environments. Several different courses have already begun, and others will commence in the near future.
As the list below indicates, our learning environments are varied and involve many areas of learning opportunities:
Hugh A. Doyle Senior Center
Grand Friends: Friendly Visitor Program for Senior Citizens
Songcatchers, Inc.
Intergenerational choirs with Hugh A. Doyle Senior Center and Garito Manor
Shiloh Baptist Church
Skills For Life: Job Training
BethesdaCares
Yoga and Meditation
BethesdaCares
Cross-Cultural Crochet
New Rochelle Public Library
Connect with FirstFind: A Training Workshop for Trainers
Hugh A. Doyle Senior Center
Intergenerational Garden Club: The Hallen School
Bethesda Senior Ministries
Bridging the Gap through Storytelling: A Memoir
Bethesda Baptist Church
Family and Community Movie/Game Night Outreach program
Academic Pathways
Checkmate Chess Champs
We are currently creating one-on-one digital literacy classes at several locations in the Lincoln Avenue corridor.
LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
Using curriculum developed by CFAA’s national office, the multi-generational leadership team offers modules specific to the needs of New Rochelle’s community.
Leadership training and development maximizes productivity, shapes a positive culture and promotes harmony. CFAA’s intergenerational leadership training strengthens leadership in people of all ages, empowering young and old alike. From this training, graduates develop cross-age skills that build bridges and foster collaboration. CFAA training involves 18 hours for graduation.
WHY do it?
To build community.
To learn something new.
To break down organizational silos.
To bring people together.
Community gardening has long been one of CFAA's most successful means of bringing people together. In New Rochelle, we will provide programming in a community garden that serves as a community center without walls. The intentionality of our community building events will bridge age and cultural differences. Workshops and programs will be educational in nature, with focus on environmental stewardship, healthy eating, and specific gardening elements such as composting and native plants. Garden programming to be implemented starting in March, 2012.
New Rochelle Connects
In our assessment phase, we found an overwhelming need for New Rochelleans to feel that they are informed about the City’s offerings, specifically in relation to lifelong learning and volunteer opportunities. As a result, we are creating a database of opportunities for our residents to use.
