Entertainment icon LL Cool J gave an inspiring talk to 100 teenagers today at the Pleasantville Cottage School which serves at-risk and vulnerable youth. In his speech to the rapt audience, he said, “You may come from a tough life, but you have to believe in yourself....
For 17-year-old Ari Klafter, who spent the last two summers volunteering at The Cottage Schools, it was simple: he felt that kids who didn’t have what he and his friends took for granted—a safe home, parents who cared for them, a familiar neighborhood to live...
Brooklyn Democracy Academy (BDA), a partnership between the New York City Department of Education and JCCA, is a transfer high school for students who have dropped out or fallen behind, giving them a second chance to earn their Regents diploma. The school provides...
Sonya, a personable and vivacious 16-year-old who is a participant in JCCA’s Bukharian Teen Lounge, an afterschool program helping immigrant teens integrate into American life while retaining their rich cultural heritage, hadn’t expected to have a summer internship in...
Brooklyn Democracy Academy is a transfer high school (a partnership with the Department of Education and JCCA), which supports older, under-credited students who have dropped out or fallen behind. It uses specially-trained Advocate Counselors who give the students the...
Finding a Place That was Safe - My Mentor Helped Me Create a New Life Arches, collaboration with the New York City Department of Probation, is a group mentoring program that helps 20 young adults (16-24 Some of them have been incarcerated for felonies and...
Unleashed is a social justice program that empowers adolescent girls to “recognize their power” by becoming informed about animal rights and welfare. Three girls from JCCA’s Brooklyn Foster Home Services recently participated in the program, along with young women...
Recently, JCCA recognized six special foster parents with Excellence in Foster Parenting Awards. These parents demonstrate skill and caring and work closely with JCCA and follow our family model. They establish positive relationships with the birth parents, serve as...
Kristen H., who is on the Autism Spectrum, and her mother, Mary, are great champions of JCCA’s Compass Project. This program for teens and young adults with learning differences and related disabilities helps youth plan for and make a successful transition from high...
Eustacia Cutler, internationally-renowned author, advocate and lecturer on autism and the mother of autism activist and animal scientist Temple Grandin, and Long Islanders Cindy and Paul Woldar of The Edwin and Shirley Woldar Family Foundation which funds programs for...