Youth Services
Afterschool
From as early as kindergarten, ABC ensures that each child becomes, and remains, positively focused and engaged in school. ABC’s afterschool program offers academic support, individualized tutoring, and a variety of sports, education enrichment, and extra-curricular classes for children 5 to 21. In the past, classes offered included gardening, coding, cooking, poetry, and photography, among other options.
Location
1841 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10035
Schedule
September to June
2:30 - 5:30pm Mondays through Thursdays
2:30 - 5pm on Fridays
How to apply
Children must be age 5 or older. Families experiencing homelessness, domestic violence, or who are under the Federal Poverty Line have priority enrollment.
Program Information
Academic help: Children of all ages receive individualized tutoring and homework help daily.
Youth Council: Youth take ownership of the program through a youth-led council. In recent years, they have organized around community volunteering, resume building, college preparation, voter registration, census completion, vaccination awareness, and public safety.
Sports activities: Youth have access to an exercise space called Roy’s Room as well as rotating sports classes which can include soccer, dance, martial arts, and yoga.
Clubs on Friday: Every Friday, the children chose a club based on their interests. They are not bound by age group, which creates opportunities for older kids to act as mentors and peer leaders for the younger kids.
How to Volunteer
Contact Information
Director of Youth Services: Jessica Casanova, jcasanova@a-b-c.org, 646 459 6175
Education Coordinator: Cardilla Kantasingh, ckantasingh@a-b-c.org, 646-459-6173
Camp Calvin
Camp Calvin, a restorative, fun-filled and therapeutic summer day camp, provides a safe alternative to the streets and gives children the time of their lives as they cement friendships and explore the wider world of museums, landmarks, and parks in New York City and beyond. Camp Calvin also provides the opportunity to forge lifelong friendships and develop academic skills designed to combat learning loss during the long summer months.
Location
1841 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10035
Schedule
First week of July to the second week of August
8:30 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday
How to apply
Priority is given to children enrolled in our afterschool program. If your child is not enrolled in the afterschool, you can join the Camp Calvin waitlist by filling out this form.
Program Information
Camp Calvin offers a packed day of activities, learning, and trips. Although these vary each year, in the past, activities have included soccer classes, gymnastics, STEM experiments, reading challenges, art classes, pottery, and more. Trips have included the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sky Zone, Dave and Busters, Alstede Farms for berry picking, Liberty Science Center, and Nickelodeon Universe.
How to Volunteer
Contact Information
Director of Youth Services: Jessica Casanova, jcasanova@a-b-c.org, 646 459 6175
Education Coordinator: Cardilla Kantasingh, ckantasingh@a-b-c.org, 646-459-6173
Study Buddies Connect
Study Buddies Connect (SBC) is a free and innovative virtual tutoring service for under-resourced school-aged children. Launched and developed with prescient vision and expertise by Peggy Schleiff and Gail Geronemus, it provides one-on-one academic support for students by pairing them with volunteer mentors who typically meet online for 30 minutes twice a week or an hour once a week to read books together, work on homework, and, for older students, complete college or scholarship applications.
Location
SBC staff are based at 1841 Park Avenue and some in-person tutoring and events are held in the building. However, the majority of programming and tutoring is virtual.
Program schedule
Tutors and students agree upon a time that makes sense for them, generally after school on weekdays.
How to apply
Our application form is here.
To be eligible for Study Buddies Connect:
Your child is at least in first grade and able to stay focused for at least 30 minutes in front of the computer screen.
Your child is struggling in one or more core subjects. (Struggling is defined as receiving 1-2 on a numeric scale, C-F on a grade scale, below 75 on a number scale).
Your child must reside in NYC (five boroughs).
Your family has a household income that qualifies you for public assistance programs, such as Child Health Plus, Children’s Medicaid, SNAP, free/ reduced lunch, or others.
You are committed to sharing all academic information that is necessary to ensure we can provide the best support for your child, including a report card and IEP.
Although we welcome children with IEPs into our program, SBC is staffed by volunteer teachers who do not necessarily have any formal training or experience in special education.
Program Information
Study Buddies Connect and our ABC community is working hard to meet our students’ needs by offering the following services:
Individualized Tutoring - One-on-one tutoring, which is designed to help our students with their literacy and math skills, as well as provide mentorship. Each buddy pair meets one to two times per week.
Math Pods - A learning group led by one tutor in which a group of three to five students will practice the fundamentals of mathematics twice a week.
Reading Screenings - We offer free reading screenings of students to better guide their parents and tutors on what the student should focus on in their reading development.
Phase II - Our highest achievers now move into a year-long Phase II program that includes life skills (executive functioning), time management, effective communication, and self-advocacy training. This prepares them for future success in school and life before they graduate from the program at the end of the year.
These initiatives are made possible by our local adult volunteers. Students can expect two to four sessions of academic tutoring each week. We also provide consistent involvement from our SBC staff in both our tutor’s efforts and in the lives of the families we work with.
How to Volunteer
Contact Information
Program Director: Guadalupe Nufio, studybuddies@a-b-c.org, 347 597 2989
Our Impact
86%
drop in the number of children reading far below grade expectations after participating in Study Buddies Connect last year
100%
of high school students graduate within four years, compared to a neighborhood average of under 70%
100%
of parents and guardians would recommend Study Buddies Connect and the Youth Services program to a friend