HCZ PRESIDENT/CEO GEOFFREY CANADAAgency Programs
Early Childhood
The Baby CollegeThe Three Year Old Journey
Harlem Gems
Elementary School After-school
Harlem PeacemakersMiddle School After-school
TRUCE Fitness and Nutrition CenterA Cut Above
High School After-school
TRUCE Arts & MediaEmployment and Technology Center
Learn to Earn
College
College Success OfficeFamily, Community, and Health
Community PrideSingle Stop
HCZ Asthma Initiative
Obesity Initiative
The Harlem Children's Zone Project
100 Blocks, One Bright Future
Called "one of the most ambitious social-service experiments of our time," by The New York Times, the Harlem Children's Zone® Project is a unique, holistic approach to rebuilding a community so that its children can stay on track through college and go on to the job market.
The goal is to create a "tipping point" in the neighborhood so that children are surrounded by an enriching environment of college-oriented peers and supportive adults, a counterweight to "the street" and a toxic popular culture that glorifies misogyny and anti-social behavior.
In January 2007, the Children's Zone® launched its Phase 3, expanding its comprehensive system of programs to nearly 100 blocks of Central Harlem.
The HCZ pipeline begins with The Baby College®, a series of workshops for parents of children ages 0-3. The pipeline goes on to include best-practice programs for children of every age through college. The network includes in-school, after-school, social-service, health and community-building programs.
For children to do well, their families have to do well. And for families, to do well, their community must do well. That is why HCZ works to strengthen families as well as empowering them to have a positive impact on their children's development.
HCZ also works to reweave the social fabric of Harlem, which has been torn apart by crime, drugs and decades of poverty.
The two fundamental principles of The Zone Project are to help kids as early in their lives as possible and to create a critical mass of adults around them who understand what it takes to help children succeed.
The HCZ Project began as a one-block pilot in the 1990s, then following a 10-year business plan, it expanded to 24 blocks and then 60 blocks. The goal is to serve 15,000 children and 7,000 adults by 2011.
The budget for the HCZ Project for fiscal year 2009 is over $40 million, costing an average of $3,500 per child.
Like all HCZ programs, those of the HCZ Project are provided to children and families absolutely free of charge, which is made possible by the support of people like you.
To support the HCZ Project, please click here.
To read the HCZ Project business plan, click here.
To read the HCZ Project White Paper, click here.
Early Childhood Programs
The Baby College®
The Baby College offers a nine-week parenting workshops to expectant parents and those raising a child up to three years old.
The Three Year Old Journey
The Three-Year-Old Journey works with parents of children who have won the HCZ Promise Academy charter school lottery. Held on Saturdays over several months, it teaches parents about their child's development, building language skills and parenting skills.Harlem Gems®
Harlem Gems is an all-day pre-kindergarten program that gets children ready to enter kindergarten. Classes have a 4:1 child-to-adult ratio, teach English, Spanish and French, and run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. HCZ runs three pre-kindergarten sites, serving over 250 children.
Elementary School Programs
Harlem Peacemakers
Harlem Peacemakers, funded in part by AmeriCorps, trains young people who are committed to making their neighborhoods safe for children and families. The agency has Peacemakers working as teaching assistants in seven public schools and the HCZ Promise Academy Charter School.
Middle School Programs
TRUCE Fitness and Nutrition Center
TRUCE Fitness and Nutrition Center offers free classes to children in karate, fitness and dance. Participants also learn about health and nutrition, as well as receiving regular academic assistance. The program is focused on developing middle school youth, grades 5-8. Click here to read more.
A Cut Above
A Cut Above is an after-school program that helps students in the critical, but difficult middle-school years. Supporting students who are not in the Promise Academy charter school, it provides academic help, leadership development, as well as high-school and college preparation.
High School Programs
TRUCE Arts & Media
TRUCE (The Renaissance University for Community Education) does youth development through the arts and media, working with youth in grades 9-12 on academic growth, career readiness as well as fostering media literacy and artistic ability.Employment and Technology Center
The Employment and Technology center teaches computer and job-related skills to teens and adults.
Learn to Earn
Learn to Earn is an after-school program that helps high school juniors and seniors improve their academic skills, as well as preparing them for college and the job market.
College Programs
The College Success Office
The College Success Office supports students who have graduated from high school and HCZ programs. It helps them get into the most-appropriate college, then assists them throughout their college years.Family, Community and Health Programs
Community Pride
Community Pride organizes tenant and block associations, helping many hundreds of tenants convert their city-owned buildings into tenant-owned co-ops.
Single Stop
Single Stop offers access to a wide variety of services - from counseling to financial advice to legal consultations - at several locations each week.The HCZ Asthma Initiative
The HCZ Asthma Initiative works closely with asthmatic children and their families so they can learn to manage the disease and lessen its effects.The Obesity Initiative
The Obesity Initiative is a multi-pronged program to help children and their families reverse the alarming trend toward obesity in the community and its health effects.