New Era Creative Space

In 2022, necs' community program impacted the lives of 614 children and youth, as well as hundreds of community members who attended in-person or virtual culminating performances. Necs provided 45 community programs focused on empowering participants, either to process and tell their stories through art or by enhancing relationships with themselves, others, and the world around them. The art of speaking and echoes of the future brought our children's theater collaborative and youth theater ensemble participants on a Creative journey of self-discovery. Engaging with moral situations through the dramatic arts challenged our students to think critically and creatively. In the spring of 2022, the necs youth theatre ensemble presented the final performance of echoes of the future on juneteenth at the hudson valley museum of contemporary art. In the summer of 2022, necs ran its signature nature connection program for the fourth year. Nature connection helps children develop empathy for the environment and cultivate innate positive qualities within themselves. The middle schoolers spent time at a longhaul farm in garrison, learning about sustainable living practices, food security, animal care, planting, and harvesting from a dedicated and loving group of farmers. They hiked, swam, learned to kayak and paddleboard, and created art using natural supplies. Students in this program begin to see themselves as stewards of the earth, a change that has profound implications. In july, the necs empowered girls group embarked on a service learning immersion trip to the gambia, west africa. In partnership with starfish international, eight of our girls learned from, listened to, and supported their gambian peers. They learned about gambian culture, facilitated mental health workshops, and built lifelong connections. Necs' community program provided meaningful paid work for 25 teaching artists/instructors and 3 local businesses, as well as 38,415 in tuition subsidies, discounts, and scholarships for participants. Necs trained 12 teachers and administrative staff in positive discipline, restorative justice, and culturally responsive teaching principles. These frameworks keep the dignity of each child at the forefront of necs programs and provide tools for building a culture of kindness, equality, and respect. This training is vital for our team as it recognizes and values the importance of racial and cultural diversity in learning.

Necs' organization program had a significant impact on more than 100 participants and offered meaningful employment opportunities for 2 teaching artists/instructors and three local businesses. Necs determined that location was a barrier to access at dunbar heights, an underserved public housing neighborhood in peekskill. In the spring of 2022, we collaborated with the peekskill housing authority to use the community room at dunbar heights to provide after-school programs. We contacted second chance foods, a local organization whose mission is to "elevate the health of people and the planet by recovering nutritious food before it goes to waste and delivering it to the tables of hungry families," to collaborate. Necs now provides free after-school programs three days a week, including a hot, nutritious meal alongside academic enrichment, arts programming, and character education in the neighborhood community room. Necs again was honored to be selected as a provider for the children's village whose mission is to help society's most vulnerable children so that they become educationally proficient, economically productive, and socially responsible members of their communities. The children's village believes that one strong adult relationship is a game changer for a child, particularly one in foster care. We appreciate the opportunity to impact a child's life for the better. We were honored to partner internationally with the organization 100cameras to offer a photography workshop for young women at starfish international in the gambia, west africa.

Necs' school program provided after-school programming in every school in the peekskill school district. Approximately 400 youth and families were impacted by these programs and this program provided meaningful work for 12 teaching artists. After-school offerings included stories around the world, dance movement, theater arts, and eco arts at the elementary level. Middle schoolers took part in afrobeats dance, the art of drawing, and youth improv theater.