Reverend Linnette C Williamson Memorial Park Association

Public Elementary School Library and STEM Lab: We are working with the leadership in a New York City public elementary school in Harlem to increase the value of the library as an educational and learning resource. This will benefit all of the 200+ students. According to school officials, 93% of the children are from low-income Black and Hispanic families. 42% of the students have learning disabilities requiring increased attention. The public school system lacks adequate funding for the library. We raised 100% of the funds to upgrade the school library. So far, the school leadership has requested and received, thanks to our generous funders, books, electronic devices, and furniture for the library. There is also a plan for the school to build a STEM Lab (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). All of the funds have been raised for the Lab. The volunteers in our nonprofit organization have long been committed to improving the educational experience for Harlem children. During every summer for 23 consecutive years from 1997 to 2019, we hired professional staff to work with Harlem children from low-income families to help satisfy educational needs. The 20 to 25 children each summer received one-on-one literacy training to improve their reading, writing, and arithmetic skills. We retained the services of The Bank Street College of Education, one of the premier educational institutions training teachers for the public and private schools. Bank Street worked with our program staff in drafting a metrics regimen to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum on the children's literacy skills. Field trips of cultural and educational value were a major part of the program. Unfortunately, the COVID epidemic of 2020 and after plus other issues ended these services in 2019.

Homeless Families in Harlem Domestic Violence Shelter: We supported families living in a domestic violence shelter for three consecutive years (the fourth year will take place in 2025). Safe Horizon, "the largest victim services nonprofit organization in the United States," provided services in the shelter "to victims of abuse and violent crime." Our nonprofit organization supplemented the shelter services by assigning a spending budget for the low-income families. They shopped in a department store and placed the items selected on layaway for our nonprofit to cover the cost thanks to donations from our generous funders. The range and quantity of merchandise chosen by the families improved the quality of their lives. The program served on average 48 families: 48 single parents and 114 children. The following are examples from 2023 of some of the items selected by the families: 451 pairs of socks; 180 blouses, shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts, and T-shirts; 418 underwear garments; 162 jogging outfits, leggings, pants, shorts, and slacks; 108 coats, hoodies, jackets, and windbreakers; 164 cooking equipment, bowls, plates, and utensils (each family within the shelter lives in a separate apartment containing kitchen, bedrooms, bath, etc.); 98 pairs of shoes; and 84 bedding/linens, blankets, pillows, towels, and wash cloths. We have also financed improvements to the children's activity room for all the young people in the shelter. Please Note: We raised revenue in 2024 for services in 2025.