The Lower Eastside Girls Club Commemorated the Opening of The Center for Wellbeing & Happiness, a Hub Transforming Self-Care into Community Care
The Center Officially Opened its Doors to the Community on Saturday, October 15, 2022
New York, New York – October 14th, 2022
On October 14th, 2022, the Lower Eastside Girls Club (LESGC) celebrated the long-awaited opening of their Center For Wellbeing & Happiness (CWBH) alongside NYC elected officials, staff, and supporters. The 5,000 sq. ft. space on Avenue D in the Lower East Side (adjacent to LESGC’s existing 35,000 sq. ft. facility) will provide wellness programming rooted in healing justice for all genders and generations, at no cost.
As Ebonie Simpson, LESGC Co-Executive Director, explained:
“We always knew that the success and wellbeing of our members is deeply connected to the success and wellbeing of her community…It was imperative that we deepen our efforts by expanding our mission to support not only the girl, but her family—from her baby brother to her abuela—and her entire community.”
The Center for Wellbeing & Happiness will serve as a wellness hub providing the space and opportunity for local organizations, expert practitioners, health-based city agencies and institutions, and community members, to connect, collaborate, and serve. CWBH robust offerings—including mindfulness, movement, nutrition, workforce certifications and trainings, community radio, arts and film, parenting and community support groups, early childhood education, wellness coaching, counseling, and more— holistically addresses the full spectrum of the social determinants of health.
Council Member Carlina Rivera said:
“The Lower East Side Girls Club changes the lives of young women through leadership training and mentorship opportunities. I congratulate the Girls Club on the launch of the Center for Wellbeing and Happiness which will be an anchor for our community to address challenges around self-care and mental health. I am proud to have helped secure $3 million to help make it possible. This space of innovation, wellbeing, happiness, and joy will be a national model for the rest of the country and to be even a small part of this means a lot to me.”
“There is no organization like the Lower Eastside Girls Club,” said Council Member Gale Brewer. “Their Center for Wellbeing and Happiness is a completely new idea, and I am excited to see a space filled with art, thought, commitment, and love.” Programs will be implemented in partnership with community practitioners and peer organizations. Partners include: We Speak NYC, University Settlement Families Thriving program, RISE Parent Advocacy program, GOLES, Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, Stacks + Joules, and Mama Glow doula training program, among others.
At the ribbon cutting ceremony on 10/15/22, Lower Eastside Girls Club staff and Board of Directors were joined by:
- Carlina Rivera, Council Member for New York City Council District 2
- Gale Brewer, New York City Council Member for New York City Council District 6
- Harvey Epstein, New York State Assembly Member
- Brad Lander, NYC Comptroller
- Keisha Sutton-James, Deputy Manhattan Borough President
- Kate MacKenzie, Executive Director, Mayor’s Office of Food Policy.
Other speakers included:
- Amalia Gomez Micone, Maestro Cares Foundation Board Member
- Taryn Bird, Senior Director for Social Impact, Kate Spade New York Foundation
- Latham Thomas, Founder of Mama Glow
- Jenna Valette, Girls Club Alum and Center Practitioner.
Other supporters in attendance included representatives of Saks Fifth Avenue Foundation, Maybelline New York, La Ligne, and Táche Pistachio Milk.
Mama Glow Founder and long-time partner of LESGC, Latham Thomas, said that CWBH is “a dream come to life…. a dream and a vision that something could be possible in our community, where people didn’t want to provide services or offer us wellness solutions—we created it for ourselves.“
Jenny Dembrow, LESGC Co-Executive Director emphasized:
“As a grassroots, community-based organization, we are rooted in radical imagination and harnessing the collective power of community. Lower East Side residents and organizations have historically taken care of themselves when the systems in place have failed them.”
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, LESGC recognized the significant flaws of the health system and disparities created by systemic injustice. In 2018, LESGC began a journey to create a dynamic space that could transform the idea of self-care into community care. The pandemic highlighted the critical need for such a space, but also led to significant construction delays and added expenses. Completing the project was a collective effort. Maestro Cares Board member Amalia Gomez Micone, pointed out: “This is what we are seeing here today, the work of a group of committed individuals, working together as a community, for the community.”
The CWBH initiative has been supported by: NYC Council Member Carlina Rivera, NYS Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, NYS Regional Economic Development Council, an Anonymous Donor, Maestro Cares Foundation(founded by Marc Anthony and Henry Cárdenas), Kate Spade New York Foundation, Tarsadia Foundation, Former Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Maybelline New York, The Leonard & Robert Weintraub Family Foundation, Saks Fifth Avenue Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Walentas Foundation, and the Jed Isaacs Memorial Fund.
CWBH was developed and designed in partnership with a pro-bono, women-led team from the global architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the global consulting, engineering and design firm Arup, and the mechanical engineering firm, JB&B. Pro-bono support for the CWBH launch also came from the branding firm, clarkmcdowall; public relations firm Optimist Consulting, and the Gjelina restaurant.
Following the ribbon cutting ceremony and opening reception, CWBH opened its doors for an open house on October 15th, inviting community members to walk through the space, interact with staff, learn about the various offerings, and enroll in programming. Jenna Valette, LESGC alum and LES wellness practitioner, observed that CWBH reflects an “understanding of the importance of health and its layers beyond the physical — bringing together community healers of different modalities, ages and experience […] I can’t wait to contribute and participate in this holistic communal approach to wellness and happiness.”
Video and stills: Link
About the Lower Eastside Girls Club
The Lower Eastside Girls Club (LESGC) supports young women and gender-expansive youth of color throughout New York City in leveraging their inner power to shape a better future for themselves, their community, and the world. Through free, year-round, innovative programming LESGC connects young people with their passions, celebrates their curiosity, and channels their creative energy. Together, we are building a just and equitable future filled with “Joy. Power. Possibility.”
Every year, hundreds of youth ages 10–23 visit our Center for Community facility where we offer after-school, weekend and summer programming in STEM, Arts, Digital Media, Sound, Wellness, Civic Engagement and Leadership. With the launch of the Center for Wellbeing & Happiness, Girls Club is expanding its mission and service population with a core belief that the wellbeing of our members is intimately connected to the wellbeing of her family, her community, and her world. CWBH will include Happiness Hall for movement classes, art exhibits and community gatherings; a Food Farmacy for nutritional education; WCRL: Where Community Radio Lives; the Wellbeing Lounge for support groups and workshops; Mind & Body Studio, an immersive space for movement and meditation; and Soul Space, for counseling and educational programming.
For More Information Contact:
Mia Montalvo, Communications Associate
mia.m@girlsclub.org
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