 t
ten years old, James Bynes has more or less grown
up at Goddard Riverside. So have his two older sisters.
Like Gabby and Samantha before him, James attended
Goddard Riverside’s Head
Start program from the time he was three years
old and now participates in the Children’s
After School Program, Swimming and Summer Day
Camp.
While Gabby and Samantha attend the Beacon program for teens, James
enjoys his weekday afternoons at the Children’s After School
Program. His favorite activity is Tumbling because it’s fun
and he likes “doing stunts.” Of all his school subjects,
James likes Math the best. When he grows up he wants to be either
a corrections officer, like his dad, or a youth worker, like the
staff he looks up to at Goddard Riverside.
James’ mom, Adelaida, has a hard time imagining life without
Goddard Riverside. Whether as a youth participant, staff member,
volunteer or parent, she has been involved with the community center
for 23 years – since she was 14 years old. Her mother has
also stayed involved over the years and now works in the kitchen
at Goddard Riverside’s Day Care Center. Even though Adelaida
moved her family to the Bronx, their involvement has been continuous.
Adelaida credits the youth program at Goddard Riverside with helping
her stay off drugs as a teenager, and she is grateful that her children
can be a part of the same supportive community. She said “a
sense of family” keeps her connected to Goddard Riverside.
“I remember when one of the youth workers came to see my first
baby when she was born,” she said. “He was such a big
guy he could hold her with one hand. I just know I can trust the
staff with my children’s lives. I hope Goddard Riverside is
still around when my kids have kids.”
James said the one thing people should know about Goddard Riverside
is that “it is a good place to be.”
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