SIS staff

April: Support in Schools

by Family and Community SupportNews and Events

Center for Family Life’s Support in Schools (SIS) program is wrapping up its first successful year in Sunset Park!

SIS is a Center for Family Life school-based early support initiative in partnership with NYC’s Administration for Children’s Services. We’re honored to be one of eleven organizations across the five boroughs that provides family counseling and case management services inside schools.  

Our SIS teams — counselors, advocates, and benefit specialists — partner closely with DOE staff and CFL afterschool programs to identify students facing social, emotional, or academic challenges, and work to stabilize and strengthen families. 

SIS has already accomplished so much within its first year in 10 partner schools throughout Districts 15 and 20. Over 130 families have received emotional wellness and trauma-informed support from our Spanish and Mandarin-speaking counselors, and 40 families have gained access to vital economic support services through our bilingual benefit specialists.  

By serving as a bridge connecting families from schools within Districts 15 and 20 to CFL’s main office, SIS has also introduced neighbors to the full range of resources available to them via CFL — including ESOL classes or fresh produce through our food pantry.

                                                        Celebrating care closets in District 20

Each of our five schools in District 20 now has a fully stocked “care closet” with clothing, hygiene items, food, school supplies, laundry detergent, and laundromat cards — available discreetly for any student or family in need.  

We are deeply grateful for the trust and support of our school communities and CFL’s Support in Schools. It is a privilege to continue to build upon the relationships that CFL’s afterschool programs have established in Sunset Park schools. Together, we are building a compassionate and capable team and bringing CFL’s vision to life: partnering with schools to empower families and help them thrive in Sunset Park. 

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Save the Date: The Extra Mile 2025

by News and EventsYouth and Community Development & School Partnerships
RSVP & PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

We are delighted to announce that we will be holding our annual staff recognition Extra Mile event in-person on Tuesday, June 10th, from 6-8pm at L’Wren in Sunset Park, Brooklyn!

Please join us here in Sunset Park to celebrate Center for Family Life’s “Life Lines” partnership with public schools, MS 136 and MS 821. Our unique collaboration engages students in interdisciplinary projects that blend academic subjects with the arts to build community in the classroom and enrich student learning.

We are grateful for this partnership and are excited to recognize the MS 136 and MS 821 principals and our Life Lines teaching artists. We look forward to celebrating decades of creative collaboration!

Watch our “A Reflection on 40 Years | Life Lines Community Arts Project Documentary” above to learn more about our partnership which has spanned four decades. 

RSVP & PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

You can purchase tickets for the event by clicking the button above or by visiting this website. 

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March: Tax Season

by Economic Well-being ProgramsNews and Events

For over twenty years, Center for Family Life has been providing free tax-filing assistance to our neighbors in Sunset Park via the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, and our usually busy tax season hasn’t shown any signs of slowing!

As a VITA site, CFL has certified volunteer and staff tax preparers on hand to assist those who are eligible for VITA in filing their taxes.

Juan Obando, CFL’s VITA Tax Manager, conducts extensive outreach each year to recruit volunteer tax preparers. In addition to recruiting via NYC Service and NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Juan and his tax team have successfully secured partnerships with Fordham University, Kingsborough Community College, NY Cares, and Royal Business Bank to solicit volunteers. All volunteers receive thorough tax-preparation trainings and must acquire their official IRS Tax Certification before working as tax preparers.

A client with Juan Obando

This year, we’ve been lucky to have fifty-seven tax preparers support us in filing nearly three thousand returns, yielding over four million dollars in refunds! Thank you to all our CFL staff and volunteers who help make this program possible. The funds our neighbors receive in returns can be crucial for them to make rent, pay bills, or buy groceries.

A tax preparer working with a client

Indeed, Juan has emphasized it is the ability to “help someone get the most money in a year, and hearing [our clients’] stories” which has been the most meaningful to him in his two decades of providing tax-free filing assistance professionally.

If you qualify for free tax preparation, we encourage you to make an appointment with us. More information on eligibility and appointments is outlined below.

Alternatively, if you have the means and are able to support our tax-filing assistance program, please consider donating to Center for Family Life today.

Interested in making an appointment?

In 2024, if your income was up to $65,000 as an individual — or up to $93,000 as a family — you are eligible for free tax filing services.

Appointments are available at CFL’s main office from 11am to 7pm on Mondays through Fridays, as well as on Saturdays from 9am to 4pm.

An appointment can also be made at our partner NYU Langone location — which is located on Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park — on Tuesdays through Thursdays between 12pm and 7pm.

Make an appointment with us today at either Center for Family Life’s main office or at our NYU Langone location. 

 
Filing and Self-Employed?

If you work for yourself as a freelancer, gig worker, or small business owner, you need to file taxes annually and make estimated payments quarterly.

Our tax preparers through our Self-Employed Tax Program (SETP) are here to help; book an appointment with someone from our team today.

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February: College, Career & Community Building Day

by News and EventsYouth and Community Development & School Partnerships

On February 6th, 2025, Center for Family Life hosted our 16th annual College, Career & Community-Building (CCC) Day at Sunset Park High School.

CCC Day provides 1300+ SPHS students of all grades with engaging and informative experiences to support their college and career readiness and to strengthen their relationships within the school community. This year’s CCC Day included college panels, college jeopardy, career conversations, and team building activities.

College Panels for 10th-12th graders featured 21 college students, most of whom were SPHS alumni. The panelists provided inspiration and personal anecdotes while answering questions from current SPHS students about their experiences in college.

College Jeopardy challenged teams of 9th graders to pool their current knowledge in a spirited game while introducing them to new information about the college application process.

Career Conversations engaged the entire SPHS student body in small group discussions with a record number of 86 volunteer career guests. Our guests introduced students to career options in law, health, entertainment and the arts, human services, and technology. We were so honored that five SPHS alumni joined us as career guests this year!

Hear what students learned from career conversations, in their own words:

          “There are a lot of unique jobs you can choose from.”

          “It is ok to not know what you are going to do after high school.” 

          “When you get to college, your career ideas might change, and that is ok.” 

          “Do something that makes you happy and you’re passionate about.”

Students were also refreshed by the career guests’ positive energy, noting:

          “It was great seeing how career guests genuinely enjoy their jobs.”

          “They highlighted the vast opportunity the world has to offer.” 

          “They asked questions and genuinely wanted to hear our opinions.” 

          “They gave REAL advice that was actually good.” 

Thank you again to our wonderful career guests, who braved traveling on a snowy morning in February to participate in CCC Day.

Community-Building in the gym brought out the fun spirit of SPHS students and teachers as they joyfully participated in small group challenges. Contagious laughter and cheering echoed through the halls and capped off an action-packed day at Sunset Park High School

We are grateful to the college panelists, career guests, students, and CFL and SPHS staff who made this year’s CCC Day so successful and special! 

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January: Celebrating Sunset Park’s Immigrant Community

by News and Events

 

This month, Center for Family Life lifts up the incredible energy, potential and accomplishments of our immigrant community members who have come to Brooklyn from countries around the world. Our neighbors in the community honor us with their trust and with their willingness to share their authentic selves. Whether they come to us to look for jobs, to learn about public benefits, to participate in our afterschool programs, or to find support to build strong and loving families, our neighbors teach all of us at Center for Family Life so many invaluable life lessons about resiliency, determination and the joy of actualizing one’s fullest potential. We are grateful beyond words for the partnership of our community members and for their willingness to share their life stories, accomplishments, and challenges with us.

The community members whom we serve have contributed so much to making Sunset Park a truly exceptional place to live and grow. Our very newest community members, working with our employment counselors, have found their path to success in hospitality, homecare agencies, food service, security, construction, and as bilingual teaching assistants. We are thrilled to have welcomed several to the staff of Center for Family Life!

Undaunted by learning a new language and undeterred by learning to navigate a huge and complex city, our participants have inspired pride in their families and neighbors with the work that they have chosen to do and the contribution they have chosen to make to this city.

This month we remember the wise counsel of the founders of Center for Family Life, and we submit that it is our honor and privilege to be given the opportunity to serve our neighbors. Our charge is to work in solidarity to encounter the grace, the dignity, and the inestimable beauty of all people as they make their way through their lives in community.

We continue our work with resolute determination and optimism, and we thank all who support our work for sharing their resources and encouragement as we draw strength and wisdom from fellowship with our neighbors.