2021 Thursday Club Beneficiary:

RSHM LIFE Center

About the RSHM LIFE Center

Founded in 1995 by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM), the LIFE Center’s mission is “to welcome the needy, especially women and children, and to create with them a culture which nurtures their human development.” The LIFE Center welcomes and serves people of all faiths and cultural traditions. They believe that “Learning Is For Everyone!” 

Since its founding, the LIFE Center has been a trusted community asset serving the needs of low income, non-English speaking immigrants. The families typically have incomes at or below the poverty level, and many are house cleaners, food service workers, landscapers, painters or work at other hourly jobs. In normal times, the LIFE Center offers after school programs, English classes, a parent and tot class for pre-school age children, summer camp, Saturday Kids Club, immigration legal services, advocacy services, and more. The programs the LIFE Center offers have evolved and expanded over the years as a result of the changing needs of the families they serve. This was never truer than when the COVID pandemic took hold in March 2020.  

Early on in the lockdown, when many parents lost their jobs or were without work for months the LIFE Center worked with local restaurants and the Rotary Club to distribute 12,000 prepared meals and almost 15,000 pounds of groceries and produce between March and June. When restrictions began to ease, the LIFE Center started a summer program for 37 children so parents could return to work. When school resumed with a hybrid model (in-person learning for 3 days, remote learning for 2 days) the LIFE Center initiated Learning Labs to support the children in grades 1-5 on their remote learning days. And now that students in Tarrytown have gone back to school full-time for in-person learning, the LIFE Center has once again made adjustments to their activities. They felt it was vital to work with all 72 of their students after school and so have reconfigured their building space and installed plastic barriers as needed in order to accommodate all their students. Their goal remains the same – ensuring that the students don’t lose ground academically under these extraordinary circumstances.

Students and staff are required to wear masks all day at the LIFE Center and all activities are carried out according to State health and safety guidelines. 

Plans for 2021 summer camp are starting to take shape and they will serve the maximum number of students possible, probably 60-65 children. Of course, all plans are subject to State requirements that can shift as they respond to ever-changing COVID conditions. 

For more information on the LIFE Center please visit their website at www.rshmlifecenter.org