New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE)

About the New Immigrant Youth Initiative
NICE provides immigrant youth with after-school programming that takes into account their immigrant experience. In 2002 NICE partnered with the Academy for New Americans (I.S. 235) in Astoria to create the New Immigrant Youth Initiative, a program designed to promote leadership, intercultural relations and civic involvement amongst new immigrant students.
The after-school program known as Club NICE integrates field-trips, community-building workshops and academic enrichment to promote self-expression and leadership. For one class period every week, this specialized program provides the diverse youth group with the social skills to become active participants in the classroom and the civic process through self-designed projects, academic support, and team-building workshops.
The Youth Initiative Program serves approximately 70 students each year - all of whom are English-language learners and is primarily funded by the 21st Century Grant.

What do Students do through Club NICE?
Students explore the meaning of community building and civic participation through activities, art projects, field trips, guest speakers and community service projects. Through the Club, students identify challenges and opportunities for immigrant youth and immigrant communities through a series of exploratory and community building activities. In the second half of the term, students conceptualize, design and carry out their own community service project to issues that they themselves have identified. Some examples of past projects include:

• procuring and planning the first community garden in LIC
• designing and creating a mural on multiculturalism at I.S. 235
• creating a student Blog regarding gangs, language barriers and work opportunities
• producing 3 PSA which aired on Public Television
• participating in the Immigrant Youth Photo Project
• creating a immigrant youth zine

Club NICE engages new immigrant youth to become civically and socially conscious by:
==> Promoting their leadership potential by providing the space for dialogue, exchange ideas, self-reflection and action
==> Teaching specific media and communication skills, such as magazine production, PSA video production, blog production, art development
==> Exposing students to current events
==> Developing and appreciation for art and culture

For more information about the Immigrant Youth Initiative or NICE, please contact Valeria Treves, Executive Director, at 718.205.8796 or valeria.nynice@gmail.com