Groundwork’s mission is to support young people living in high poverty urban communities as they develop their strengths, skills, talents and competencies through effective experiential learning and work programs.
We believe that young people can accomplish extraordinary things for their communities and themselves if they are given meaningful opportunities to perform, offered appropriate training and support and held to high standards. We believe that the right combination of education, support and empowerment helps families transform their lives and their communities.

Description and/or History:
Groundwork helps build powerful youth and powerful communities. We take a geographically-focused approach to working with youth and their families: we identify “campuses”--communities with high concentrations of young people living in poverty, typically public housing developments and the blocks that surround them. We then work with community members and institutions to provide high-quality educational programs and support services to a significant percentage of the children and families who live there. By reaching many children in a well-defined area and providing critical support to their families, Groundwork can positively impact the entire community.


In 2002, Richard Buery and Andrea Schorr co-founded Groundwork, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young people living in high poverty urban communities develop their strengths, skills, talents, and competencies through effective experiential learning and work programs.
Groundwork works primarily in and around three public housing projects in East New York. In each of those communities, Groundwork tries to develop a series of programs that can support a critical mass of children and families in those developments so that not only can it impact those young people directly, but hopefully, it can have an impact on the neighborhood.

Contact person: Sharon Johnson, Chief Volunteer Officer, (718) 346-2200 Ext. 143 or (347) 563-0670, (email)

Address:

692 Blake Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11207 (See a map)

Directions:

Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: #3 Train to Pennsylvania Avenue,   Walk distance (in minutes): 5 minutes   Nearest Bus Stop: B83 and B20, 2 minutes minute walk