Recent News Items

New York City will start using new voting machines in September 14th’s primary election.  Instead of pulling levers, voters will have to mark paper ballots with a special pen and then enter their ballots into a scanning machine.

Courtesy DelMundo/New York Daily News

Children from the BronxWorks summer camp and The Point were encouraged to dream big this summer when they participated in the Bronx Children’s Museum “Dream Big Initiative.”  Over five weeks, the children took inspiration from the life of Supreme Court Justice and native Bronxite Sonia Sotomayor.

Because of the intense heat this week, the city has opened cooling centers throughout the five boroughs.  Cooling centers are public places where air conditioning is available.  BronxWorks is hosting two cooling centers:

Mayor Bloomberg praised BronxWorks as he announced the preliminary results of the Opportunity NYC Family Rewards Program at a press conference held at the BronxWorks Community Center on March 30th.  The program, which was launched in 2007, is an experimental, privately funded initiative that provided cash incentives to low-income families for taking positive steps intended to lead them out of poverty.

BronxWorks encourages everyone who did not mail back their census forms to open their doors to Census Bureau enumerators this spring.  It is important that Bronx residents answer ten simple questions if the borough is to receive its fair share of federal resources.

On December 21, the BronxWorks Community Center held a drive to add people to the national bone marrow registry. The event was to support those who need a bone marrow transplant, including Jennifer Jones Austin, a 41 year-old mother of two who has leukemia.

Click here to read more.

Did you know that much of the new movie Precious was filmed at the BronxWorks Community Center at 1130 Grand Concourse? The social worker played by Mariah Carey has her cubicle in what is actually our Positive Living HIV/AIDS department.

On Friday, November 13th, our agency held a ribbon cutting ceremony for our new Administration Headquarters, where we also announced our new name BronxWorks.

On Friday, November 13th, the Citizens Advice Bureau announced that we are changing our name to BronxWorks.

It had become clear that over the course of our nearly 40-year history, we had outgrown our name:

• We don’t only help citizens
• We do a lot more than give advice
• The word “bureau” sounds like a government agency

So even though Citizens Advice Bureau has great historical value, it is time to choose a name that better represents what we are and what we do.

BronxWorks is a more accurate reflection of our purpose, our commitment to the borough, and our positive feelings about the Bronx.

Although our name has changed, our mission remains the same. We will still be the leading resource for Bronx residents who need senior centers, after-school and summer camp programs, employment help, HIV/AIDS services, immigrant assistance, eviction prevention, homeless services, benefits assistance, and more.

Click here to read the Bronx Times story.
Click here to read the Mount Hope Monitor story.
Click here to read the El Diario story.
Click here to read the New York Daily News story.

BronxWorks (at the time still named Citizens Advice Bureau) was named one of six finalists in the 2009 New York Times Company Nonprofit Excellence Awards competition. The awards honor outstanding management practices and innovation by New York City area nonprofits. The competition involved an extensive three-step judging process, including two stages of written applications and a site visit. Our agency was cited for its strengths including focus on mission, responsiveness to the community, and financial management. The award ceremony was held on June 18 at the Times Center in Manhattan.

Above: Jack Rosenthal (left), President of the New York Times Company Foundation, interviews BronxWorks Executive Director Carolyn McLaughlin and Board Member Gordon Campbell about nonprofit management.