There is an active community presence and involvement in Morningside Heights to support the neighborhood and those in it. Morningside-alliance.org was created to support community groups by giving the community an online presence. The site allows people to look online for initiatives and find information regarding them. The site includes information ranging from children reading groups, teaching computer skills to adults to food stamp programs. The image below is what a community event looks like on Morningside-alliance.org. Everything is organized, neat, and all the information for the volunteers is listed.
Many of these community activities are led by religious organizations because of the strong religious presence in the area. For example, the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine actively seeks to help those in poverty through food stamp and weekly food kitchen programs. Bill Snayberker, an architectural guide for Saint John the Divine confirms the church’s role in the community ranging from activities such as clothes drop offs, food pantry, soup kitchen, to “unusual activities such as the blessing of the bicycles and blessing of the animals.”
Both events occur yearly and attract thousands of people who hope to receive a blessing from the church. People bring a large variation of animals ranging from pets and zoo animals. The largest animal was a elephant, but it died and now the largest animal is a camel.
Community Impact is a non-profit located at Columbia University, which assists people in the Harlem, Morningside Heights, and Washington Heights area. Their services include 27 different programs in area of youth, adult education, emergency services, and health & environment. Community Impact connects their volunteers with the residents in each community by partnering with more than 100 organizations within the three areas.
A security guard at St. Luke’s Hospital, Marco Rodriguez, said that his daughter participated in one of Columbia’s youth programs. He recalled that his daughter enjoyed the program and had a lot of fun. His daughter’s elementary school is located on W 93rd street, which is outside for Morningside Heights. It is likely the elementary school program was meant for the larger community rather than just Morningside Heights.
Works Cited:
“Morningside Heights Cookie Extravaganza.” Morningside Alliance. Web. 11 May 2014.
Roberts, Megan. “A Beastly Blessing: St. Francis Day at Manhattan’s St. John the Divine.” Atlas Obscura. 9 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 May 2014.
Zhang, Christian. “Bikes leave St. John’s with holy spokes.” Columbia Spectator. 22 Apr. 2013. Web. 11 May 2014.
