Unity Center Grows while Providing Opportunities
By: Hannah Kirk
CITY OF NEWBURGH, NY — Rose Rodriguez changed her family’s life when she began bringing her kids to the Newburgh Armory Unity Center (NUAC). Rodriguez’s daughter Chanel began playing chess at the NUAC, and it changed the course of her life. Now she travels all across the state competing in matches.
“Rodriguez and her kids are the model example of how impactful the unity center can be on a family,” said Robert Paglaior, director of education program management and grants.
Rodriguez is just one of the many parents who have taken advantage of the multitude of resources the NUAC offers to residents of the City of Newburgh by enrolling their children in center programs.
NUAC will enter its tenth year in 2020, and each year has been filled with a greater reach in the city. “The building went from small with 20 to 30 kids. Now we have over 500 kids,” said Paglaior.
The city of Newburgh has been working hard as a community to uplift itself from poverty and crime. The NAUC was created to fulfill the specific needs of residents and especially students of the city’s school district. Their mission statement states, “It is a place where community members of all ages may come together for educational, athletic, and civic opportunities, to engage with others and advance our community.” To make the change the NAUC wants to see in the community, they aim to promote overall civic unity, regardless of race, religion, and economic background.
The focus of their programs surrounds reading, health and wellness, and athletics. “When we began ten years ago, we only had a basketball court. Now in addition to the basketball court, we have an indoor soccer field, an all-purpose room, and classrooms,” said Paglaior.
The Saturday Morning Enrichment Program at NUAC is filled with a variety of programs that can meet any need of Newburgh residents, or provide a fun activity of children on the weekend. According to their website, there are writing, art, dancing, baseball, chemistry, criminal justice, chess, math, photography, and martial art classes, amongst many others. The programs offered are direct and say specifically what grade levels the classes are targeted to with the concentration, typically being Health & Wellness, Adult Education, and Youth Education.
Newburgh also has a strong immigrant population, and many residents are bilingual in Spanish, or only speak Spanish. Therefore, NAUC offers programs on information to become a naturalized citizen. They also offer programs for English as a second language, programs to acquire a GED, and a program to prepare residents to gain their citizenship.
“The community is very driven, parents in particular. The organization works with many collaborative partners to bring the best to the residents. It is clear that the community loves it because enrollment in the programs increases every week,” said Paglaior. Every year, NAUC averages a 30 percent increase in involvement.
The main struggle the NAUC faces is in adaptation to the increasing involvement. “Growing at the speed we are, it can be a challenge, but it is good. We have learned a lot of great things and the center is continuously getting better each year,” said Paglaio.
Another aspect of NAUC is its collaboration with other programs. They assist in enabling more organizations to begin their programs to improve the community. The facilities NAUC has is offered to other organizations as a space to conduct programs. Chessmates, the chess club at NUAC began when the Unity Center offered Matthew Tether, a resident of Newburgh, a home to organize his club, moving the location from outside a Baptist Church to the NUAC. Now that club can reach tens of kids, including Chanel.
This Chess Club in particular aims to strengthen the character of the players while educating them on the tools they can use mentally to help them be a success in other aspects of their life.
The NAUC has grown so much each year. I hope we continue to have such great responses and we can meet the wishes from the parents and the community,” said Paglaior.
Chanel often players with her friend, Nia Griffin, 13. While other kids are busy running around and yelling, the two girls remain focused on the game. According to an article by the Times Herald-Record that Paglaior referenced, “When asked who was winning, Griffin smiles and said, ‘It doesn’t matter who wins.’”
The Unity Center, and the Chess Club, in particular, enforce the idea of having fun and learning a new skill more than score and winning. “Chanel would cry when she lost games as a beginner. Now, Chanel is happy and bubbly when she reports that she beat an eighth-grader or a university student,” said Rodriquez to the Times Herald-Record.
“I’m [a} really happy mother that they have this. We are very blessed here,” said Rodriquez.
