This article is presented courtesy of Friends of the High Line. For more information, visit https://www.thehighline.org/
Xavier Mission, Cambio Labs, and VISIONS at Selis Manor Receive a Total of $25,000 from the High Line’s Neighbor to Neighbor Fund to Provide Resources to Youth and Community on Manhattan’s West Side
New York, NY (February 18, 2025) — The High Line’s Neighbors Council has selected three local community-based organizations to receive a total of $25,000 in grants in support of vital wellbeing and support services making an impact on young people and adults in Chelsea. Xavier Mission, a local organization that operates a food pantry as well as provides resources for financial and other forms of stability, will receive $10,000. Cambio Labs, which offers tech-focused social entrepreneurship opportunities to young people, will receive $7,500. VISIONS at Selis Manor, an adapted center that provides services for youth and adults who are blind or visually impaired, will also receive $7,500.
The High Line’s Neighbors Council — a body of community members organized by Friends of the High Line to advise and collaborate with the nonprofit on its work to support and engage the neighborhoods surrounding the park — identified some of the most urgent concerns facing the community: addressing food and housing insecurity, youth development opportunities, and self-sufficiency resources for a diversity of abilities. The Neighbors Council chose to amplify and bolster the work that these locally rooted organizations are already doing to further their impact in addressing these concerns, recognizing the importance of existing comprehensive services that provide the conditions necessary for people of all ages to acquire greater agency and security, which in turn opens up their ability to more fully engage with the community.
Xavier Mission is an organization providing basic services as well as opportunities for empowerment and self-sufficiency to New Yorkers in need. Since 1983, Xavier Mission has welcomed, served, and empowered guests with dignity and respect. Today, Xavier Mission operates five community outreach programs that provide a continuum of services to those facing difficult times. Each individual program provides an opportunity for individuals to take a step towards achieving safety, stability, and self-sufficiency, and works in collaboration with their other programs to offer holistic care and support.
Cambio Labs creates educational programs and technology that transform students into founders of businesses and organizations driven by social and environmental missions. They partner with schools, youth organizations, nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies to create access to entrepreneurial education, employment opportunities, and generational wealth for underestimated youth and adults.
VISIONS at Selis Manor is an adapted center in Chelsea that offers an array of services for blind youth and adults. VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired is a nonprofit vision rehabilitation and social service organization founded in 1926. VISIONS’ purpose is to develop and implement individualized programs to assist people who are blind and visually impaired of all ages to lead independent and active lives, and to educate the public to understand their capabilities and needs.
The Neighbor to Neighbor Fund, a participatory grantmaking initiative first launched in 2021, is an initiative of the High Line Neighbors Council. Each year, the Neighbors Council works to identify critical community issues that the High Line can support through the fund. Over the past four years, the High Line’s Neighbor to Neighbor Fund has distributed over $80,000 dollars to local organizations and schools to address urgent community concerns.
In 2021, The first Neighbor to Neighbor Fund grant recipient was James Baldwin High School, in support of their Green Team paid internship program. The High Line Neighbor to Neighbor Fund grant recipients in 2022 were New Victory Theater/New 42 Youth Corps and Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen. In 2023, the Neighbors Council selected Chelsea public school Quest to Learn, the parent-organized PS11 Aid Foundation, and UnLocal, a New York City-based immigrant legal aid, education, and advocacy nonprofit, as recipients of the Neighbor to Neighbor Fund, in support of migrant families new to New York.
First formed in 2014 and relaunched in February 2021, the High Line Neighbors Council is a group of committed stakeholders who live, work, and study in Chelsea or on the West Side of Manhattan. The council is an intergenerational group that includes local residents, business owners, High Line Emerging Leaders fellows and alumni, and representatives from community-based partner organizations. The Neighbors Council provides an opportunity for the High Line to develop and maintain connections with community members, discuss ideas and insights that inform areas of focus, and collaborate on community-based initiatives.
ABOUT THE HIGH LINE
The High Line is both a nonprofit organization and a public park on the West Side of Manhattan. Through our work with communities on and off the High Line, we’re devoted to reimagining public spaces to create connected, healthy neighborhoods and cities. Built on a historic, elevated rail line, the High Line was always intended to be more than a park. You can walk through the gardens, view art, experience a performance, enjoy food or beverage, or connect with friends and neighbors—all while enjoying a unique perspective of New York City. Nearly 100% of our annual budget comes through donations. The High Line is owned by the City of New York and we operate under a license agreement with NYC Parks.
For more information, visit thehighline.org and follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram.
[High Line] MEDIA CONTACT
Janelle Grace | PR & Communications Manager | the High Line
646.774.2536 | janelle.grace@thehighline.org