Back by Popular Demand: Goddard Riverside’s Good Neighbor Awards

Nominations are now being accepted for the Good Neighbor Awards, which will honor volunteers making a difference in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Harlem, East Harlem, or Yorkville.

The prizes, along with their festive awards night, the Neighbor to Neighbor Dinner, are returning to Goddard’s calendar after a few years’ hiatus. “Members of the community ask us about the Good Neighbor Awards on a regular basis,” said Goddard Riverside Executive Director Rod Jones. “We’re very pleased to bring them back and we encourage people to get their nominations in.”

The awards were launched in 2001 and continued annually until a few years ago. Past winners include:

· Winifred Armstrong for founding the Park West Neighborhood History Group;

· Pat Craddick for establishing ParentJobNet, which provided job training to public school parents;

· Namely Holguin, a high school student who coordinated blood drives;

· Evelyn Trowell, for her devotion to neighbors in her building and parishioners at Central Baptist Church;

· DOROT’s Friendly Visiting Program, which matches volunteers with older adults for regular visits;

· What a Neighborhood! for its musical work in the community;

· Hudson Warehouse Theater Company (now Hudson Classical Theater Company) for its theatrical programs.

“For me it was always one of the best times of the year because it connected us to each other and the community,” said LaKisha Williams of #DegreesNYC, who used to organize the awards and is helping put on this year’s edition. “It definitely strengthened the relationship between Goddard and the community.”

Nominations are due by May 31, 2022. A committee of past awardees will meet to choose the winners in June and they will be announced at a celebratory event in July.

Know someone who deserves recognition for their role in the community? Submit your nomination here or go to goddard.org/neighbor.