Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement's
Danish Cultural Exchange Program
The Danish Cultural Exchange Program
Do you remember when you received your first passport? The first time you took a trip abroad? Do you remember the first time you experienced a way of life different from your own? Please help give Riis Academy youth the opportunity to broaden their horizons by donating to Riis Settlement's 2015 Danish Cultural Exchange Program.
Kareem, Anfernee, Ashley, Serine, Jahnari and Mia are ready to go but they need your help today!
Our cultural youth exchange program gives six eligible Riis Academy teens, many residing in the public housing developments of Western Queens, NY, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stay with teens in Denmark and visit the town of Ribe. Ribe is the birthplace of our namesake, the Danish-American social reformer and photo-journalist Jacob A. Riis!
In the summer of 2014, six Danish youth journeyed to New York City where they were hosted by Riis Academy students at their homes in Long Island City, NY. This June we have selected some of our top students, Kareem, Anfernee, Ashley, Serine, Jahnari and Mia, to have the once in a life time opportunity to voyage abroad and be hosted by their Danish friends who visited them in New York last summer. Your generous contribution will help under served youth from the inner city travel abroad, in many cases for the first time. It will also help Riis Settlement continue to encourage cultural understanding between two diverse groups of adolescents in this youth exchange program which is now entering its ninth year. Help us today and make dreams come true!
Learn more about our Danish Cultural Exchange Program!
Who We Are
Since 1950, Riis Settlement has been based in New York City Housing Authority’s Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing development in the nation. We serve predominantly low-to-moderate income individuals and over 80 percent of our participants are NYCHA residents. Our mission is to build and strengthen under served communities in Western Queens and to act as a catalyst for change.
Riis Academy is the largest youth services provider in western Queens, serving over 1,000 youth in grades K-12 at seven campuses including two community centers and five public schools. We believe every child can achieve his/her goals
when given the opportunity to learn and grow in a supportive environment.
Learn more about Riis Settlement
-Riis Academy youth and their new friends from Denmark come together inside Riis Settlement's gymnasium.
