Our Community-Based Approach
Our hyper-focused, community-based approach is rooted in long-term relationships with trusted tenant leaders, educators, and community-based partners. These relationships allow us to identify families who are ready to take the next step in their educational journey—and who are seeking opportunities to help their children thrive.
As Off The Block evolves to focus on middle school students from NYCHA and other underserved communities, we are centering our work around those preparing for the SHSAT and other pathways to academic and career success. These students, often overlooked in broader interventions, are hungry for access, exposure, and guidance. We believe they represent a powerful point of leverage in the fight to break the cycle of poverty.
Through intentional partnerships with cultural, educational, and corporate institutions, we curate experiences that combine test preparation, career exploration, school choice guidance, and family engagement. These wraparound supports go beyond one test or one field trip—they help students chart a clearer, more confident path to their future.
We believe in early intervention and authentic community bonds. Our programs are rooted in mutual respect and character development, equipping students not just to imagine a brighter future—but to pursue it.
We are proud to partner with New York City Public Schools, local community organizations, and NYCHA housing developments as we deepen our work across the city—building authentic bonds and pathways to opportunity. With a sharper strategic focus, Off The Block is poised to make deeper, more measurable impact—and to share that model across other underserved communities in New York and beyond.
see it to be it.
1000+
Total Number
of Kids Impacted
23
Total Number
of Events Curated
What Sets Us Apart
Our core focus is experiential learning programs spanning the following event pillars
Nature & Outdoors
STEM
Health & Wellness
Arts & Culture
Financial Literacy & Leadership Development
Why Nature & Outdoors?
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The Nature Gap - People of color, families with children, and low-income communities are most likely to be deprived of the benefits that nature provides.
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Many underserved communities, are so insular, that most kids don’t have the opportunity to experience the majesty of the outdoors.
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Spending time in nature can build children’s confidence, while promoting curiosity, creativity and critical thinking; it is also linked with improved motor development lower obesity rates and myopia (nearsightedness) risk.
Why STEM?
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According to a study by the U.S. Department of Commerce, STEM occupations are growing at 6x the rate of other occupations, yet young people from underserved communities don’t have the same access to STEM Education.
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Creating informal STEM education opportunities within underserved areas and for underrepresented groups can reduce barriers, promote science literacy, and contribute to better representations in STEM careers.
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Off the Block curates educational, character- building and fun STEM-related events for the kids of the Taft Houses to instill a lifelong love of STEM and bridge the opportunity gap.
Why Health & Wellness
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Underserved populations are less likely to engage in sufficient moderate to vigorous physical activity, and are thus at increased risk of morbidity and mortality.
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Low-income and minority communities tend to have more convenience stores, which sell predominantly highly processed, energy- dense foods with little fresh produce. In addition, these same communities tend to have fewer supermarkets, which carry a greater variety of nutritious food, and often at a lower price.
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Exercise and healthy food access is critical to improve population health, including lower risk of heart disease, diabetes and childhood obesity, and to reduce social inequalities.
Why Arts & Culture?
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Exposure to the arts can help kids develop healthily in their relational and communication skills; Arts experiences positively impact children’s emotional, social, academic outcomes and enhanced compassion for others.
Why Financial Literacy?
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A persistent financial literacy gap exists in the United States. Young people that identify as Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino from low-income households remain more vulnerable to the consequences of low financial literacy than other Americans.
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Low financial literacy threatens the well-being of individuals and families, especially in underserved and low-income communities. Without a solid financial foundation, young people are more susceptible to predatory lending and costly errors in managing debts and expenses that can lead to lifelong financial inequity.
Founder
Richard Habersham
Richard Habersham built Off the Block from his commitment to giving children an opportunity to see the infinite potential in their lives. Off the Block was started with both a belief and a question. What if a community-based organization could increase the likelihood that children will grow into successful teenagers and adults by identifying and focusing on a successful set of character and community-building experiences and exercises? Our vision is to create a template for how to leverage the virtually unlimited world-class cultural, educational, scientific, and natural resources of our great city to create experiences that bring our community closer together.