b'At the New York Irish Center in Queens ,T he Ne w Y orkNewYork,westrivetoprovidetheperfectbalanceof community, culture and caring to the Irish in the region.Foundedin2003byconcernedcommunitybusiness leaders and well-known Belfast priest Fr. Colm Campbell,the New York Irish Center (our Center) deepens thesupport and care its members receive as they go aboutI rishC e nte r theirlivesintheiradoptedcountry.Weachievethisthrough a strong sense of community, against a culturalbackdrop both familiar and welcoming. Our membershipspans all ages, from the six-year-olds in our Tr na ng(Land of Youth) summer camp, to the nonagenarians whocome along to our weekly Wednesday Lunch Club.itisourseniormembersthatformthebackboneofourcenter,andwewatchoverthemclosely,constantlywaryofhow vulnerable they are to the specter ofisolationandbeingforgotten.wekeeptabs on them, often making sure they geta phone call, or a visit to their home oreven to their hospital bedside. they havegivenbacktoirelandovertheirlife-times and deserve nothing less.Yet it is through the mixing of generations that we derivethe dynamic that keeps our Center vibrant. Much of thisminglingarisesnaturallyfromthecombinationof ourmanyprogramsandourCenterskeenspiritof volunteerism, where often-times a newer immigrant willreceiveasenseofconnectiontoanoldergenerationtheyve left behind in Ireland. A surrogate grandmotheror grandfather, elder uncle or aunt, can work wonders fora lonely young immigrants well-being.Thus, our seniors, as theyve always done, give morethan they receive here at our center. At the New York IrishCenter, the Forgotten Irish are not forgotten, but trulycelebrated. Of course, it goes without saying we would not bedoing so well in the pursuit of our mission without thegenerous support of The Ireland Funds. For several yearsnow, they have provided crucial funding to sustain us dur-ing lean economic times. With it, weve been able to notonly expand our senior programs into Saturdays and Sun-days, a time of the week when many senior widows and A mixing of the generations as volunteers teach seniors computer skillsThe weekly Wednesday lunch club The weekly Wednesday lunch clubwidowers need a place to gather with friends, but also tocomplete a major capital project resulting in the recentinstallation of an elevator in our building. Now, our sen-iors with declining mobility, and all physically challengedpeople, can negotiate all floors of our remarkable Centerwith ease. We will also be using the current grant to add aqualified social care professional to our ranks, and to fundadditional programs to meet the needs of our members.We are very grateful indeed to The Ireland Funds for suchhelp and support. Paul Finnegan, Executive Director of The New York Irish Centerconnect2014 | 47'