Emma's Torch and The Children's Village Launch Training Kitchen

New Collaboration at The Eliza Focuses on Serving Inwood Community, Refugees, Aslyees, and Survivors of Human Trafficking

Emma’s Torch, a renowned culinary training program for refugees, today announced a new partnership with The Children’s Village. This collaboration will introduce a new program site at The Eliza, an innovative affordable housing and community center in Inwood, Manhattan.

“This partnership with Children’s Village is a pivotal moment for Emma’s Torch,” said Kerry Brodie, Executive Director of Emma’s Torch. “By opening this new site, we will be able to meet this moment of incredible need in our communities and provide services to a new group of new Americans. We are thrilled to be part of The Eliza’s vision for community growth and empowerment.”

This new location will significantly expand each organization’s impact, allowing Emma’s Torch to serve over 150 additional students per year. And, by integrating into The Eliza and The Children’s Village’s network, Emma’s Torch and The Children’s Village will help New York City’s refugee community, asylees, youth exiting foster care, and survivors of human trafficking to launch meaningful culinary careers.

“At The Children's Village, we are deeply committed to empowering youth and families and fostering their potential,” said Jamie Marley, Chair of the Board of Trustees at The Children’s Village. “Bringing the expertise and passion of Emma’s Torch to this beautiful location and our new teaching kitchen aligns perfectly with our passion to provide transformative opportunities that move people into success and independence.”

The Eliza, co-developed by The Children’s Village, CLOTH, Ranger Properties, and the Housing Workshop, will be a hub of public growth. The Eliza includes the new Inwood Public Library and 174 units of beautiful affordable housing with views of the Hudson River, as well as a pre-K program, a STEM robotics center, and a performance space, in addition to the teaching kitchen. The new location will fit right in by providing a space for culinary education and community engagement.

The new Emma’s Torch location will replicate the same culinary training curriculum as the one used in Emma’s Torch’s three other locations – two in Brooklyn and one in Washington, DC. The focus of this program site will be the organization’s catering and consumer packaged goods operations.

The Children’s Village, a cornerstone of support for children and families in New York City for over 170 years, provides education, economic development, and wrap-around services for more than 20,000 children and families each year. The Eliza is a testament to The Children’s Village’s commitment to long-term solutions to keep children safe and families together.

The new Emma’s Torch program site will begin operations in the coming weeks.