Our Programs

Generation X-cel currently occupies three rooms of a community facility in Manhattan's Jacob Riis Houses: a classroom, gameroom, and office. Its activities all take place in or originate from this space.

X-cel's effectiveness in attracting and retaining young people derives from a dual approach to programming that emphasizes outreach and follow-up.

Outreach Outreach intensifies during the summer month, when young people flock to the streets, parks, courtyards, and includes methods as diverse as athletics, talent shows, posting fliers, and simply hanging out at public pools. Individual activities such as talent shows and basketball tournaments routinely draw between two and four hundred children, with minimal publicity.
Follow Up X-cel leverages outreach events by recruiting youth to follow-up aftershool and summer programs, including mentoring and tutoring, performing arts, fine arts, and peer counseling. Such activities relate to everyday young people with everyday problems and pleasures, and are primarily staffed by local volunteers who care about individuals, love the unlovely, and embrace the rejected.

Expanded Hours

As funds become available for additional staff, X-cel intends to expand its daily hours from 6:30 to 9:30 pm for young people ages 13-19, as well as open on Saturdays from 7:00 to 11:00 pm.