About Us
On September 15, 1963 the 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed and four young Black girls were killed. One of those girls was 14 year old Addie Mae Collins. All of the girls were victims of the civil rights movement. Their deaths prompted concerned residents in this small corner of East Harlem to take steps to ensure that the struggle for equality, equity, and ever increasing opportunities would have a vehicle to help catapult individuals in their personal exploration for growth and change by founding Addie Mae Collins Community Service, Inc.
Since its inception in the fall of 1965 Addie Mae Collins has provided services to thousands of families striving for a better tomorrow. The organization has remained a stable, reliable, and recognized neighborhood establishment, able to invite in and welcome back countless children, families, and community members interested in and committed to the advancement of children and positive community development.
is to deliver diverse, innovative, high-quality programming and comprehensive services—collaboratively designed to stimulate learning, healthy development, and positive self-esteem in children and families.
is to provide the best possible care and service to children and families, establishing a foundation that builds strong character, academic readiness, and community pride—empowering each child to grow into a well-rounded human being who contributes positively to their family and society.
Respect – Practicing open and honest communication, appreciating each person
Safety – Creating an environment that supports sound judgment and safeguards every child and adult.
Responsibility – Taking ownership of our work and ensuring fairness, consistency, and integrity in every interaction.
Addie Mae Collins Community Service is a nonprofit program that has provided Head Start and Child Care services to the children of East Harlem and its surrounding communities since September 1965. Guided by an unerring belief that every child has an innate desire to learn and grow Addie Mae Collins uses the Creative Curriculum to provide children with comprehensive experiences designed to stimulate and foster their cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development even as we stretch the boundaries of program’s guiding principles-the Performance Standards, to reach out to and to include our parents and surrounding community in as many of the children’s early childhood learning opportunities as possible.
The active involvement of parents/caregivers and community members is the key to a successful preschool experience. Through shared decision making the Board of Directors, parent committees (Delegate Agency Policy Committee, and Center Policy Committees, and Parent Advisory Committee various community partners, and through the employment of trained, motivated, nurturing, and dedicated staff and volunteer core allow us to provide a program that encourages and prepares children to reach their full potential.
After more than forty years of serving the community and building a proven track record of achievement as is evidenced by the number of former children, parents, and staff of Addie Mae Collins who have gone on to achieve various levels of personal and professional success the program intends to expand. The Board of Directors is actively seeking members who can help strengthen the program and contribute to its continued development. The program has begun an aggressive initiative that refocuses our resources on the development of children’s abilities in the areas of math, science and the arts with an emphasis on language and literacy in each. We have also committed to providing more opportunities and resources to our extended program family (parents and siblings) and larger community that allow them to achieve measurable prosperity in their lives. Much of what we intend to accomplish will require the solicitation of civic minded private, corporate, and foundation partnership and supports which is something the program has very little experience with but every intention of achieving.
Addie Mae Collins Community Service (AMCCS) is founded in East Harlem.
Named in honor of Addie Mae Collins, one of the four girls killed in the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
Mission begins: supporting early childhood education for underserved families.
AMCCS expands its early childhood programs to meet increased community demand.
Establishes stronger partnerships with local schools and family service agencies.
AMCCS relocates portions of its operations as East Harlem undergoes school consolidations.
Strengthens its model of education + family support + community service.
The program operates multiple sites, including participation in Home-Based and center-based Early Childhood initiatives.
AMCCS formalizes its organizational structure with Board governance and parent participation.
Addie Mae Collins II site is established, expanding capacity and allowing more children ages 2–5 to enroll.
Program deepens its health, nutrition, mental health, and disabilities services.
Administrative leadership restructuring strengthens program oversight.
New policies implemented for quality improvement, staffing, and compliance.
AMCCS joins the NYC Early Learn Initiative, aligning with:
Early Learn Performance Standards
Teaching Strategies GOLD assessments
Expanded family engagement requirements
Program quality and compliance structures formalize significantly.
Continued growth in programming, including:
Conscious Discipline integration
Social-emotional development expansion
Strengthened mental health services
Literacy and nutrition partnerships
Post-pandemic rebuilding period:
Reinstated in-person services
Reintroduced full family engagement events
Increased mental health supports for children and families
Significant rise in migrant family enrollment.
Increased need for dual-language support (English, Spanish, French, Hindi, Bengali, Mandarin, Twi, Fulani).
Staff expand trauma-informed training in response to community needs.
Program Operating Plans revised for education, health, nutrition, and mental health.
Family engagement participation reaches high levels across all three sites.
Waitlists grow at:
Site II: 39%
Site III: 53%
AMCCS strengthens its governance model with active Board oversight and enhanced Policy Council involvement.
Expanded community partnerships such as:
The Reading Team
A Forum for Life
Books for Kids
Child Connect
Program focuses on:
Academic readiness
Family empowerment
Community support
Inclusion services