Hope 7 Community Center

The mission of Hope 7 Community Center is to be a resource for and provide services to individuals and families in our community. Hope 7 Community Center came to be in 1968 as East Side Neighborhood Recreation Center, Inc. under the leadership of dedicated gentlemen from the community who saw the need for recreational programs for Troy’s East Side youth. When the City of Troy decided to disband the firehouse, known as Hope 7, the group was able to take over use of the building, sharing it for many years with a branch of the Troy Public Library.

Hope 7 Community Center operates a food pantry and various youth programs. Hope 7's after-school program is open to all youth in Kindergarten through 7th grade. Students from Troy City School District, Troy Prep and Albany charter schools are all welcome to participate in our program. We are licensed by the New York State Office of Child and Family Services with highly experienced, educated and trained Program Director and counselors on our team. ​ During our after-school program children receive a healthy snack meeting the requirements set forth by CACFP guidelines, supervised homework sessions and tutoring, as well as opportunities for arts and crafts and physical education all designed based on the children's developmental capabilities and interests in mind. Students are also able to participate freely in various clubs such as Junior Forest Rangers, Girl Scouts, 4H Food Programming, music lessons and many, many more. Our program is based off of the school district's calendar. For regular school days and early dismissals we are open from dismissal to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday. On Vacation days, we are open 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. Snow days may vary depending on the weather conditions. Hope 7's after-school program is open to all youth in Kindergarten through 7th grade. Students from Troy City School District, Troy Prep and Albany charter schools are all welcome to participate in our program. We are licensed by the New York State Office of Child and Family Services with highly experienced, educated and trained Program Director and counselors on our team. Our summer camp program is designed for children ages 5 to 15 an opportunity to enjoy nature five days a week while participating in enrichment programs including topics in STEM, music, art and more! Teenagers in the program also have an opportunity to join through our Counselors in Training (CIT) Programming, allowing them to gain work experience as well as additional perks such as banking assistance and more. Our summer camp program is licensed by the New York State Office of Child and Family Services. ​ Each day during camp we travel by chartered school bus to a state park where children have the opportunity to enjoy hiking, arts and crafts, nature centers, and swimming. Each week is also designed with a theme with correlating activities to keep the children engaged and excited about learning. Special events and trips take place throughout the program such as to Liberty Ridge Farms, Berkshire Museum, Hancock Shaker Village, and many more. Lunch and an after-noon snack are provided daily, at no charge. Our food pantry is located in Troy where we serve families a monthly 3 day/3 meals per day package for everyone in the family of basic staples, meat, fresh produce, breads and bakery items, and milk. Families can return weekly for bread & produce. Also available are non-food items such as diapers, toiletries, personal hygiene items, household cleaning supplies, and pet food. The pantry is open Monday through Friday 9:30 to 11:45, Thursday evenings 5:00 to 7:00, and the last Saturday of the month 9:30-11:45. ​Each Thanksgiving, thanks to the help from the community donations of food, market gift certificates and services, Hope 7 provides families through our food pantry with full Thanksgiving meals. Each box includes bread, produce, pies, rolls, a gift card for a turkey and perishables along with all the sides. In 2022, Hope 7 served over 150 families with Thanksgiving baskets to share with their families. For Christmas, Hope 7 works diligently to match families in need of holiday gift assistance with generous donors. Families who have indicated a need are given forms to fill out with information on the needs and wishes of the children, as well as preferences such as favorite colors, characters, etc. Emphasis is placed first on warm winter clothing and bedding, then toys, games and other leisure items the children are hoping for. It is strictly up to the sponsor to decide what is to be purchased. For 2022, almost 350 children were assisted through our adoption program and Santa Shop.