About Us
The Riverdale-Yonkers Society
The Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture was formed in 1948. Eighteen years later, in 1966, the current meeting house was constructed. To accommodate a growing membership and Children’s Sunday Assembly, it was enlarged in 1995.
While participants in our community are free to live according to their beliefs, the desire for change often results in organized social action. Our ideals translated into action have resulted in a variety of benefits for our neighbors. The Riverdale Mental Health Clinic, Blythdale Children’s Hospital, the Riverdale Intergroup Relations Committee, the Interfaith Food and Hunger Project, The Riverdale Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, the Paraprofessional Training Institute and the Yonkers Fair Housing Committee are examples. The Bronx Arts Ensemble was formed with the support of the Society; and, the Greater New York Blood Program conducts a yearly drive at the Meeting House.
The regular Sunday service, known as Platforms, are where members and guests gather to hear discussions of various issues and to stay in touch with friends and neighbors. During Platform hour, the Children’s Sunday Assembly (CSA), with its curriculum of ethical education, meets within the building.
The Society also hosts a variety of events and festivals as well as on-going social actions like the Emergency Men’s Overnight Shelter and Special Knitting Forces which coordinates the delivery of much needed warm clothing hand-knitted by concerned citizens to needy citizens in Afghanistan.