Heather Miller, Executive Director
This year we will focus on the 3 R’s – rebirth, reorganization and reenergizing as we launch a new marketing and public relations strategy for Slater. We have added “community” to our name which will allow the community to better understand who we are. We are a community center which services the community. Our motto is “We Reach and We Serve,” providing outreach and direct services to the community.
Our logo the tree and its roots symbolizes our mission – The tree not only represents growth but both its leaves and roots serve—the roots reach down to serve nourishment to the reach of the tree’s body. The leaves reach out in growth to serve as shelter and sometimes food/nourishment.
For the past 32 years our primary target group has been youth and children. This year, we are expanding our reach to serve more young adults and adults, including the formerly incarcerated, the unemployed and underemployed. Last year, we started the Man to Man Program (which is still under development). This year, we will launch the program with a Men’s conference.
Our Dance and Fitness program which begun as a way to get older adults to exercise and have fun through dance will now have an intergenerational component. Participants will, in addition to dancing with youth, provide additional services to youth programs housed at Slater. We will also add more programs for seniors.
Additionally, we will reach out to the business community to have them avail themselves of the Center’s facilities for meetings and events.
Thanks to the energized and motivated Board of Directors led by a driven chairman Wiley Harrison, and the caring and dedicated staffthe Slater is on its way to creating its niche.
Heather Miller, Executive Director
Our History
The Center opened in October 1979 under a tripartite agreement with the City of White Plains, the United Way of Westchester and the Urban League of Westchester. The Center was named in honor of the late Rev. Thomas H. Slater, an avid community leader and minister who served as pastor of the Bethel Baptist Church, which is located directly adjacent to the Center.
In 1980, the tripartite agreement was dissolved, a Board of Directors was formed and the Center became incorporated. The Center serves the 450 families who reside in the Winbrook Public Housing, in particular, and the City of White Plains, in general. In 2011, the word “Community was added to the Center’s name to give a self-explanation of the purpose of Slater.
Slater operates the Step Up Girls, Next Generation Boys, Drum and Marching Corps, Man to Man and Dance and Fitness. Other programs are delivered by other entities: Family Services of Westchester for Head Start, White Plains Youth Bureau for the After School Homework Assistance and Teen Lounge, White Plains School District for Home Instruction and the Ecumencial Food Pantry for the food pantry.
The Board of Directors, which consists of sixteen members, covers a cross section of the White Plains community and vicinity. The Board meets every two months and has the responsibility for three annual fundraisers: The fruit sale in December, the Martin Luther King Breakfast in January and the annual Board meeting and awards ceremony in June.
Staff is comprised of two full-time and eight part-time, led by an executive director.
Our Mission
- To improve the quality of life, and maximize the potential of the people we serve, by providing them with the tools, resources, services and programs for success.
Our Goals
- To improve the quality of life, and maximize the potential of the people we serve, by providing them with the tools, resources, services and programs for success.
Our Values
- The Thomas H. Slater Center is committed to provide quality programming in a safe, secure and nurturing environment.
Our Board of Directors
Thomas H. Slater Center Board of Directors
The Thomas H. Slater Center 