COMMUNITY NEWS 2016: ISSUE 3
THE Y OF TOMORROW
A BETTER NYC, A BETTER WORLD
1
2
BUILDING FUTURES 3
THE Y OF TOMORROW
A TRADITION OF SERVICE
4
COMMITTED LEADERSHIP
4
HOME AWAY FROM HOME IT TAKES A VILLAGE
5 6-7
WE BUILT THIS CITI
8
THE Y TO EXPAND IN THE BRONX
T
he Y has been designated by the New York City Economic Development Corporation to bring a new, state-of-the art Y to the Edenwald neighborhood of the Bronx. Once it is brought to life, the new Y in Edenwald will serve as many as 25,000 community members of all ages and income levels each year. The project has long been championed by New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who was joined at the public announcement by community advocates and enthusiastic supporters Mayor Bill de Blasio, Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr., Council Member Andy King, and former State Senator Ruth HassellThompson. In his remarks, Mayor de Blasio stated, “Everyone is going to be able to benefit from this and this is going to take us one step closer to a healthier, stronger, fairer City for all.” Borough
President Díaz echoed the Y’s emphasis on spirit, mind, and body, saying, “This is about creating a space so that the spirit of our youth is healthy.” The 50,000-square-foot facility will include a regulation-size basketball court, an indoor track, a warm-water family recreation pool, a four-lane lap pool, group exercise and cycling studios, and a wellness center with the most upto-date cardio and weight machines, free weights, and equipment for circuit and core training. There will also be locker rooms for adults and families, steam rooms and saunas, multi-purpose rooms, and a 200-space parking lot. In addition to providing life-changing programs and recreational opportunities, the center will create approximately 100 construction jobs and 100
permanent jobs for program directors, camp counselors, lifeguards, and more. Construction of the $48 million building is expected to begin in the fall of 2018 and be completed in 2020. •
Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. with YMCA President and CEO Sharon Greenberger.
(left) Mayor Bill de Blasio joins long-time project advocate, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, in front of a rendering of the new YMCA; (right) Council Member Andy King shows his Y pride at the announcement. 1
A BETTER NYC, A BETTER WORLD Y TEENS PROPOSE SOLUTIONS TO REAL LIFE CHALLENGES
Y
oung people involved in Teens Take the City (TTC), the Y’s signature civic engagement program for New York City youth in grades 6 to 12, took over City Hall to debate ways to improve the city. The teen participants held a mock-legislative session in the City Council Chambers to present and vote on this year’s legislative proposals put forth by their peers. The session was presided over by a Teen Mayor and Teen Borough Presidents, and was attended by New York City Council Members Helen Rosenthal and Inez Barron and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. Successful proposals included calls to address flooding in Rockaway, lower
speed limits in school zones, enforce composting, and ensure safe drinking water in schools. Following on the theme of safe drinking water, teens held a bottled water drive for families of the YMCA of Greater Flint in Michigan. TTC teens, with support from 12 local YMCAs across New York City, collected 300 cases of water in a few short weeks. Six teens from Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, then joined staff for a 10-hour drive to Flint in order to deliver the water in a U-Haul. Today, in partnership with New York City Council and with support from Con Edison, the Rose M. Badgeley Residuary
Teens Take the City participants and staff prepare to leave New York with a U-Haul full of donated water for families in Flint, Michigan.
Charitable Trust, and the Herb Block Foundation, the Y offers TTC at 27 after-school sites, serving approximately 400 teens. In school year 2016-2017, TTC looks forward to expanded support from the Council, whose award of $50,000 will enable groups throughout the city to continue to explore legislative solutions to community concerns. •
(l to r) Council Member Helen Rosenthal, YMCA President and CEO Sharon Greenberger, Council Speaker Melissa-Mark Viverito, and Yoko Liriano, Citywide Director of Teen Programs for the YMCA of Greater New York. (r) Council Member Inez Barron speaks to participants about community leadership.
2
2016: ISSUE 3
BUILDING FUTURES
THE Y PROVIDES CAREER DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES TO YOUTH THROUGHOUT NYC
A
cross the city, the Y supports teens and young adults in choosing career paths they find meaningful. Through a variety of programs and events, the Y cultivates young people’s sense of possibilities, and helps put them on a path to self-sufficiency. At the Bedford-Stuyvesant Y, staff organize an annual teen career forum to engage participants in career planning. U.S. Representative Hakeem Jeffries spoke to attendees about his own career path, while panelists addressed smaller groups based on their career interests. Meanwhile, the Vanderbilt Y’s teen programs at the Julia Richman Educational Complex hosted a career day that enabled teens to hear from and connect with a motivational speaker, entrepreneurs in the music and hair industries, nonprofit professionals, and
Vanderbilt YMCA board members, Vickie Burns and Richard Wasserman. At Ys throughout the city, economically disadvantaged teens in the Y STEP program learn a range of workforce skills. In the past year teens have been trained in lifeguarding, culinary arts, fashion design, and youth development. Depending on the course, trainings including certifications in CPR and safe food handling, as well as skill-building workshops in areas such as child abuse prevention, ethics and boundaries, video blogging, and graphic design. At the Jamaica Y Roads Center, young adults who had been out of school and out of work are supported in developing job skills, attaining industry-recognized certifications, and getting placed into internships and paid jobs. Y Roads also operates a federally-funded, multitrack YouthBuild program that provides young adults with hands-on experience in construction, property and facility management, youth development, and sports and fitness. The West Side Y offers Teen Career Connection, a program designed to
give teens the opportunity to intern for six weeks at recognized companies across NYC and learn how to work in a professional environment. Teen participants have stated that the program helped them build skills, gain confidence, and expand their professional networks. Teen career development activities are supported by the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development, the US Department of Labor, and the Altman Foundation, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Capital One, The Clark Foundation, Coach Foundation Inc., Colgate-Palmolive, The Dammann Fund, Ira W. DeCamp Foundation, Hagedorn Fund, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Macy’s, Neuberger Berman Foundation, and The Starbucks Foundation. In addition to the programs mentioned above, the Y takes a hands-on approach to career development: each year over 2,200 New Yorkers ages 16 to 24 work for the Y, often as their first job. •
(above) Teens at a career forum signed up for breakout sessions with professionals; (left) Teen Career Connection participant Hawa Tunkara learns about blogging.
U.S. Representative Hakeem Jeffries speaks to teens at the BedfordStuyvesant Y. 3
A TRADITION OF SERVICE THE Y HONORS YOUTH AND ADULTS AT ANNUAL DODGE DINNER
(left) Former Y Board Chair Sal Maglietta, Sandie O’Connor, Y Board Chair Chris Blunt, Consuelo Mack, YMCA President and CEO Sharon Greenberger, Kelli O’Hara, Janice Reals Ellig; (center) Sandie O’Connor, Sal Maglietta, Jeff Levy, Bob Lieber and Sharon Greenberger celebrate the Y; (right) Sharon Greenberger joins supporters Karl and Mary Ellen von der Heyden.
T
he YMCA of Greater New York proudly celebrated the 42nd Annual Dodge Award Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street. Created in memory of the Dodge family of New York City, the Dodge Award is the Y’s most prestigious honor, presented to an outstanding individual who epitomizes the Dodge family’s 164-year-old tradition of service to fellow New Yorkers. This year’s honoree was new Y Board Chair Chris Blunt, President of the Investments Group of New York Life.
More than 500 people attended the gala, which included a special performance by 2015 Tony Award© winning actress Kelli O’Hara, who is best known for her performance in the musical The King and I. Consuelo Mack, Anchor and Managing Editor of PBS’s WealthTrack, served as the Mistress of Ceremonies.
the 2016 von der Heyden Scholarship. The scholarship is presented annually to two high school students who have exhibited strong leadership qualities and a determination to better their communities. Each winner will receive $20,000 over four years for their college studies.
In addition to the Dodge Award, the gala celebrated Taren Nila of the Vanderbilt YMCA and Daniel Gavino of the Flushing YMCA, both of whom were awarded
The Gala raised a total of $1.3 million, which will be used to continue to deepen the YMCA’s impact in New York City. •
COMMITTED LEADERSHIP
THE Y THANKS CITY LEADERS FOR SUPPORTING CRUCIAL PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES
O
nce again Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and the City Council demonstrated their commitment to supporting the city’s most vulnerable families by funding a wide range of programs. Council members supported citywide initiatives such as Teens Take the City and Y After School, as well as locally-focused programs such as Glebe Senior Center, Junior Knicks, New Americans Welcome Centers, Second Grade Swim, and Teen Centers. In addition to receiving support from elected officials, the Y is proud to work with city agencies such as the Department of Youth and Community Development, Department of Education, Department of Probation, and Human Resources Administration to provide programs such as COMPASS, SONYC, Universal pre-K, Beacon, and Adult Literacy and Immigrant Opportunity Initiatives. • 4
2016: ISSUE 3
HOME AWAY FROM HOME THE Y NURTURES YOUNG LEARNERS ALL SUMMER LONG
M
ore than 11,000 children attended a Y camp this summer, where they battled summer learning loss while forging supportive relationships with fellow campers and camp counselors. Whether attending for one week or for eight, or specializing in arts at the West Side Y or swimming at the Coney Island Y, all of these young people had one thing in common – they found a second home at a Y camp. Camp songs, sharing times, and ice breakers quickly put campers at ease and enabled them to better understand themselves and the world around them. With each day packed with activities such as crafts projects, reading games, swim lessons, STEM activities, museum outings,
and healthy eating workshops, campers developed plenty of new skills while reinforcing much of what they learned during the school year. Support for Y camps came in nearly as many forms as camp activities. Nearly a third of Y campers attended free of charge with support from the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development. Foundations such as Barker Welfare Foundation and Citi Foundation supported activities at specific camp locations. Corporate volunteers donated their time to read with campers, and elected officials stopped by to let children know how valued they are. • (top) A volunteer from Univision reads to campers at the Bronx Y; (above) State Senator Joseph Addabbo reads to Kinder Camp participants at the Ridgewood Y; (far left) U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke visits with campers at the Flatbush Y; (left) volunteers from Morgan Stanley participate in Reading Day at the McBurney Y.
(above left) Volunteers from JP Morgan share their love of reading with campers at the Harlem Y; (r) Assembly Member Michael Cusick speaks to campers at the Staten Island South Shore Y.
(left) Mr. and Mrs. Met visit campers at the Dodge Y; (center) Council Member Rafael Espinal read to campers on Summer Reading Day at the North Brooklyn Y; (right) Volunteers Mark McQuillan, Officer Song, State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Mike Nussbaum, U.S. Representative Grace Meng, and Officer Quinn visit the Flushing Y to read to campers. 5
IT TAKES A THE Y AND ITS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CELEBRATING SENIORS The Bronx Y hosted its annual Senior Day in appreciation of community elders. Assembly Member Marcos Crespo shared a smile with guests, Assembly Member Luis Sepulveda joined Bronx Y Executive Director Sharlene Brown, and Council Member Annabel Palma talked with Glebe Senior Center Director Sarah Thomas. IN SERVICE As part of the Y’s engagement with the nationwide Let’s Move! Outside initiative teens showed up to serve in local parks. The initiative is a partnership between the U.S. Department of the Interior and the YMCA of the USA, with support from the American Express Foundation. Groups from the Harlem Y (top left) and Vanderbilt Y (center) headed to Riverbank State Park to support Parks & Trails New York’s I Love My Park Day, while teens from the Chinatown Y (bottom left) joined the Student Conservation Association at the General Grant National Memorial for National Trails Day.
6
FLATBUSH’S FUTURE (l to r) Teen participant Mardochee Vilain celebrated positive impacts with Flatbush Y Executive Director Meishay Gattis, State Senator Kevin Parker, and Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte. GET IN GEAR The Bronx Y held a street fair promoting healthy living and community programming. The fair was attended by Assembly Member Marcos Crespo, pictured with Bronx Y Executive Director Sharlene Brown and staff member Carla Singleton, and State Senator Jeffrey Klein, as well as ConEdison, the New York Public Library, American Red Cross, Bronx Bikes NYC, and more.
NEW AMERICANS DAY The Y’s New Americans Initiative sponsored New Americans Day 2016, during which staff and volunteers from six New Americans Welcome Centers visited 21 YMCAs citywide to greet community members and share information about programs. Each site hosted activities and created an American flag art piece.
2016: ISSUE 3
VILLAGE PARTNERS DEEPEN IMPACT IN COMMUNITIES
TASTE OF RIDGEWOOD State Senator Joseph Addabbo joined honoree Vicki Schneps (center), along with Y teens and staff, for the Ridgewood Y’s annual Taste of Ridgewood event, where they celebrated young leaders’ initiative and the strength of community programs.
TO THE RIM The Jamaica Y’s Third Annual 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament drew approximately 150 coed participants of all ages at Marconi Park in Queens. Former board member and retired NBA referee Lee Jones (l) and H & R Block’s Ricardo Bentham (r) kicked off the event, which was sponsored by H & R Block and Elmhurst Dairy, and others.
LITTLEST LEARNERS U.S. Representative Grace Meng, pictured with Flushing Y Executive Director Jen Silvers, and Council Member Peter Koo (top) celebrated with students at the Flushing Y’s pre-Kindergarten graduation.
RX REMEDY Staten Island Counseling Executive Director Jacqueline Filis joined Council Member Joseph Borelli, Representative Dan Donovan, and Staten Island Borough President James Oddo to speak out in support of legislation targeting prescription medication abuse. The Y was also one of four organizations to receive funding from Council Member Borelli for substance abuse counseling services.
NYC LEADS THE WAY New York City Council Speaker Melissa MarkViverito, flanked by (l to r) Council Member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Council Member Vanessa Gibson, spoke about the importance of providing free feminine hygiene products. With support from the Y and other advocates, the city has passed groundbreaking legislation at the menstrual equity bill signing. 7
YMCA of Greater New York 5 West 63rd Street, 6th Floor New York, NY 10023 212 630 9600 ymcanyc.org
WE BUILT THIS CITI
THE Y TEAMS UP WITH PARTNERS FOR A BIKE BUILDING EXTRAVAGANZA
V
olunteers from the YMCA of Greater New York joined volunteers from Citi and Bloomberg to build bikes with Bike New York. Using Citi Field as home base, the volunteers built 200 new bikes, which were given away to Y kids of all ages. The Bedford-Stuyvesant, Flushing, Harlem, Rockaway and Bronx Ys have all been proud to host Bike Build NYC events in the past year. • (upper right) Kenneth “Ken” Podziba, President and CEO of Bike New York, joins YMCA President and CEO Sharon Greenberger for some bike-building fun; (bottom) volunteers celebrate a successful day of community service.