COMMUNITY NEWS 2017: ISSUE 3
HERE FOR ALL
THRIVING NEW YORKERS
1–2
SUMMER SWEETNESS
HERE FOR ALL
THE Y CONNECTS WITH NEW AMERICANS THROUGHOUT THE CITY The Y is here for all, and seeks to strengthen communities by helping residents from all backgrounds and walks of life feel more connected to one another. This year the Y highlighted that work by kicking off nationwide Welcoming Week. Spearheaded by Welcoming America, and supported by the YMCA of the USA, Welcoming Week is designed to bring together immigrants and U.S.-born residents to promote cross-cultural understanding. Hosted by the Y’s New Americans Initiative, the kick-off event took place at the Queens Museum and included special guests such as NYS Secretary of State Rossana Rosado (inset), Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Eileen Reyes Arias, and Welcoming America’s Deputy Director Rachel Peric. Other Welcoming Week events brought together people in Harlem, the Bronx, Chinatown, Flatbush, Park Slope, and Staten Island’s North Shore.
2 3
EQUITY AND EXCHANGE
4
CODE SWITCH 5 COMMUNITY TIES
5
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
6–7
BRONX BONA FIDES
8
Community-building work supports the New Americans Initiative’s direct service throughout the city. In the first six months of 2017, the Y served more than 2,600 people with nearly 9,000 instructional hours in English, civics, and computer literacy. The Y also helped 200 people apply for citizenship, and served over 2,200 newcomers with workshops on legal rights, financial literacy, domestic violence, and more. The New Americans Initiative is supported by the New York State Office for New Americans, the New York State Department of Education, the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development, Con Edison, Delta Air Lines, Inc., The Delta Air Lines Foundation, the Korean American Community Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation. •
(top) Eileen Reyes Arias, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, speaks about the ways the City seeks to support newcomers. (below l to r) Rachel Peric, Deputy Director of Welcoming America; Natalie Norton, Chief Operating Officer, YMCA of Greater New York; Obba Babatundé, entertainer and activist with Get Empowered; and Sharon Greenberger, President & CEO, YMCA of Greater New York. 1
(top left) The Chinatown Y engages newcomers in its annual Bridge Walk. (top right) Lynda Gonzalez-Chavez, Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, YMCA of the USA, speaks about the Y’s efforts to welcome newcomers nationwide. (above left) Participants at Welcoming Week kick-off event. (above right) Community members enjoy a “Taste of Culture” at the Prospect Park Y during Welcoming Week. (left) The Harlem YMCA hosts a multilingual “Know Your Rights” panel.
THRIVING NEW YORKERS, STRONGER COMMUNITIES THE Y LAUNCHES A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN FOR 2018-2025
T
he YMCA of Greater New York unveiled a new strategic roadmap for 2018 to 2025. The plan, “Thriving New Yorkers, Stronger Communities,” builds off the Y’s core values and strengths, and outlines how the Y can deepen its impact throughout the city. New Yorkers face obstacles to success in today’s economy and social fabric. The strategic plan targets those challenges, setting three major goals between 2018 and 2025: Empower Youth by putting 400,000 young people on the path to success; Improve Health by helping 1.3 million New Yorkers make health gains; and Strengthen Community by supporting 2.2 million New Yorkers in connecting to and engaging in their communities. Across all programs, the Y will enhance data collection mechanisms in order to better understand how to use resources to have the greatest impact. • 2
2017: ISSUE 3
SUMMER SWEETNESS
Y CAMPS GIVE KIDS A TASTE OF THE GOOD LIFE – AND OF SUCCESS
T
his year the Y served nearly 13,500 campers – with almost 4,000 attending camp for free and 1,400 spending time outside of the city, enjoying the woods and lakes in Huguenot, New York. With help from more than 1,200 camp counselors, 88% of whom are under the age of 24, Y camps helped kids step outside of their daily lives and encounter wizards, baseball icons, and more. Counselors also worked tirelessly to help campers make skill gains – whether in reading, swimming, basketball, or art – that allowed them to develop confidence and start their school years off strong.
Y camps are supported by the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development, Council Members Annabel Palma, Bill Perkins, Donovan Richards, and Eric Ulrich, and Heisman Trophy Trust, Imperial Bag & Paper Co., LLC, The Neuberger Berman Foundation, Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Foundation, Inc., The South Wind Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, and Wells Fargo Foundation. •
Flashback! Three years ago Assembly Member Marcos Crespo brought his daughter along to read to campers, and this year both of his daughters attended summer camp at the Bronx Y.
Volunteers from JPMorgan donate time and books for the Chinatown Y’s Summer Reading Day at P.S. 124. Volunteers from Morgan Stanley read to campers at the McBurney Y.
A wizard oversees a tug of war at the North Brooklyn Y summer camp.
State Senator Brad Hoylman takes kinder campers at the McBurney Y into the world of The Lorax.
(left) A camper learns to swim at the Rockaway Y. (right) Mr. Met joins campers from the Dodge Y for a special day of outdoor activities. 3
EQUITY AND EXCHANGE THE Y’S GLOBAL TEENS LEARN THROUGH TRAVEL EXPERIENCES
T
his year the Y’s Global Teens program sent participants to Haiti, California, and Washington State, where they learned about civic engagement and STEM, engaged in career exploration, reflected on what equity and access mean to them, and contemplated how they can leverage the support they receive in Y programs to make a positive impact in the world. In Haiti, teens served as Junior Counselors at the YMCA d’Haiti’s Sports Camp and met local youth at the Office of Public Diplomacy at the US Embassy. There they learned about potential
career opportunities in the Foreign Service. The teens also raised nearly $5,000 for the Haiti Y’s scholarship fund and delivered five barrels of donated backpacks. In California, teens explored Yosemite National Park and Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and got a first-hand look at the high-tech world of Google, meeting with employees on campus to hear about their career paths. In Washington, teens spent two weeks in a residential field science program in Olympic National Park.
On each trip, teens gained valuable exchange experience – whether with peers in the poorest country in the western hemisphere (for whom daily life in New York City seems steeped in luxuries), or simply with fellow Y participants from across the city. Support for these life-changing experiences came from The Countess Moira Foundation, Delta Air Lines, Inc., and the Carole Stupell Travel Award Program of the New York Community Trust. •
“
On this trip I was somehow able to mix into the culture and environment and feel part of the community.
”
– Ibrahim, Global Teen, West Side YMCA
Global Teens learn about diplomacy and take in the sites in Haiti. 4
(top) Global Teens in Olympic National Park; (below) Global Teens visiting California spend a day at Google.
2017: ISSUE 3
CODE SWITCH
CAPITAL ONE TEACHES A NEW LANGUAGE TO Y KIDS
M
any Y youth are multilingual, but Capital One is helping some pick up yet another “language” by providing unique coding opportunities to middle school youth in different areas of the city. In the spring, students at the Chinatown YMCA’s Beacon program at M.S. 131 took part in the Capital One Coders program, which provided weekly coding classes led by 26 Capital One team volunteers. With support and partnership from Principal Phyllis Tam, volunteers introduced students to application development and design, and helped them explore software engineering using the Android platform and MIT App inventor. The program concluded with a special closing event at Capital One Labs, where students
showcased their newly developed applications to a panel of judges and were rewarded with their own tablets and laptops. In the summer, Capital One hosted a Hackathon – an afternoon of coding activities – for middle school students from one of the Cross Island YMCA’s summer day camps. This school year, the Capital One Coders program will continue in Chinatown and expand to serve 20 to 25 more students from the Long Island City YMCA’s after school program at I.S. 126. • (top) A Capital One volunteer works with Chinatown Y students; (below) students from the Cross Island Y take part in a summer Hackathon.
COMMUNITY TIES
THE Y EXPANDS REACH OF Y SCHOOLS INITIATIVE
A
cross the city, the YMCA of Greater New York works to strengthen communities by partnering with schools in becoming neighborhood hubs for resources and community-building through the Y Schools initiative. The NYC Department of Youth and Community Development recently awarded six Beacon Community Centers to the Y, including one in which the Y also operates an Administration for Children’s Services Prevention Program to support families at risk for abuse or neglect. The Y’s Beacon portfolio now includes M.S. 131 in Chinatown, I.S. 347 in Bushwick, J.H.S. 189 in Flushing, J.H.S. 194 in Whitestone, P.S. 43 in Far Rockaway, and P.S. 54 in Richmond Hill, which is a school newly designated for the Beacon program. Each Beacon program serves more than 1,200 people per year, supporting
participants in acquiring the skills they need to graduate from high school, succeed in their chosen career, and give back to the community. Youth get help with homework and SAT prep, learn
Parents and community members take part in a painting class held at the Y’s Community/Renewal School at P.S. 154 in the Bronx.
about careers, build leadership skills and participate in sports and arts, while adults take ESL and fitness classes and come together as a community. Earlier this year, the Y also became the approved CBO partner for four community schools receiving new funding from the New York State Department of Education as 21st Century Community Learning Centers: Flushing International High School and J.H.S. 189 in Queens, and P.S. 46 and P.S. 57 in Staten Island. These partnerships will build upon the Y’s previous work within the targeted schools. The Y also operates a Community/Renewal School at P.S. 154 in the Bronx with funding from the NYC Department of Education, and a community school at M.S. 376 in the Bronx. All Y Schools also receive support from the Dodge Foundation. • 5
IT TAKES
THE Y AND ITS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
CAREER LAUNCHPAD High school students from across the city were placed in summer internships through the West Side Y’s competitive Teen Career Connection program. Hosts and supporters included Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Member Helen Rosenthal, the Center for Court Innovation, Deloitte, Healthfirst, Macy’s, and the Orphaned Starfish Foundation.
HONORING OUR ELDERS (l to r) Council Member Annabel Palma, State Senator Rubén Díaz Sr., Bronx Y Senior Center Coordinator Sarah Thompson, Bronx Y Executive Director Sharlene Brown, Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr., and Assembly Member Luis R. Sepúlveda joined 320 seniors for a day of food, music, dancing, and community building at the Bronx Y Senior Appreciation Day.
DACA DASH Weeks before the deadline for DACA renewals, Congress Member Nydia Velázquez held a workshop on the renewal process with other community leaders at the Chinatown Y. (photo courtesy of Efram Photography) 6
COMMUNITY FLAVOR Bronx Deputy Borough President Aurelia Greene and State Senator Jeffrey Klein (both in center of back row) joined the Bronx Y Board of Managers and Honorees (seated, l to r) Gary Axelbank, Rosemary DeLuca, Nalini Singh, and Demetris Giannoulias at the Bronx Y’s Bon Appetit event.
NOTHING BUT NET The Jamaica Y hosted its annual Three on Three Basketball Tournament, which included game play for more than 300 coed players of all ages and raised thousands of dollars for financial assistance for youth. The event was attended by Congress Member Gregory Meeks and Michelle Stoddart of Resorts World (both in top photo), and sponsored by H & R Block/Ricardo Bentham, Elmhurst 1925, Family Dental Care of Elmont, and Dack Consulting Solutions, Inc. BUILDING MOMENTUM (l to r) YouthBuild participant Trejona Caldwell, Czareena Dotchev from the Office of Senator Charles E. Schumer, Jamaica Y Roads Center Director Clare Dwyer, and YouthBuild Director Nicole Kourbage discussed the impact of the Y’s construction training program and partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
2017: ISSUE 3
A VILLAGE
PARTNERS DEEPEN IMPACT IN COMMUNITIES
START UP Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and NYC Administration for Children’s Services Commissioner David Hansell talked with Jamaica Y Executive Director Cedric Dew about the Jamaica Y’s program for youth from 11 family homeless shelters in the area, which receives funding from the NYC Department of Education.
LOOKING SMART Council Member Mark Treyger joined Assembly Member Pamela Harris and YMCA of Greater New York President & CEO Sharon Greenberger to celebrate the opening of the Chapman Youth Library at the Coney Island Y. With support from Brooklyn Public Library, the Chapman Perelman Foundation, and the Harvard Library, the Y opened the new space in the summer.
SMILES AND SAFETY Second graders enjoyed free swimming lessons at the Chinatown Y courtesy of the New York City Council-funded Second Grade Swim program and Council Member Margaret Chin. The program has been celebrated by principals at partner schools throughout the city, with one stating, “In no small way, you have left a permanent imprint on their lives.”
TEACHABLE MOMENTS Congress Member Grace Meng and Council Member Elizabeth Crowley (both seated) looked on with Ridgewood Y Executive Director La-Vena Francis as a Y staff member led an activity. The Ridgewood Y partnered with The Shops at Atlas Park to facilitate a weekly outdoor series of family activities including parent and child toddler enrichment classes, youth sports, and fitness classes. VITAMIN D-ÍAZ Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. personally delivered fresh fruits and vegetables to seniors at the Y’s Glebe Senior Center as part of a program sponsored by his office and the Mary Mitchell Center. Díaz also visited with center goers and Bronx Y Executive Director Sharlene Brown. 7
YMCA of Greater New York 5 West 63rd Street, 6th Floor New York, NY 10023 212 630 9600 ymcanyc.org
BRONX BONA FIDES
PLANS ADVANCE FOR TWO NEW Y LOCATIONS IN THE BOROUGH
T
he YMCA of Greater New York is eager to expand in the Bronx, where many residents face severe health and education challenges. By adding two new 50,000-square-foot facilities, the Y will serve tens of thousands of residents, create new jobs, add new recreational and learning spaces, and foster community engagement.
Hudson Companies, The Kretchmer Companies, ELH Mgmt LLC, The Related Companies, Breaking Ground, and Comunilife, Inc. as part of the La
Central development at The Hub. The new Y will begin construction in January 2018 and be complete in Spring 2020. •
In the Edenwald neighborhood of the Bronx, the Y’s new branch has received significant financial support from New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr., and Council Member Andy King. Construction will begin in the fall of 2018 and be completed in late 2020. In the South Bronx, the Y is collaborating with BRP Companies, The
The Edenwald YMCA will feature a unique design that celebrates the property’s natural surroundings and connects members with the outdoors.