COMMUNITY NEWS
2021: ISSUE 1
RESILIENCE & RECOVERY
RESILIENCE & RECOVERY
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BLACK LIVES MATTER
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THE SHOW MUST GO ON
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FIGHTING LEARNING LOSS “STEAM”Y SUMMER IT TAKES A VILLAGE BACK ON TRACK
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YMCA BRANCHES TACKLE THE PANDEMIC HEAD ON
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o superlatives are too dramatic to describe the level of upheaval New York City has experienced since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On constantly shifting terrain, the Y has sought to meet the needs of New Yorkers and proactively find solutions in a time of collective crisis. In direct response to the pandemic, three YMCA branches—Coney Island, Flatbush, and the newly opened Northeast Bronx Y—served as vaccination centers for community members. Collectively, these sites
delivered more than 56,000 shots to New Yorkers. The Y also partnered with NewYorkPresbyterian’s COVID-19 Vaccine Speaker’s Bureau to host a series of webinars led by culturally competent physicians. The series featured lectures and Q&A sessions where hundreds of New Yorkers learned about the vaccines in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Haitian Creole, Korean, and Russian. In response to increased food insecurity brought about by the pandemic, the
Y opened free Community Markets at the Coney Island, Flatbush, and North Brooklyn branches. Together they have distributed more than 100,000 pounds of free food, toiletries, hygiene products, backpacks and PPE products. More than 5,700 Brooklyn residents have taken advantage of this resource. Community Markets have been made possible by Deloitte, the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation, No Kid Hungry, Pepsico Foundation’s Food for Good Program, the Robin Hood Foundation, and YMCA of the USA.•
(above) Community members line up outside to “shop” at the Coney Island Y Market; (left) staff at the North Brooklyn Y Market stand ready to distribute items. 1
(l) Dr. Onyinye Balogun leads one of 9 public vaccine webinars hosted by the YMCA. (r) Longtime member and volunteer, Miss Yvonne Bruno (left), leads staff to welcome community members to the Flatbush Y Community Market.
(above) Residents of Flatbush wait outside the Y to receive their shots. (below) Community members in the Edenwald section of the Bronx wait their turn for a vaccination at the Northeast Bronx Y.
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WE’RE HERE FOR ALL NEW YORKERS – to empower youth, improve health, and strengthen community.
2021: ISSUE 1
BLACK LIVES MATTER CENTERING EQUITY AND JUSTICE
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n order to support our staff and members in addressing injustices and foster dialogue and action around Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), the Y’s EDI Committee launched several new initiatives.
In August 2020, the Harlem and West Side Ys collaborated to host a march for equity and justice in Manhattan. Citywide, the Y created a series of Virtual Roundtables bringing together subject matter experts for open discussions around how to address
systemic racism in education, health care, housing and the judicial system. The Y also declared Juneteenth a holiday for staff starting in June 2021, and marked the event with a weeklong celebration with activities for youth and a film screening and discussion.•
THE SHOW MUST GO ON THE Y PROMOTES CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
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espite the challenges of the pandemic, the Y and our partners at Brooklyn NAACP, Brooklyn Voters Alliance, Dominicanos USA, League of Women Voters, and Queens Board of
Elections continued to host events to register and educate voters at YMCA branches. The Y also partnered with Rank the
Vote NYC, MinKwon Center for Community Action, NALEO Educational Fund and others to host multilingual webinars on ranked choice voting.•
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FIGHTING LEARNING LOSS THE Y HOSTS LEARNING LABS IN ALL 5 BOROUGHS
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wenty-two YMCAs across the five boroughs helped fight learning loss in a difficult year by hosting NYC Department of Education Learning Labs. Staff helped thousands of kids across the city get their schoolwork done and maximize any down time by exercising in the gym, doing STEM projects, or playing outside.
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Y staff also focused on social emotional learning to support children in these challenging times, and served as a safety net for kids—advocating for paraprofessionals for children with special needs, connecting families with housing, and referring some families to prevention services offered by the Administration for Children’s Services
so that children could stay safely in their homes. Learning Labs received additional support from AT&T and WarnerMedia, Keith Haring Foundation, Macy’s, and YMCA of the USA.•
WE’RE HERE FOR ALL NEW YORKERS – to empower youth, improve health, and strengthen community.
2021: ISSUE 1
“STEAM”Y SUMMER Y CAMPS HELP KIDS FIGHT LEARNING LOSS
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fter a difficult school year, Y camps helped young learners fight against pandemic-related learning loss the best way we know how—with fun! Across the city Y staff led fun projects to support children in connecting with one another and engage in hands-on learning. Some camps, such as the Jamaica Y’s STEAM Summer Day Camp, encouraged kids to explore the world through
science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. STEAM camps offered kids hands-on, project-based learning activities such as making balloon cars, and constructing catapults, potato clocks and bridges. Campers also visited museums and botanical gardens to enrich their STEAM education, and had important opportunities to socialize with other kids and de-stress after this difficult year.
The Y also hosted 12 summer day camps that provided an inclusive space for disabled children to join in on all the fun. For nearly 20 years, the Y has partnered with the Lisa Beth Gerstman Foundation to expand access for families and enable hundreds of children to participate in an integrated, safe, caring, and fun learning environment. Y camps were supported by the New York City Department of Youth & Community Development, AT&T, Amazon, the New York Forever Summer Camp Project, and New York Magazine.•
(above) Mrs. and Mr. Met visit campers at the Flushing Y. (r) A camper at the Park Slope Armory Y enjoys some recreation time.
(l to r) Council Member Adrienne Adams, AT&T’s NYC External Affairs Area Manager Timothy Tapia, and Jamaica Y Executive Director Cedric Dew check out an active volcano. (r) Campers at the McBurney Y learn about plants...and friendship. 5
IT TAKES A
THE Y AND ITS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
PRIDE Y staff and teens gathered for a virtual watch party of the New York City Pride Parade as a celebration of and for LGBTQIA+ and ally teens.
COMMUNITY DAY At the Northeast Bronx Y’s Community Day, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie Jr. shot some hoops while State Senator Jamaal Bailey and Council Member Kevin Riley chatted with community members. Local residents (first row) connected with (back row, l to r) YMCA Senior Vice President of Real Estate & Property Management Joseph Chan, Vice President of Field Operations in the Bronx and Manhattan Elizabeth Toledo-Cruz, Northeast Bronx Y Executive Director Meishay Gattis, community leader Shirley Fearon, community leader Al de Castro, and YMCA Vice President of Public Affairs Sharon Levy.
HOME SWEET HOME The Y expanded its housing services by developing partnerships with NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation and Bowery Residents Committee and expanding our partnership with Samaritan Village. Together we ensured that hundreds of New Yorkers had safe housing, and many were supported in transitioning to permanent homes. 6
SAFEKEEPING Bank of America donated PPE supplies to help kids safely participate in Y programs.
PPE FOR ALL Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi stopped by the Flushing Y to deliver PPE to Flushing Y Executive Director Tiffany Dunbar.
WE’RE HERE FOR ALL NEW YORKERS – to empower youth, improve health, and strengthen community.
2021: ISSUE 1
VILLAGE
PARTNERS DEEPEN IMPACT IN COMMUNITIES
BOROUGH PRESIDENTS UNITE! Then Y teen Queens Borough President Samir Ghimire ran into his counterpart, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, at a park and wasted no time in talking about policy points.
TEEN ADVOCATES YMCA Youth Mayor Ryan LaBarrie and other teen leaders testified at a City Council budget hearing. Teens from the Y’s Teens Take the City program also engaged in statewide and national virtual advocacy days, meeting with Congress Member Grace Meng and staff from the office of Yvette Clarke.
BEACON OF HOPE Council Member Farrah Louis (center) visited the Flatbush Y to celebrate its role as a vaccination center in the community.
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK (l to r) YMCA Counseling Service Executive Director Jacqueline Filis, Assembly Members Michael Cusick and Charles D. Fall, Y member Duane Felton, and Broadway Y Interim Executive Director Meghan Sinback celebrated the public funding that supported the Broadway Y in restarting member services. 7
YMCA of Greater New York 5 West 63rd Street, 6th Floor New York, NY 10023 212 630 9600 ymcanyc.org
BACK ON TRACK
THE Y RESUMES MEMBER SERVICES ACROSS THE CITY
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fter providing tailored services to address community needs during the pandemic, the Y has reopened nearly all of its branches for member services. Ten branches have been serving members since the fall of 2020, but another nine branches (Broadway, Castle Hill, Coney Island, Flushing, Greenpoint, Harlem, Jamaica, North Brooklyn, and Vanderbilt) are resuming services by October 2021, while two new branches are opening. Partners such as Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Jr., Assembly Members Kenny Burgos, Michael Cusick, Charles Fall, and Mathylde Frontus, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, and Council Members Debi Rose and Mark Treyger played a vital role in making this possible.•