Dear Board Members:
Since early Fall of 2024, a committee of Board members has met every two weeks to work on updating our organization’s Strategic Plan for implementation over the next several years. This something that we necessarily put off during the “Covid-19 years” as making broad plans for the future is especially challenging, if not impossible, when in crisis mode for an extended period.
But now – and since last September – the committee and I have been recurrently considering the future direction of the YMCA of MEWSA. Our data collection has been enlightening and our planning retreats –both for Staff and Board members – have been beneficial not only in developing the plan but simply by gathering in person, which further unites our staff and volunteers. We have learned much more about ourselves in this new environment post-Covid, our community’s current needs, and have discovered new challenges and opportunities.
While the Strategic Plan is still under development, one issue has become very clear; the need for community building and further developing the services we offer in the communities we serve. Our newly revised Strategic Plan will serve as a guidepost for tackling issues and continuing to build on our success, but it will also take our focus and a determination to work together. We, as an organization, have the unique potential—based the community’s trust in our leadership — to be a catalyst for positive change for all.
Keeping this potential in mind is especially relevant as we gear up for the Annual Support Campaign this March and Annual Dinner in May. This year’s Dinner theme is “Catalyst for Change” and we will celebrate this year’s outstanding honorees including John P. Dowd with the Charles S. Edgar Memorial Award, Rekha Parthasarathy, with the Barnes Community Champion Award, and Costello-Runyon Funeral Homes and the Costello Family with the Community Partner Award. Please join us on May 8 at The Pines Manor as we celebrate their achievements and continue building a stronger, more connected community together!
As we plan and roll out 2025’s activities, we’re looking back on our very successful Fall 2024 fundraisers and events. The Tot Trot (see below) raised over $12,000 for childcare scholarships, ensuring that all children, regardless of their financial background, have access to quality childcare. Our Diwali event (see right) in Edison has grown exponentially, as has our Halloween event in South Amboy (see bottom row). Our biggest single fundraiser, the Golf Outing (see middle row) raised an amazing $100,000 for summer camp
Togetherhood had a wonderful 2024 with successful blood drives, engaging English conversation classes, high quantities of food collected and donated, and special adventures on the Greenway. As themes across most Togetherhood initiatives, we encouraged event participants to bring donations for the First Presbyterian Church of Metuchen (FPCM) Food Pantry, expanded outreach beyond Y members, focused on intergenerational offerings, put the word out for more volunteers, and handed out guest passes as thank yous for attending events.
Kathy Liss and Lesley Briggs, partnering with New Jersey Blood Services, led yet another successful blood drive in December 2024, collecting 46 units that can save up to 138 lives. A total of 279 units were collected in 2024. At year-end, we make a special request, to young adults who are home for the holidays and to high school students, to give blood (a signed parent consent form is required if you are 16 years old). Teen and adult volunteers worked pre-drive and post-drive, reminding donors about their appointments, welcoming and checking them in, escorting them to the drive location and the canteen for refreshments and recovery, and thanking them for donating. Kathy and Lesley make sure our volunteers are informed of blood drive tasks, connected as a blood drive team, and thanked for their crucial efforts. Our next blood drive will be held on Sunday, February 23.
As of December 2024, the Metuchen Y collected a total of 5,162 food items and $540 through our ongoing in-house food drive (led by Rich Husar), neighborhood street drives (led by Leigh Levy and Marisha Wignaraja), and other donations (led by Christine Tolley). In 2024, we exceeded 2023 donations. Rich records the Y’s food collections and makes regular drop offs to partner, FPCM Food Pantry. The attached note from the Food Pantry shows their deep appreciation to the YMCA for helping to serve 600 people per month in Metuchen and Edison. Togetherhood’s Food Pantry liaison, Lorraine LeSter, keeps us informed of ongoing needs.
On November 3, an intergenerational group of community members gathered for a Scavenger Hunt on the Greenway. Eun Salton and Walter Stochel, co-leads of Green
Initiatives, organized this event that had young and older participants guessing what was the Greenway before the Greenway (the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which could take you to Perth Amboy and even Niagara Falls) and where the Greenway water flows (to the Raritan River, the longest river in New Jersey). As a leader of the Middlesex Greenway Coalition (MGC), Walt connects MGC members with Y members, expanding our community (see pictures attached).
Andrew Rosenblum, joined Janice Donnola, Adam Fensterheim, and Kathy Higgins (ESL lead) as our fourth ESL instructor for the 2024-2025 academic year. Student numbers grew from an average of 6to-8 per class to a maximum of 15 students in our Tuesday evening and Friday morning classes. We are now utilizing the former childcare room on the first floor of the Metuchen Y as an additional breakout space to provide more personalized instruction to students. Instructors are using maps, flashcards, white boards, and powerpoint presentations to help our adult students grow their conversation skills (some of these learning tools were purchased through an ESL grant to the Y). See attached flyer for class details. In October, our ESL team met with Rebecca Franco Martin, new Director of the Metuchen Library, to explore ESL and other partnership opportunities that help support both institutions, our members, and the surrounding communities. As next steps, we agreed to consider: providing links to both institutions on our websites; aligning language on flyers and listing all ESL classes available in Metuchen, so students have a menu of options; translating flyers into representative languages; sharing these joint flyers with the school system, especially to reach families of ESL school students who may need adult ESL classes; and providing tours of both institutions so ESL students and other members are aware of the extensive resources provided by both.
Thank you to our dedicated leaders and volunteers who gave mind, body, and spirit to serving our communities in 2024: Lesley Briggs, Leigh Garfield-Levy, Kathy Higgins, Rich Husar, Lorraine LeSter, Katherine Liss, Alex Reisig, Eunice Salton, Michelle Schutz, Walter Stochel, Christine Tolley, and Marisha Wignaraja.
In 2025, we will continue to focus on ramping up our events marketing and outreach to volunteers and community members (shoutouts to Chrissy, Alex, Caroline Rankin, and Lindy Rutter for supporting these efforts!). Please feel free to join our next Togetherhood meeting on March 19 at 9am at the Metuchen Y. For more info. on Togetherhood and volunteering opportunities, please contact Marisha (mwignaraja@yahoo.com) and Christine (christine.tolley@ymcaofmewsa.org)
We are saddened to announce that former Association Board Member M. Geoffrey Sisko, 81, of Metuchen, passed away on October 27, 2024, at JFK Medical Center Edison.
Geoff was born in Newark on February 28, 1943, to Stanley and Esther Sisko. He moved to Metuchen at a young age and graduated from Rutgers earning a BS in Pharmacology, and then went on to graduate from Fairleigh Dickenson with an MBA.
Geoff worked for Wernik’s Pharmacy in Metuchen for four years where Don Wernik, later Mayor of Metuchen, mentored and encouraged
After graduating Geoff went on to work for Schering Plough as a Pharmacist in His career culminated with a position at Gross and Associates in Woodbridge where he was employed as a consultant. We were extremely lucky to be the beneficiary of Geoff’s time, talent and treasure while he served as a Board Member of the YMCA of MEWSA.
Geoff was predeceased by his parents, Stanley and Esther, and his brother,
On January 6th, 2025, the Y at the Piscataway Community Center had our first blood drive of the year hosted by New York Blood Center (NYBC). During the drive, we were recognized by NYBC for surpassing 1000 pints collected since we began running drives in 2021. Including this most recent drive, we have now hosted 24 blood drives and have now collected 1358 pints which impacts as many as 4074 lives! Piscataway Township’s Mayor Brian Wahler came to thank the donors and staff from NYBC.
The people in the picture from left to right are: Kathleen Nolan, Business Development Manager from NYBC, Hannah Thomas, Healthy Living Director and Drive Chairperson; Dan Hontz, Director of Operations; Mayor Brian Wahler, Mayor of Piscataway Township; Nidhi Patel, Account Manager with NYBC.
-Hannah Thomas Healthy Living Director
The Solar Panel project at the the Y at the Piscataway Community Center (YPCC) has been completed. Installation began last Fall.
The project is part of Piscataway Township’s efforts to add solar panels at several municipal facilities, and includes building an additional 28 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations – the largest single deployment of EV infrastructure by any municipality in New Jersey history.
The big news at the Metuchen Branch is the completion of the new gym floors! Shown at right are some of our Pickleball players readying to play on their refurbished court. Shown below are attendees enjoying the new floor during the “Spooky Spin” class and Line Dancing party. Our new floor is greatly appreciated by all.
Staff and volunteers participated in National “Go Red” day at the Metuchen Branch with dancing their way to heart health with a special Go Red Zumba class. Free blood pressure screenings were offered and heart health information was distributed (see above).
Preschool Coordinator Lindy Rutter helps students with cookie decorating at the Cocoa & Cookies event this winter (see above left).
Metuchen Branch staff invited local Law Enforcement to the branch to thank them for their dedication on National Law Enforcement Day.
Three cheers for 7th grade! Each year our 7th Grade Initiative members are welcomed to the Branch with a pizza party and tour. Each 7th Grader who becomes a member is required to attend a wellness orientation (see right) from our Wellness team, this allows them to learn how to use equipment and build healthy habits correctly and safely. All that 7th Graders need to do is stop by our Welcome Center with their school ID to sign up for your free membership!
A sweet time was had by all at the winter cookie decorating event (see above)! Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun and made it such a delicious success!
Welcome, Attain Physical Therapy, Edison Branch’s new on-site physical and occupational therapy provider (see above). A huge thank you to Mayor Sam Joshi for joining us in welcoming Attain to the Community Campus. Now with Attain, members can achieve their health and wellness goals all in one place. Attain accepts insurance and is now scheduling appointments. Give them a call at 855-428-8246 or visit attainpt.com to learn more!
The South Amboy branch is thrilled to welcome a new Branch Board Member, Helen Bruno-Raccuia. Helen is a retired educator, but a very active Pickleball player! She is shown at right, in the center, ready to take to the court!
The South Amboy branch had a (pickle) ball with their Pickleball friends at their holiday party! Thank you for inviting us into your group and spending time at the Y! We can't wait for another amazing year with our Pickleballers!
January brought Lunar New Year Celebrations to our Child Care Centers. Our Toddler 1 class learned the basics of cooking fried rice and Toddler 2 featured parents coming in to read and teach about Lunar New Year customs and traditions (see right and below). It was a fun day for everyone!
December and January saw visits to our centers from dental hygiene professionals.
In December, the Mobile Dentist from Tender Smiles for Kids came to provide dental care to Harborview children. They took x-rays, did an oral exam and cleaned their teeth (see right).
Then, in January "Chompster" and a dental hygienist from KidzDent in Old Bridge visited Harborview Early Learning Center to teach the children how to keep their teeth healthy (see below right).
-Rita MacNeill Director, Harborview Early Learning Center
We did it! Centenary Early Learning Center was voted “The Best!” The Central Jersey Community Choice Award is for the “Best Child Care” in the Kids & Education Category.
“We are incredibly honored to receive this award,” says Centenary Early Learning Center Director Melinda Wilson. “This recognition is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our entire team. All of us here at Centenary look forward to building bright futures for many more children to come.”
Centenary Early Learning Center has provided care for thousands of youth in Middlesex County and offers summer camp in addition to its daily care for infants to kindergartners.
“We are proud of the exceptional care and education provided by Centenary Early Learning Center,” says Vice President of Child Care Jennice Webb. “This award highlights our commitment to nurturing and supporting the children and families in our community.”
We had 19 students, ranging in ages from 24 to 34, enroll and participate in our most recent trooper readiness program. While we do not have the results yet since they have not fully completed the academy, they all did great and increased their skills dramatically. This group worked on technique, endurance, swimming while dressed, basic water rescue skills, treading for extended periods, and retrieving a 10 lb brick from the deep end. The group was also visited by Sergeant Cooper of the State Troopers throughout the 4 week program.
-Kelly Molinelli Aquatic Director YMCA at The Piscataway Community Center
Making a difference, one t-shirt at a time! For the past ten years, the Edison Fire Fighters Local 1197 has raised $44,500 for the Livestrong at the YMCA® Program in memory of Janice Garbolino. The money has been raised through the Edison Firefighters’ annual cancer awareness shirt sales.
Pictured here are Jim Walsh, First Vice President, and Edison Firefighter, and Firefighter Adam Garbolino, as they present the check to Liz Bennett (Fund Development Director), Rose Cushing (President and CEO), and Chrissy Tolley (Metuchen Director of Operations) to continue supporting this meaningful and live -changing cause.
Senior Leadership Staff gathered at The Pines Manor for a day-long working session focused on the ongoing Strategic Planning update being led by the Association Board of Directors. Consultant Aaron Proietti of Today's Innovator led the day’s activities which focused on soliciting staff’s input on developing and implementing the plan. It was a fantastic day of collaboration and creative thinking.
-Kathy Minaeff, Director of Human Resources
The application portal has opened for the 2025 Ryan Patterson Memorial Scholarship. High school students in the communities that we serve (Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge Township, South Amboy, Sayreville and Piscataway) who are pursuing higher education in the fall of 2025 are eligible to apply for this $2000 scholarship. The deadline to apply is April 30, 2025. Please direct any interested student to our website or scan the code here to access the application portal.
We continue to run our partnerships with the Rutgers Chapter of APSEA, which is:APSEA is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit volunteer organization focused on raising awareness about diabetes and hypertension in the community through health screenings and education. They train dozens of students each year to conduct basic clinical measurements like blood pressure and BMI/fat percentage and provide preventive education.
We also just hosted over 40 people for a very successful Group Exercise Sampler/Valentine's Days Class which offered 20-minute samples of 6 different classes, including Partner Yoga.
Edison's next Livestrong Program will begin Monday March 3rd and run Mondays/Wednesdays from 11:15am-12:15pm. We are accepting applicants now.
-Christine Jaffe, Healthy Living Director, EDISON YMCA
The YMCA of MEWSA is committed to educating its staff and volunteers about child abuse prevention. Included here are some of the messages we reinforce with staff through training and messaging. We want you to know more about prevention and as well as be assured that we are continually educating and reinforcing
Additional rules include:
• Staff may not foster friendships, communicate on-line or in chat-rooms or be alone with children they meet in YMCA programs outside of the Y. This includes babysitting, sleepovers, and inviting children to your home, organizing outings, meeting children at off-site locations (example: parks, playgrounds, movie theater, mall), attending activities they may be participating in. Any exceptions require a written explanation before the fact and are subject to administrator approval.
• Staff are not to transport children in their own vehicles or be transported by a program participant who is a minor.
• Staff may not date program participants under the age of 18 years of age.
The next newsletter will include more about this topic.
OUTING FUNDRAISER
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7
METUCHEN GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB