Mid-Island Y Jewish Community Center Inc

Programs: The family services center of the mid island y jcc consists of our senior adult and adult programs, teen programs, before, afterschool and specialty programs for elementary school students and our adler center for children and adults with special needs. The adult and social services center provides supportive, social, and intellectual programming/services for families and adults in the community. The adult and social services center seeks to engage the community in all aspects of life including physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and social activities to stay involved, alert and enjoy a productive and healthy life. We provide culturally sensitive and dynamic services that will connect individuals, families, and the community and experience culture and art, investigate and expand jewish heritage, challenge and stimulate intellect, as well as navigate life changes at various life junctures. The adult and social services center achieves this through engaging the senior adult and adult community in the following support services including support groups (bereavement loss of spouse, bereavement loss of parent, separation and divorce, growing up with divorced parents, parents of children with special needs, siblings of children with special needs, grandparents circle), individual counseling, partners in caring bringing social services into partnering synagogues, engage baby boomer volunteer corp, hatzilu rescue organization, alzheimers day services program and our pob care and project pace nnorc programs. Additional social programming includes senior circles, act as liaison between center, seniors, and their families, discussion groups, jewish and secular holiday celebrations, activ for baby boomers, mens group ys guys, art classes, poetry series and contest, senior chorus and bridge and mah jongg. Jewish programming for all ages includes, israeli movie screenings, authors series, lunch and learn with local rabbis and jewish educators, russian speaking jewish family programming brije, and holiday programs in the lobby. Teen programming is offered in a variety of ways including recreational programming, leadership development, weekly groups focused on group discussions with guest speakers, practical applications such as employment skills, resume writing and public speaking. All teens enrolled in the teens as leaders programs are required to do community service within the yjcc and in the community. Additional programs for teens include an extensive learning center offering homework assistance, study skills, one on one and group tutoring sessions, sat, psat and act classes and test prep and regents review classes. In order to accommodate the working parents, the family services center offers before and after school programs for elementary school and middle school students in the local school districts. Students can be dropped off as early as 6:30 am and are driven to school in our fleet of mini buses. In the afternoon, buses are dispatched to the local schools to pick up the children and bring them to the yjcc for an afternoon of activities including swim, gym, art, cooking, homework help, and much more. All children are given a snack and homework is checked before activities start. Children can be picked up as late as 6:30 pm. Transportation to local synagogues for hebrew school is also available. The adler center for special needs empowers participants, ages 3 -21, to become independent and productive individuals and establish life-long friendships. Programs facilitate the development of appropriate social and life skills at home, in school and in the community. All who participate are given the support and guidance needed to reach his or her fullest potential. The adler center offers programming for children through young adults with developmental disabilities including learning disabilities, language delay, adhd, and autism spectrum disorders. We offer parent and sibling support groups, field trips, inclusion and shared camp experiences, vacation respite, monthly evening respite, sunday social programs, vocational training, learning through technology and exercise classes and swim instruction. Our two newest programs include the addition of our points of light certified volunteer services program and the jewish communal fund food pantry. Through these two new programs, we have been able to mobilize volunteers to help bring the agencys programs and services to the next level. One area of the agency where volunteers are used is in the new jewish communal fund food pantry which provides food for individuals and families suffering from food insecurity. Our staff and volunteers provide perishable and non-perishable food items to those in need. Additionally, through the pantry, we are able to provide clients with products that are not allowed to be purchased with snap benefits.

the mid-island y jcc offers a variety of options in their day camp that focus on preschool camp, traditional camp, sports camp and theatrical arts camp and camps for children with special needs all available for children ages 3 through 15 years old. For children 3 years old to 10 years old, camp takes place at the henry kaufmann camp located in wheatley heights, new york, a short 10 minute ride from the mid-island y jcc in plainview. Our site offers many age specific sports fields, an indoor air conditioned gymnasium and classrooms, four outdoor pools, water slide, and nature center. Specialty activities include stem classes, tutoring, arts and crafts, music, dance, jewish culture, outdoor cooking, zip line and low ropes course, climbing wall, gaga pits, archery range, tennis courts and choice programs for children ages 8 and up. Lunch and snack are available each day with all dietary needs met. During the summer we have live entertainment, day trips, late nights, and overnights for our older campers in 3rd grade and up. When children enter grades 7 and 8, they have additional overnight trips and travel to local venues daily. In 9th and 10th grade teens can choose to do our travel program which is only overnight trips to destinations throughout the us and canada or they can take part in our counselor in training program to refine their skills working with children. Camp is licensed by suffolk and nassau county department of health and is aca accredited. We have nurse on site at hkc daily and we teach the red cross swim instruction program at camp. We offer many integrated options for campers with developmental disabilities including autism spectrum disorders, aspergers, adhd, learning disabilities and language delays. We offer before and after camp care to all families, and door to door transportation is also available.

the early childhood center of the mid island y jcc consists of a variety of programs offered to children from 6 weeks of age through and including pre-kindergarten for 12 months per year. Classes all offer age appropriate pre-kindergarten common core curriculum based on new york state standards. Classes are offered at a variety of times including full day, half day and extended day options with early drop off and late stay options available. Students with special needs are gladly accepted. This program is ideal for the working parent offering flexibility and full year programming. Fitness and physical activity is supported through organized play in our two indoor gyms, indoor swimming instruction and outdoor play in our 4 specially designed early childhood playgrounds and certified outdoor nature classroom. Full day children are provided lunch and snacks as appropriate with all dietary needs and allergies addressed. The lunch menu is supervised by a certified nutritionist. Our nursery teachers are all new york state certified early childhood teachers maintaining a standard that goes beyond the new york state requirements. The early childhood center is licensed by the office of children and family services and regulated by the new york state department of education. Additional parent and child programs and extracurricular classes are offered throughout the year. Special programs, outside entertainment, parent involvement and holiday celebrations are all part of the excitement. Our newest program is the parenting center which provides parent and child classes, workshops and events.