Friendly Competition

On Thursday January 8^th, the Y had our first inter-agency SONYC basketball game between our Y Teen Program basketball team and Harbor Heights Middle School basketball team.  This was designed to bring both teams together in friendly competition.

The Harbor Heights Middle School team is part of the DYCD Nike League. The students were required to try out in order to be on the team, and will train to play against other DYCD Nike League teams across the city starting March 1st. On the other hand, the Y Teen basketball team is strictly recreational, made up of local teens that come every week to develop their skills under the guidance of Y staff and coaches.

 The most important thing that impressed me was the respect and the sportsmanship before and after the game. It was a close game, but at the end our Y Teen team won the game by three points.

This was a good experience for our Y teens that have not had the opportunity to play against any other team beside ourselves, especially a competitive team. We hope to continue hosting opportunities of this kind to help our youth increase their self-esteem and to elevate the spirit of the game.

-Abraham Palma, Y Teen Program Director

Hidden Talents

It's not often that an organization can boast having an international Jewish singing star in their midst, but having 2 is unheard of!

Both Ari Lewis (Marketing Director) and Mordy Prus (social work intern) are current members of the Jewish A Cappella group The Maccabeats. Ari works full time at the Y, and Mordy splits his time between the Y and rabbinical school at Yeshiva University. Mordy works in the Y Nursery classrooms to help children with special needs to be part of the inclusive program. He also works with a Holocaust survivor providing support and care at the Y. Both Ari and Mordy work as much as they can as Maccabeats on nights and weekends due to their full-time work and school obligations.

A Capella, Latin for "the choir", is a form of music without instruments. This type of music lends itself to more creativity and expression through the human voice. Music without instruments has been a part of Jewish culture for centuries. For example, many synagogues use a "chazan" to lead services with beautiful tunes and melodies. Some synagogues today even use full choirs, a custom which started as early as the 16th century. A full choir at services dates back to the time of the Jewish holy temple. 

Ari and Mordy are both part of the original Maccabeats group founded in 2008 at Yeshiva University. A Cappella has been a staple of collegiate life for almost 100 years, with groups of boys and girls singing for their fellow students in archways and theaters all over campus. Groups of Jewish students jumped on the bandwagon and started forming groups of their own, which led to the creation of the Maccabeats.

The Maccabeats are unique as they are an all-male group. This is due to the religious restriction of Jewish males not being able to sing alongside females. It forces the group to get creative in producing a well-rounded sound. 

In 2010, The Maccabeats released a Chanukah video titled "Candlelight", a parody of the pop-hit "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. After receiving a million views in the first few days, the video quickly received national attention with radio play and TV interviews. This year, the video has just passed 10 million views. 

Since then, Ari and Mordy have been touring the country and the world with the group. The group has been to 39 states, and countries including England, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Canada, and more. Ari and Mordy both agree that juggling family, work, and Maccabeats can be tough at times, but agree that their love for music and support from their family make it all worth it. 

Ari (bottom center) and Mordy (top right) perform in the Maccabeats video "Miracle"

A history of Chanukkah at the Y

A big thank you to Avigail Oren for taking on this project. Avigail poured through records of meeting minutes to put this story together. We are delighted with what she shared with us. Click the link below to read this incredible story.

Happy Hanukkah!

http://www.avigailoren.com/blog/2014/12/16/chanukah-at-the-ym-ywha-of-washington-heights-inwood

Congratulations Jon!

JCC Association’s Merrin Center for Teen Engagement has selected 15 professionals working with teens in affiliated JCCs and camps in North America to participate in the acclaimed Merrin Teen Professional Fellows Program. Our very own Jon Zeftel is one of the people selected.

"I'm so honored to have been selected as a Merrin fellow" said Jon. "I've heard so much about the program from my supervisor, Alan Scher, who is a past participant. To have been selected fulfills a goal I've had since starting at the Y. I'm really looking forward to meeting other JCC professionals from around the country, sharing some best practices in the field of teen and youth engagement, and -- of course -- going to Israel next October!"

The program will feature five seminars held over 14 months, with the first gathering in New York City in January, 2015. This selective professional development program focuses on developing their leadership and management skills, learning how to serve teens more effectively, planning their career paths in the JCC Movement, and deepening their Jewish knowledge. One of the seminars is held in Israel. 

The Merrin Teen Professional Fellows Program was started in 1999, with the support of Seth Merrin and Anne Heyman. Their partnership with JCC Association initiated this exceptional program to give those working with teens the skills to better serve a critical sector of the Jewish community. The program has enhanced the profile of those working with teens in their respective organizations and throughout the JCC Movement, enriched and deepened their Jewish identities, and built a stronger professional network of teen service providers across North America. 

The Merrin Family Foundation has since deepened their commitment to the JCC Movement and Jewish teens by helping to establish the Merrin Center for Teen Engagement. This integrates the resources for teens provided to the field, including the JCC Maccabi programs (JCC Maccabi Games®, JCC Maccabi ArtsFest® and JCC Maccabi Israel®) and camping services.

Campaign for Summer Jobs Lobby Day

"I had the opportunity to join the Campaign for Summer Jobs coalition to lobby for summer jobs last Wednesday, October 22. We met with New York State leaders in Albany to discuss the importance of getting more funding for the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). Some of the points mentioned were: the increase of minimum wage and how that affects the number of participants we serve and the numerous participants that apply but are left out because there’s not enough funding. We met with a number of Assemblyman and Assemblywoman Representatives. I had the pleasure of meeting with the Staff Director of Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell, Jr (the assemblyman for our district), he was very happy to see someone from the community. We shared some statistical information with him, showing how the SYEP program needs more funding to continue. I also had the opportunity to share the touching stories of our SYEP participants and how we changed their lives with the program.

Overall it was a really good experience, the staff were all very supportive of the program."

- Karina Munoz, SYEP Director

Medieval Festival 2014

We were so excited to see so many of you at the Fort Tryon Medieval Festival this year. The weather was perfect for the event, and all the creative costumes made it even better. Take a look below for some pictures from the event.

Putting the “camp” in campaign

                Every year, parents inevitably think about summer plans for their children. The questions then become “where will my child go?” and “how will I pay for it?” For Sharonica Williams, the first question was easy to answer. After a successful summer in 2013, her 9 year old son Julian had his heart set on the YM&YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood’s (The Y) Camp Yomawha. As for the second question, Sharonica and Julian came up with a more creative answer.

                “Julian attended camp Yomawha last summer for the first time and he loved it” says Sharonica, and Julian had his heart set on returning for a full summer. He was eager to participate in some of his favorite camp activities like swimming, nature walks, and more. Julian was especially excited for Camp Yomawha’s new 3-day overnight adventure where day campers get a taste of sleep-away camp life. Unfortunately, a full-summer camp program can be out of reach for a single mom working hard to provide for her family even with generous scholarships, but that wasn’t going to stop them from making Julian’s dream come true. “I became determined to make it happen.” Sharonica began to explore new ways to raise the funds for Julian, and her search led her to crowd-funding. “A colleague told me about Indiegogo so we decided to try it.  I created the campaign through the website and Julian and I created ‘perks’ or incentives to encourage people to donate to his summer camp fund.” Sharonica was skeptical, but she knew it couldn’t hurt. Julian got very excited about the project. “I thought it was a great idea because we have tons of friends!” No one could have predicted what happened next.

                Through social promotion among friends alone, Sharonica was able to send Julian to Camp Yomawha for the entire summer. She was even able to purchase Julian a brand new bathing suit and camp necessities like towels and sunblock. “It exceeded my expectations” said Sharonica. “I was humbled and feel so blessed that people came together to help us.” With the help of community-wide donations and a single private donation of $1,000, Sharonica was able to raise over $4,000 for Julian. You can see the progress Julian made on his campaign here:  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-send-julian-to-camp-yomawha-for-the-summer/x/7925114

                “Julian is clearly a camper that loves camp” says Adam Benmoise, Camp Director at Camp Yomawha.  “You can see it in his face every morning when he runs for the bus, and throughout the day at activities.  The fact that he took this incredible initiative on his own to make this summer happen for him is absolutely remarkable.  It's an incredible example for other campers and staff as to what one individual is capable of when they care enough about something.” 

"As an institution committed to youth engagement, our goal is annually to provide as much in the way of scholarship as possible to our families” said Alan Scher, Managing Director of Youth and Family Services at the Y. “Thanks to the generosity of our funders, we are able to assist many families who are struggling financially to participate in our programming, but there is always unfortunately a limit. We hope Julian’s inspirational story can provide a template for future philanthropic investment from our incredible community."