 Today marks the last day of camp for the summer. Though this year was certainly different than past summers, we are proud that we were able to successfully serve hundreds of kids in a safe environment. Getting to see our campers reconnecting with friends, taking part in activities, and having fun was an important reminder of why we do what we do at the JCC.
While we are all sad to see summer go, we know new beginnings lie ahead this fall. As things begin to reopen, we know we will have to navigate changing regulations, but it will be worth it in order to bring as many of our programs back as possible. One of the things I am most excited about is the new school year starting. In addition to welcoming back our Early Childhood Education and First Foot Forward students, we will also be hosting students through the City’s Learning Bridges program. The program will allow us to serve students in the Department of Education’s blended learning model on days they are out of school. Our staff will facilitate remote learning as well as lead group activities, including sports and music. We are looking forward to this program starting and getting to work with some new and familiar faces throughout the school year. As you may have heard, plans are also in the works to reopen our fitness center. We continue to work alongside City and State officials to make this happen sometime this fall. Other programs, like our cultural arts lectures, music lessons, and senior programs, will continue to operate virtually to ensure that as many people in our community as possible can access JCC programming. On behalf of our board and staff, we are grateful for your patience as we continue to move forward. I am incredibly hopeful that this fall will bring new opportunities for the JCC and all of our members and participants. -Orit Lender  While this summer has certainly been different than past years, so much remains the same. Although our programs have had to change to accommodate new safety protocols, it has been amazing to see our members and participants having fun. Campers still arrive home with smiles on their faces. Families are still able to take in some sun and pool time at our summer swim club.
We are excited to be able to bring back even more of our programs. Marvin’s Camp for Children with Special Needs and day care returned last week, and we are beyond thrilled to get to work with these children again. We look forward to the reopening of our day habilitation program for young adults with disabilities later this month. Our goal is to serve everyone we can on Staten Island, so we will continue to provide virtual experiences for those in our community we can’t see in person. We were proud to see over 100 people at our recent Tisha B’av lecture series—just one of many cultural arts opportunities we have offered online. We appreciate your flexibility as we adapt to changing guidelines. Without your understanding and adaptability, we would not be as successful as we have been over these past few months. While we don’t yet know when we will be able to fully reopen all of our programs, we continue to be hopeful. I thank you for all your support and hope that we will be able to see you again in person very soon. -Orit Lender In memory of Lucille Chazanoff:
In honor of her life of caring, loving, touching, and positively impacting so many lives. We all will miss her, but always remember the mark she left on the world. -Martin D. Steinberg   Even though many of our programs were paused this spring due to the pandemic, I wanted to share some good news with you about the progress we’ve made on our Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC), which serves the community of Stapleton/Rosebank. Stapleton qualifies as a NORC because it is a community that has a large proportion of residents over 60 but was not specifically planned or designed to meet the needs of seniors living independently in their homes. The NORC, named GO KOSSAH (Keeping Our Seniors Safe And Healthy), serves as a complementary service provider to our Stapleton Neighborhood Senior Center. The Joan & Alan Bernikow JCC received one year of funding in 2019 to conduct a community needs assessment, which would determine what services seniors in the area needed most. Year one funding was also used for monthly educational events to inform community residents and partners of the services that the NORC plans to offer in the future. Between November and March, our NORC Program Coordinator Linda Huff was able to complete nearly 250 surveys of seniors. In that short amount of time, we were able to gain the trust of the community, and through that trust, community members were willing to share their comments and concerns with us. Though responses were varied, the main services that residents requested are assistance with health insurance navigation, transportation, and health services. We assembled these findings into a report, with the help of the Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness (SIPCW), detailing the first year of progress of our NORC. You can read the full report here.  We are grateful to SIPCW for their help and to Councilwoman Debi Rose for allocating DFTA discretionary funding to this project. With additional funding allocated for the 2020/21 fiscal year, we plan to forge ahead and begin to address some of the issues we discovered throughout the survey process. In the year ahead, we will use the data in the report to guide us as we determine how we can best provide these much-needed services to this community.
Despite the pandemic, we know the need for these services continues, and we are committed to working to ensure that these seniors can reside independently in a safe manner. We look forward to working with our community partners on creating solutions that will improve the quality of life for seniors in Stapleton. If you’d like more information about the program, contact Amelia Winter at [email protected] or 718.475.5238.  Even though many of our programs were paused this spring due to the pandemic, I wanted to share some good news with you about the progress we’ve made on our Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC), which serves the community of Stapleton/Rosebank.
Stapleton qualifies as a NORC because it is a community that has a large proportion of residents over 60 but was not specifically planned or designed to meet the needs of seniors living independently in their homes. The NORC, named GO KOSSAH (Keeping Our Seniors Safe And Healthy), serves as a complementary service provider to our Stapleton Neighborhood Senior Center. The Joan & Alan Bernikow JCC received one year of funding in 2019 to conduct a community needs assessment, which would determine what services seniors in the area needed most. Year one funding was also used for monthly educational events to inform community residents and partners of the services that the NORC plans to offer in the future. Between November and March, our NORC Program Coordinator Linda Huff was able to complete nearly 250 surveys of seniors. In that short amount of time, we were able to gain the trust of the community, and through that trust, community members were willing to share their comments and concerns with us. Though responses were varied, the main services that residents requested are assistance with health insurance navigation, transportation, and health services. We assembled these findings into a report, with the help of the Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness (SIPCW), detailing the first year of progress of our NORC. You can read the full report here: www.sijcc.org/NORCreport We are grateful to SIPCW for their help and to Councilwoman Debi Rose for allocating DFTA discretionary funding to this project. With additional funding allocated for the 2020/21 fiscal year, we plan to forge ahead and begin to address some of the issues we discovered throughout the survey process. In the year ahead, we will use the data in the report to guide us as we determine how we can best provide these much-needed services to this community. Despite the pandemic, we know the need for these services continues, and we are committed to working to ensure that these seniors can reside independently in a safe manner. We look forward to working with our community partners on creating solutions that will improve the quality of life for seniors in Stapleton. If you’d like more information about the program, contact Amelia Winter at [email protected] or 718.475.5238. |
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January 2024
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LocationSBERNIKOW/MID-ISLAND
1466 Manor Road Staten Island, NY 10314 718.475.5200 JCC EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER AT TEMPLE ISRAEL
10 Gregg Place Staten Island, NY 10301 718.475.5290 |
AVIS/SOUTH SHORE
1297 Arthur Kill Road Staten Island, NY 10312 718.475.5270 BERMAN EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
2221 Richmond Ave. Staten Island, NY 10314 718.475.5100 |
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