YMCA DONOR NEWSLETTER
WINTER 2018
A publication to inform donors of the
YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge & South Amboy
of the impact of their gift
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10TH ANNUAL TOT TROT & YOUTH FUN RUN
The 10th Annual Tot Trot & Youth Fun Run was held on Sunday, October 14th at Metuchen High School. Over 130 children and their families enjoyed the day which started out with games, face painting, yoga, playing in the Bounce House and getting to sit behind the wheel of a real fire engine and police car! This year, there were two additional races: the Diaper Derby and the Toddler Dash, both were very successful!
Rose Cushing, President & CEO, welcomed all of the families to the races and the children started out with some warm-up exercises. Then the races began! The children were very excited to show their skills in finishing the race. All children who participated received a medal for their hard work and determination.
The race was sponsored by Hackensack Meridian Health/JFK Medical Center and Metuchen Savings Bank. The event made $7,609, with proceeds helping to support families with scholarship assistance when they are unable to pay the full cost of childcare. It also provides assistance to families in crisis and allows the Y to temporarily provide tuition assistance in the event of a family emergency. Please visit our website at to see all of the sponsors of the race.
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JANICE GARBOLINO MEMORIAL 5K WALK/RUN
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The 2018 Janice Garbolino Memorial 5K Run/Walk was held on Saturday, September 15th in Roosevelt Park. This year, there were 302 runners and walkers, an increase of almost 40 participants from last year! All proceeds from the race go to the LiveSTRONG® at the YMCA Program. Of note is that dozens of staff walked in honor of Nicole Miller, a South Amboy staff member who passed away earlier this year from cancer, and wore t-shirts honoring her memory, which was organized by Matt Kaefer of the South Amboy YMCA. T-shirts were purchased for $20 and the proceeds were donated to the Nicole Miller Memorial Fund which will benefit camp and child care programs. Sixty t-shirts were sold, raising $427!
The theme was once again “Calling All Superheroes” and many participants came out in full garb, including the kids receiving capes this year instead of t-shirts.
This year, the Y offered an 8-week training program, led by Zev Rosenberg, a veteran runner who has run countless 5K’s, half marathons and full marathons. See more on page 2!
The top three male winners and top three female winners received gift cards that were donated by Runners High in Metuchen. Race results can be found
here
, including a complete list of sponsors. The race was also spotlighted on News 12 New Jersey. See page 10 for details!
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NEW BRUNSWICK CHILDREN VISIT OAKCREST POOL
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David Jefferson Harris, Director of Greater New Brunswick Day Care Council, collaborated with Cindy O’Neill over the summer which allowed the children from a public housing project in New Brunswick to visit Oakcrest as part of a program called “Read Eat Swim”. After “reading and eating” at the child care center, the children visited Oakcrest for swim lessons and free swim time to accommodate the “swim” part of the program. The children attended nine lessons with Claudia Morgan (shown back center). The children absolutely loved going to Oakcrest to enjoy being outside and learning how to swim. On the last day, they presented Ms. Morgan with flowers and a huge thank you! The swimming lessons were paid for through a grant received from Y-USA.
David expressed his gratitude to Cindy O’Neill and the Y, noting that “their support was deeply appreciated”.
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YMCA CELEBRATES WELCOMING WEEK!
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Created by Y-USA’s national partner—Welcoming America,
Welcoming Week
, which takes place each year in September, celebrates the growing movement of communities that fully embrace new Americans and their contributions to the social fabric of our country. It's a chance for neighbors—both immigrants and U.S.-born residents—to get to know one another and celebrate what unites us as a community!
Each of the branches held various activities and events to celebrate Welcoming Week!
The kids at the South Amboy SACC program designed and colored flags from their home countries or a flag that is important to them. Each flag represents a different race, ethnicity or community are welcomed and feel at home at the South Amboy YMCA. A pot luck dinner was also held to experience the cuisines from different countries. Pictured right, staff member Ann Scapolatempore shows that all individuals are welcomed at the South Amboy YMCA!
To commemorate the occasion, the Edison Y asked their staff to reflect on why they celebrate welcoming week, and displayed their responses throughout the building. To help show just how far our impact has reached, they also had staff and members mark state, national, and global maps to show where they and their families are from. The members and Child Care parents shared their own cultures, by writing "Welcome" in other languages from all over the world!
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All three branches participated in the 9/11 Day of Service:
METUCHEN YMCA
Metuchen staff and volunteers once again worked with the Department of Public Works and the Metuchen Garden Club to beautify the area around Freedom Plaza. Public Works provided the mulch and removed the bags of debris after the work was completed. And perhaps it was serendipitous that the mark left on Paul’s shirt after all that work is most clearly...a heart.
EDISON YMCA
Staff and volunteers once again visited the Menlo Park Veterans Home where they enjoyed the many stories the veterans shared about their experiences. Tom Zimmerman, Enhance Fitness instructor, led an exercise class set to patriotic music. The event was humbling to all the volunteers who helped out and very validating to the veterans.
SOUTH AMBOY
Volunteers at the South Amboy Y painted inspirational words, messages and designs on wooden stars for their Stars of Hope project. This project empowers children of all ages to transform communities and individuals in need of hope through the power of art and healing. The stars are displayed in public places in communities worldwide to serve as beacons of hope and compassion for all to see in the immediate and long term aftermath of tragedy.
Our Child Care Centers also celebrated!
OUR SAVIORS
Many of the child care centers also celebrated Day of Service. Our Saviors children invited local fire, police and ambulance departments to thank them for their service to our community. In preparation for their arrival, the children made various banners to show their appreciation for all that they do. The kids also prepared yogurt parfaits as a treat that the servicemen and women could take along with them on their shift!
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BACKPACK DRIVE AT THE METUCHEN YMCA
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The Metuchen Y has been working in conjunction with “Metuchen Gives Back” on a backpack/school supply collection that ran all summer. Supplies were collected at three different locations (the Metuchen Y, What’s the Scoop and Farmer’s Insurance) and SACC staff helped manage the collection of supplies.
On August 30th, all supplies were transported to the Y, where the Leader’s Club sorted and organized all of the items. Karolina, the leader of Metuchen Gives Back, spoke with the Leader’s Club teens about the work that her organization does in town. The supplies were brought to Jersey City, where children were able to “shop” and pick out what they liked, so that they would feel confident on their first day of school.
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HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH AND AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION HELP SAVE LIVES THROUGH CPR LESSONS
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One of the Y's biggest donors, Hackensack Meridian Health, has partnered with the American Heart Association in a landmark initiative to Create a Community of Life Savers. They have committed to train 5th graders through high school students in hands only CPR following the American Heart Association Family and Friends Guidelines.
Meridian Health visited Metuchen, Edison and South Amboy camps to teach this valuable skill to the children.
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NEW PROGRAM FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SPEECH DISABILITIES
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The
Metuchen Y has introduced a new program called Exercising Speech which is designed as one-on-one personal training sessions for children with communication deficits to help them improve their physical fitness while simultaneously increasing their receptive, expressive and pragmatic language abilities. The children work with a nationally certified Personal Trainer, James Farley, who is also an ASHA-certified Speech Language Pathologist.
The children will receive a twofold benefit from this program: improving their physical fitness and working on their social and communication skills. In addition to physical health, each session will work on improving the individual’s abilities pertaining to decision making, conveying wants and needs, articulation and speech intelligibility, following directions as well as pragmatic and social skills.
Communication skills will be worked on with the certified instructor by helping them to articulate their thoughts, communicate and comprehend verbal and non-verbal communication, initiate communication with others, learn to express needs/wants, develop conversational skills, exchange ideas, develop relationships, and enjoy interacting with others.
Because of the uniqueness of this program that is not offered anywhere in Middlesex County, James is happy to report that his schedule is filled to capacity!
Click here to watch a
video
of a class and some feedback from James on how the class began!
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