YMCA Family Events

The annual YMCA Kids’ Korner Halloween Carnival took place on Thursday, October 28th in both the YMCA gymnasium and family center. This event was a great success with over 300 ghosts, ghouls and fairy princesses in attendance. Each Kids’ Korner site created a Halloween booth which offered a variety of different activities. One specific booth featured a catapult which launched objects at three different plastic pumpkins. This booth had a line out of the gym and around the corner throughout the entire event. The YMCA Family Center featured the Haunted Hallway that brought both screams and laughter to the many that dared to walk through. It was said by many that this particular Haunted Hallway was the scariest one to date. Scary sounds played throughout the hallway as people of all ages were spooked by YMCA staff members.

On November 18th a crowd of 30 families joined us for Family BINGO. The game of fun and chance was called by YMCA staff members Tony Sharillo, Melanie Carfora, and Kevin Cassesse. Excitement was in the air as families dabbed away at their BINGO cards in hopes of winning a prize. It was even rumored that screams of “BINGO” could be heard in the lobby from all the fun that was occurring in the Hazen Room. It was a great evening filled with family fun for all who attended. Thank you to all the families who brought canned food items to donate to the Amazing Grace Food Pantry.

Spend some time with your family at the YMCA. Join us on Thursday, December 9th from 6:30-8:00 pm for Santa’s Workshop at the YMCA. Friends and family will gather as we wrap gifts to be donated to families in need. The YMCA will provide wrapping materials, music, snacks and good cheer, you provide a children’s gift to wrap. A special guest may even make an appearance! Free for YMCA members, guest of members are $5 per person with a $10 family max.

Check out our website at www.midymca.org for upcoming family events at the Middlesex YMCA.

Tony Sharillo, Camp Ingersoll and Youth Programs Director.

Tony began his Y career fifteen years ago at the Middlesex YMCA took a short break to work at the Waterbury YMCA and returned to take on his current position last fall. Tony graduated from the University of CT with a degree in Child Psychology, he holds his Director Certification from the YMCA of the USA and serves as the current Chair of the Y CT Program and Membership Network. Tony lives in Middletown with his wife Erika and sons Michael 2 ½ and Lucas 6 months. He is a Red Sox fan and athlete who enjoys playing a variety of sports.

Fun Fact: Tony met his wife when they both worked as camp counselors at Camp Ingersoll!

What is your role at the YMCA?

“Here at the Middlesex YMCA not only am I the Ambassador of Fun, I have the great honor of running YMCA Camp Ingersoll as well as coordinating some of the new youth sport and teen programs run at camp and here at the YMCA.”

What it the most rewarding part of your job?

“There are so many aspects of my job that I find very rewarding that it’s hard to say which one is the most rewarding. I love the camp staff and truly enjoy working with such enthusiastic and creative people. I love working with all the campers during the summer and getting to see all the smiles our great camp staff create everyday. I love working outdoors and building things from scratch. Most of all I love that my job is basically to make the most of everyday, whether it’s during the summer or working with a teambuilding group!”

What makes the Y a special place?

“I believe it’s the staff and volunteers and their commitment to each other and the community that make the YMCA so special. Everyone works hard to develop and facilitate quality programs and events.”

MEET THE MIDDLESEX YMCA STAFF TEAM

Melanie Carfora, YMCA School Age Director.

Melanie has worked for the Middlesex YMCA for eleven years, lives in Middletown with her husband Dave and four year old daughter Jenna. Melanie holds a bachelors degree in social work from Saint Joseph College she enjoys reading, sports, and being funny!

Fun Fact: Melanie was a camper at Camp Ingersoll!

Please share with us your professional background:

“I started working as an assistant group leader in our after school programs while I was in high school. I eventually became a head teacher at Farm Hill Kids’ Korner, a position I held for about 5 years. Once I graduated from college, I worked as a program coordinator and then became the school age director in 2006. I also began working at Camp Ingersoll in 2000 and have held many different positions including unit director of horseback, specialty camp counselor and now senior staff. “

What is your role at the Middlesex YMCA?

“I am the director for our Kids’ Korner before and after school department at the YMCA. I am the program administrator responsible for the oversight of our eleven licensed school age programs. I oversee the hiring and training of a staff team of 65 people, create and implement curriculum for our programs, monitor compliance with local and state licensing regulations, and create and foster relationships with our many community partners.”

What do you find most rewarding about your work at the YMCA?

“The most rewarding part of my job is knowing that we are running quality before and after school programs that are an asset to working parents. I also find it rewarding when I see our staff sharing their talents and time with the children in our programs and serving as positive role models in our community.”

How does the YMCA impact the community?

“The Y is a special place because we are making a real difference to the families and individuals we serve. We provide programs that promote wellness of the whole individual; mind, body and spirit. I chose the Y because our staff are really committed to our mission and care about wellness in our community.”

MEET THE MIDDLESEX YMCA STAFF TEAM

The YMCA is a community of caring people and that attitude begins with the dedicated staff members who put that principal to work each day. Over the next few weeks I will be posting different interviews with various staff members. I hope you enjoy getting to know these talented people!

Today I introduce to you Bob Spencer the Y Director of Advancement / Assistant to the President. Bob has worked at the Y for 4 ½ years. Prior to the Y Bob had a long career as a social worker and non-profit administrator. Bob and his wife Lindsay live in Portland and have two grown children Sam and Libby. They will celebrate their 30^th wedding anniversary next year and love to travel, hike, explore the outdoors, spend time with good friends and giving back such as their work with Habitat for Humanity.

What is your role at the Middlesex YMCA?

Charitable contributions help us to advance our mission and make all of our programs/services available to those who want/need them. Raising charitable contributions requires us to cultivate donors, keep donors engaged, informed and appreciated. New donor relationships comes from a more actively engaged membership/community and from a growing number of volunteers willing to tell the Y story. Board members providing active involvement in the financial development needs of the Y is an instrumental piece of the advancement process. My job is to bring these pieces together.

What it the most rewarding part of your job?

Helping donors who want to make a difference in the lives of children and families find a way to do that.

What makes the Y a special place? How does it impact the community?

I think our Y is one of the most diverse places in this community. There are a variety of people from multiple economic, racial and age groups that pass through our doors and they all intermingle here at the Y. We work hard to keep our doors open to any/all who want and need our services. Our men’s residence takes me back to early experiences that first drew me to social work. Our work with kids gives me a lift that I can’t imagine getting any place else. I love being part of a larger team who live out the values of honesty, caring, respect and responsibility.

Medicare Made Clear

Determining which insurance coverage is best for you can be confusing, and its even more so when you add in all of the Medicare options.

To help you sort through all of the information and get answers to your questions, the Middelsex YMCA is proud to host two FREE information sessions called "Medicare Made Clear".

Choose the one session that is most convenient for you. And please invite a friend.

Session A- Wednesday, November 10th 11:00 am in the Hazen Room of the YMCA

Session B- Friday, November 12th 9:30 am in the Hazen Room of the YMCA

Each session will be approx 1 hour and we will provide coffee.

To reserve your seat please stop by the Front Desk of the YMCA or contact Helen at (860) 343-6230 or hpeaslee@midymca.org

Kids' Korner Receives Two Important Grants

Kids’ Korner is much more than a child care program. The eleven before and after school programs located in public elementary schools in Middletown, Portland, and Cromwell serve over 600 children. Children who attend our programs are surrounded by caring adults who serve as positive role models; enjoy healthy snacks, participate in daily CATCH fitness games and activities, receive help with homework and engage in a wide variety of activities and clubs that build both social and academic skills. The YMCA is intentional about making Kids’ Korner assessable to all families regardless of their economic situation. Our programs strive to engage all children in activities that promote personal interest and skills that will help children grow into healthy adults. Two community partners have recently provided the YMCA with grants that will support these objectives.

Liberty Bank Foundation

The Liberty Bank Foundation presented the YMCA Kids’ Korner with a $5,000 grant to support our Kidzlit Program. Kidzlit is an afterschool literacy program for K-2^nd grade students. KidzLit instructors meet once a week with children introducing a variety of picture books that touch on social skill themes such as friendships, honesty, cultural competency and others. Children read the book with the facilitator, talk about the character, plot, illustrations and theme while also recognizing cool vocabulary words. Upon completion of the story children participate in an extended learning activity such as crafts, cooking, dramatic arts etc. The goal of the Kidzlit program is to increase young children’s joy of reading.

JCPenney Foundation

As a leading corporate advocate for the afterschool issue, JCPenney works with afterschool organizations to increase the accessibility and affordability of afterschool programs across the country. The Middlesex YMCA is one of 287 Y’s from across the United States to receive a grant this school year. The $5,000 grant allows the YMCA to provide financial assistance to underserved populations that otherwise could not afford to participate.

The YMCA is exceptionally grateful for the Liberty Bank Foundation and JCPenney Foundation support and commitment to the work that we do for children and families in this community.

Y Hikers Closing Our First Season

Our Y Hikers group is scheduled to go into hibernation on Thursday, October 21^st, but not before we get in one more blue blazed adventure. This Wednesday will be our 14^th outing and we will be hitting the Shenipsit trailhead in Cobalt. We expect to see some great foliage with stunning vistas of the CT River and Great Hill Pond in Portland.

Our hiking adventures this season have been multiple and have we ever been blessed by the weather goddess! We had one total downpour when we all got drenched but all the rest were truly beautiful, yes, quite warm some times, but truly beautiful CT weather. We have found interesting things on the ground and in the sky. Most of the hikes have been within 20 minutes drive time of the Y and there is some truly gorgeous country right here in our backyard. We give great thanks to the CT Forest and Park Association and their volunteers who give so much time in trail marking and maintenance. The Blue Blaze trail system is a great asset!

Our hikes have averaged between 2 and 4 miles each week and so I figure we’ve covered nearly 1.5 marathons in distance and the total elevation change we’ve covered must be close to half a mile of up and down. We have had a weekly group of between 4 and 8 hiking with us and have successfully retrieved a total of 7 lost hikers along the way, not too shabby for a bunch of amateurs.

The best part of it all has been the great fellowship we have experienced. Good friendships have been established and when you peel away all of the meaningless stuff that can clutter up life, that’s one very precious discovery that can last a lifetime. With the regular hiking season coming to a close it’s a great time to get a good deal on a pair of boots for next spring. It’s never too early to start making plans. Come join us in April.

Preventing Summer Slide

Summer for children from middle class and wealthy families is a time for fun, relaxation, and learning. Children growing up in a family with means experience a summer full of opportunities to engage in creative outlets such as camp, family vacations, and visits to museums and libraries that develop their mind, body, and spirit allowing them to enter school in the fall ready to take on new academic challenges. Children from low income families, however, are more likely to spend the summer languishing in environments that do not stimulate learning, promote creativity nor enrich the mind body or spirit of a child. These children in return experience summer slide, a loss of academic progress made during the previous school year that sets them apart from their wealthier peers.

A study by researchers at John Hopkins University, cited in a recent Time article titled The Case Against Summer Vacation, reported that while students made similar progress during the school year regardless of economic barriers, by the end of grammar school low-income students had fallen nearly three grade levels behind their better-off peers. This well documented achievement gap is the result of multiple years of academic loss attributed to summer slide.

This summer the YMCA, in collaboration with the Middletown Board of Education, provided a five week summer enrichment and academic program to children entering first grade primarily attending Macdonough School in Middletown. Funded by grants from the Liberty Bank Foundation, People’s United Community Foundation and the Middlesex Community Foundation, this program served sixteen children from low income families. Using classroom space donated by South Congregational Church, certified teachers provided small group literacy support to children for an hour each day. YMCA staff provided enrichment and recreation activities employing a different learning theme each week that included: Adventures in Food and Fitness, Lights Camera and Action and Crafting Through the Continents. Students also went on field trips, played outdoors, went swimming and participated in the CRT Summer Lunch Program that provided both a healthy breakfast and lunch each day.

Data is currently being collected to determine if through engagement in a full day summer program students avoided the traditional summer slide and/or produced academic gains. We do know that the children who attended were eager to participate in all components of the program and the teaching staff were very pleased with the enthusiasm and personal academic and social progress that each child exhibited at the conclusion of the five week program. Summer slide is a serious academic concern that must be addressed if we are going to bridge the well known learning gap within our society. The YMCA, as a result of strong community partnerships, has provided sixteen children with an opportunity to close the gap and be successful first graders.

YMCA Staff Story

It is common for us as YMCA staff to hear stories from our members about what the YMCA means to them. This past week I received a card from an employee who recently completed her work experience in our Kids' Korner after school program. Christa Vardaro is a 2010 graduate of Wesleyan University and has worked as a group leader in our after school programs for the past four years. She reflected on her experience with the YMCA by sharing the following thoughts:

"The last four years at Kids' Korner have been more than I could have ever expected. I have made lasting friendships with staff and have had the opportunity to get close with and see the kids dramatically change over the years. I truly believe that Kids' Korner is the perfect after school program; providing kids the perfect balance of structure and freedom by allowing them to participate in a safe and fun community. Working for the YMCA has really made me realize the importance of after school education for children and has influenced my current job hunt, post graduation. I just wanted to thank everyone at the YMCA for creating such a wonderful program for kids and for allowing me to be a part of it. I have had a blast and have learned a lot from my experience."

The Middlesex YMCA means so much to so many people. YMCA staff are fortunate to have the opportunity to provide our members with programs that build spirit, mind and body. As we spread our message and deliver our programs we meet many people and create meaningful partnerships. Our interactions and experiences with our members and programs affect us in ways we sometimes do not expect and can influence our choices in life. Thank you Christa for sharing your story and experiences.

Crayons for Cancer

Caring and compassion are core values at the Middlesex YMCA. This week, Macdonough School Kids' Korner had the opportunity to exemplify these traits by supporting "Crayons for Cancer." (www.crayonsforcancer.org).

"Crayons for Cancer" seeks to ease the financial burdens of families whose children currently suffering from cancer by selling cute-shaped crayons. They take old crayon donations to melt down and create fun shape crayons that are sold or used to replenish hospital Treasure Chests.

At Kids' Korner, we noticed that the box of crayons on our art cart had been getting larger and larger and that many of those crayons were broken ones. Around the same time, we learned about "Crayons for Cancer 2nd Annual Benefit Concert" (June 12th, 2010) and decided it would be a perfect was to get involved.

The children started Tuesday afternoon by sorting out our "good" crayons from the "donation" crayons. They could not believe how many broken pieces were inside our crayon box. After they peeled away the paper from all the donation crayons, they were shocked to find that there were over 1,000 broken crayons to donate to this great cause.

The donation will be brought to to "Buried Under Comics" who will deliver our donation to the Crayons for Cancer Benefit Concert on June 12th in Manchester, CT from 11-3 pm.

To read about other ways Macdonough School Kids' Korner has supported families with cancer this school year, please visit the Macdonough School Blog at http://macdonoughschool.blogspot.com/2010/01/ribbon-project.html

June 2nd hike preview!

Last year I had the incredible opportunity to hike in various parts of the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. This is truly an awe inspiring place where amazing views hit you in the face at every other turn of the path. I’d say this was one of those places where the hiking bug really took hold and became a more regular part of my life. Being outdoors taking in the sights and smells of all nature has to offer has added a richness to my life that I hope will continue for many years to come. Sharing the experience of exploration and discovery with others is an added bonus. The shared sense of WOW! is a way of joining together that doesn’t happen every day.

Our 1^st and 3^rd Wednesday hikes here at the Y have allowed that shared WOW! to continue. We have explored places together that none of us have been to before and we’ve seen sights that are really quite inspiring. My feelings for conservation and preservation have been enhanced, my sense of joy for the simple/natural has been expanded.

Our hike on Wednesday, June 2^nd promises to be a continuation of this. We’ll head out on the Mattabesett Trail as it wonders past Millers Pond. When I did a preview hike out here last weekend I was amazed that in sections I was reminded of a hike around Jenny Lake in the Tetons.

If you like to be outdoors and active, if you like the company of other who are similarly inclined, if you want to discover some great spaces right here in our backyard, please join us. We leave the Y parking lot at 4 p.m. and typically return between 6:30 and 7:00. A heavy downpour and/or lightning strikes will keep us away but a little rain won’t stop us. Come on down!

Saying "Thank You" is Rewarding

Last night was a perfect night for baseball, so I took my two children to see a New Britain Rock Cats game. Before I purchased the tickets I noticed that there were a few inflatable activities set up. It turns out it was Principal Financial Family Fun night and the activities were free. So, we spent an hour or so jumping in the sport themed bounce house and taking our picture with Rocky the mascot (who looks surprisingly like a 6'4" mouse). It was great.

Then it was time to head into the stadium and watch (what was left of) the game. As we left the activity area I noticed a pop up tent with a few people that clearly worked for Principal Financial. They were frantically looking at their cell phones (I'm sure keeping a close eye on the market for their customers) and all of the families that were coming and going through the gate to the activity area were just walking past and ignoring them. I decided to approach the table and interrupt them. I then thanked them for the great event and told them how much I appreciated their efforts. After a brief conversation one of the guys handed me two tickets to the game and told me that they included access to the Webster Terrace where we could eat and drink for free.

The kids only made it through 7 innings but the entire adventure did not cost me any money. As we drove home with our shirts and faces stained with mustard and watermelon and I realized that I had learned an important lesson. Saying thank you and expressing your appreciation makes you feel good and it makes that person that you are thanking feel good, too. And sometimes you are even rewarded.