Different Children, Adolescent Nonprofits Bring a Sense of Community to Kids of All Ages

In a tough economy for today’s working class, local nonprofits have made it their mission to assist in special programming for kids of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds.

To meet the needs of parents working more than one job, as well as assist different marginalized groups on the East End, organizations like the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center, Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center and Project MOST have spent more than 100 years collectively addressing the need for child care and further assistance in what has been called a “child care desert” in a resort community.

Other groups, like the Neo-Political Cowgirls and Our Fabulous Variety Show have dedicated resources to help local kids get involved with the arts while East Hampton’s i-tri has helped hundreds of young girls gain confidence through triathlons.

Most of these programs come free of charge or with minimal fees thanks to the generosity of donations and sponsors. However, the need continues to grow, and these groups are always appreciative of gifts no matter how big or small.

Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center

Also known as “The Center,” the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center (BHCCRC) is a one-stop-shop that has become a lifeline for marginalized children and their families on the East End.

Founded out of tragedy after two migrant children died in a fire in the 1950s, the Center has become a place of educational enrichment and other resources for parents seeking child care.

“We’re going on 70-plus years as a safe haven for underserved families,” said Bonnie Michelle Cannon, executive director of BHCCRC. “Anyone who has come here or knows about the center knows that we’re a full-service community center.”

The Center offers nearly two dozen different programs that assist kids ages 5 to adulthood, including after school programs, SAT prep, college prep, one-on-one counseling, life coaching and career training. It also offers scholarships, emergency assistance and has a food pantry on site. Cannon said that the Center serves about 700 people on a regular basis and has partnered with Maureen’s Haven, where they host people experiencing homelessness as guests during the wintertime.

But that’s just some of what the Center does. Cannon added that it also hosts workshops and have partnered with local banks to encourage financial empowerment where kids have been able to open up their own savings accounts and learn about budgeting. The center hosts nutrition classes, breast cancer screenings, cholesterol testing and holds discussions surrounding mental health at different locations that anyone can drop in to. It offers a “Thinking Forward” lecture series, hosts field trips to the city to see Broadway shows, brings in college liaisons, plus has a full sports center on site.

“The goal is to attack it every level,” Cannon said. “We really get down and uplift individuals who need that support from all areas and from things that are a detriment to why they have not been successful.”

Always looking for volunteers to help with the array of resources the Center offers, Cannon said that the Center “is a special place. When you come here, you feel something different — you feel love.”

“It gives you a new perspective on the underserved,” she added. “It makes you see things in a different light at the end of the day.”

Looking forward, the Center is working on two major projects; an indoor gym and pool and a 3,200-square-foot building to revamp and restructure its preschool and daycare programming. Currently, Cannon said it serves ages 5 and up, but hope to soon host infants which is needed for working families in the area.

The Center’s motto is, “Don’t just drive by, stop by.”

“We’re doing wonderful things here and we want people to know this place is really special,” Cannon said.

For more information, visit bhccrc.org.

Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center

For more than 50 years, the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center (EWECC) in East Hampton has been assisting in child care and education for working families.

Executive Director Tim Frazier said that EWECC was established in 1969 as a Head Start program to address a real need for women going back into the workforce. In 1985, Eleanor Whitmore joined the board and decided to focus more on child care and education, which has become its mantra today.

A licensed early childhood center and child care facility, Fraizer said, “the mission is to provide care for young children in our community, but also assist with food needs, housing needs and health and wellness needs.”

EWECC serves children ages 18 months to 4 years old, as well as providing programming for toddlers.

“We’re a resource to help prepare them for pre-K or kindergarten,” Fraizer said.

He added that they are almost at capacity serving about 100 children and 50 toddlers, but they offer other programming year-round including a summer program.

“We try to meet the needs of the community,” Fraizer said. “We’re a resort community and a lot of our parents work two or three jobs, so we provide a lot of support.”

Open every day from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., EWECC is scholarship-based and works closely with Suffolk County so parents can apply for tuition reimbursement.

“Three or 4 percent of families take advantage of that,” Fraizer said, noting how donations help provide these resources for families in need.

“We’re in a child care desert,” he said. “We’re trying to meet the needs of the working class.”

Fraizer said that they surveyed families and learned that many are working more than one job. “They need that revenue to survive out here with the cost of housing, food and transportation.”

And while the center will be a safe space for kids to learn and thrive, it often provides parent meetings on a regular basis to discuss different topics to help address their needs like wellness, literacy and more. EWECC also has a food pantry and closet full of clothes that families can take advantage of. Fraizer said that volunteers are always welcomed to help out in those spaces.

He added that the center is always looking for guests to come by and give the children different experiences on site since they don’t have the ability to take them out for field trips. The center often hosts local artists and farmers who bring in animals for the kids bringing the idea of a field trip to them.

“We’re really interested in being a true resource for families in the community,” Fraizer said.

For more information, visit ewecc.org.

i-tri

Research shows that the largest drop in self-esteem occurs during early adolescence, according to Theresa Roden, founder and chief visionary officer of i-tri. The group, based in East Hampton, said that i-tri is an empowerment program for middle school girls through triathlon training.

After participating in a triathlon herself, Roden realized what an emotional and fulfilling journey preparing for one could be. She decided she wanted to share this experience with young girls who are trying to find their own way and help them build confidence that will follow them throughout their lives.

“It’s a goal-based program,” she said. “The kids have something to work toward, but the journey to the finish line is where the magic happens.”

The i-tri staff is trained in trauma-informed care and coaching and focuses on social emotional learning (SEL) for their participants.

“This is in response to what’s been identified as a mental health crisis following the pandemic,” Roden said.

Now heading into its 16th season, the program consists of empowerment sessions which teach SEL components that build up as the season progresses. This also includes team building and goal setting, as well as changing mindsets and using the power of words like positive affirmations to help them get to the finish line. The other part of their training includes the fitness component to help build up stamina for the race; a 300-yard open water swim, a 6-mile bike ride and 1 1/2-mile run, which happens over the summer.

Roden said they have more than 200 participants that come for the six-month season. i-tri works in partnership with 13 different school districts from Mastic to Montauk, completely free of charge.

“A majority of the kids who sign up in January or February don’t believe they’re going to be able to do it, but we tell them, ‘We believe in you,’” Roden said. “Sometimes it takes up until the day of the race when they cross that finish line, because everything changes for them. They had to work hard and face fear.”

Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and other donations, the program covers everything with the exception of a small commitment fee for the race. Roden said that it costs $3,000 per participant to get them from day one to the finish line.

“We provide all the training equipment, transportation, everything they need to thrive … Whatever they need,” she said. “It’s incredibly costly, but the investment we make in them is priceless.”

That includes the emotional and physical trainings, swimming lessons and even lessons if someone doesn’t know how to ride a bike. If a participant doesn’t have the right equipment, i-tri provides them with that, too, whether it be a bicycle or even menstrual products.

Roden said that 100 percent of i-tri athletes cross the finish line and they never do it alone.

“What I love is that nobody leaves the race until the last racer crosses the finish line,” she said. “Sometimes girls who finished earlier in the race will run back and cross the finish line with their teammates so they’re not alone. It’s so great to see how they work together.”

Roden added that while the group has grown significantly on the East End, the hope is to one day extend it nationally.

“Our long-term goal is to continue to grow around the country,” she said. “It’s one of the scariest things to dig really deep, but once they push back on that fear, what’s on the other side is incredible pride and accomplishment that’s with them forever.”

For more information, visit i-trigirls.org.

Neo-Political Cowgirls

Founded in 2007 by Kate Mueth, Neo-Political Cowgirls (NPC) is dedicated to creating theater where every voice is welcomed to the table.

Mueth, who is an actor and producer, started the not-for-profit dance theater company after she realized the scripts she read were no longer reflecting her life and she wasn’t feeling satisfied with the audition process. A lot of the time it’s a toxic environment and she was done with it.

“Ninety-five percent of the life of the actor is this experience,” she said. “So, I said, ‘This isn’t what my life is going to be about. I love the craft, I have stories to tell and if I was feeling this way, other actresses were, too.”

Now in its 18th year, the group is committed to making work for underrepresented groups while creating spaces where artists, students and audience from all walks of life can share their perspectives and stories through professional performances, workshops, arts and advocacy forums.

“I want to hold the pen of my own story and give the opportunity to other people for them to hold their own pen,” Mueth added. “I felt strongly that theater needs to be more engaged with most American citizens — it’s a function of not only entertainment, but also the deeper movement that needs to happen … curiosity and how we take what we just experienced and how we can broaden the conversations we have in our society.”

That’s what NPC is all about — breaking down those conventional walls that traditionally separate the audience and actors. Funding given to the group through donations and sponsorships goes entirely into the staff and production of a show. A nomad company, though based in East Hampton, Mueth said every dollar raised helps give someone a job — something that is often hard to find in theater work.

“Every donation goes to pay an artist, benefit people who are creative, putting local people to work, getting local people part of our team to go places nationally and to Europe to perform, and to our programming,” she said.

NPC offers plenty of different opportunities for artists. It welcomes playwrights, actors, dancers and conversationalists for its different programming. Some of it is performed locally, but because it’s a traveling group with no dedicated space, it is able to bring its performances all over, including trips to Europe for the artists to perform.

“So many people get panicked when they see the world ‘political,’” she said. “But that’s the idea — let’s have a conversation. New politics means let’s talk around a table, hold the pen and share their story.”

Those stories include tales from people of color, women or people with disabilities. NPC helps with messaging in plenty of different forms, whether it’s theater, film work, professional performance, education outreach and more.”

With constant programming coming in, Mueth said that the biggest struggle is needing more financial support.

“The more we are able to breathe, the more we are able to smoothly do this work,” she said.

And if that funding continues to come through, the goal is to expand nationally.

“This wouldn’t be just taking the Hamptons and putting it in another city,” she said. “We’d bring our team members to sit down and talk with someone like a mayor or political person and workshop discussion concerns in that specific community that can lead to forward moving conversations while using their local talent.”

With a question like, “What is freedom?” NPC sought answers by including discussions with Planned Parenthood and people who experienced issues with immigration and being a woman in jail. The panelists discussed what freedom meant in each of those cases.

“We want to move the needle forward and amplify the needs in people suffering on these types of issues,” Mueth said. “How can we change the face of the problem? Because it takes all of us and if we continue to normalize people with these hard conversations, it’ll start creative thinking.”

For more information visit npcowgirls.org.

Our Fabulous Variety Show

Our Fabulous Variety Show (OFVS) is different than other dance studios across Long Island.

“We’re the only nonprofit dance studio on the East End,” said co-founder and co-director Anita Boyer. “There’s a lot of dance options for kids.”

Boyer said that OFVS focuses on different mantras including body positivity and inclusivity. It doesn’t require a strict dress code like other studios might, and when they learn a new style of dance, they incorporate the historical side of it (like how tap and hip-hop have deep roots in Black culture).

But a major goal of OFVS is accessibility. “Whenever someone applies for a scholarship, we ask them what they can afford,” Boyer said. “As long as we have the funds, we get the kids involved. We never want kids to not be involved because of finances.”

OFVS focuses on the process of performances over the product. It doesn’t have a big emphasis on matching costumes of glitter and sequins and tries to keep the production costs low for families and offer not only dance classes, but acting opportunities, too.

Boyer said that OFVS came to be after she performed in “Cabaret,” where she met Kasia Klimiuk in Southampton. Looking to raise funds for a marathon she was running, she and Klimiuk opted for a one night fabulous variety show to reach their fundraising goal. However, the duo (and their other friends who came along for the ride) had so much fun they decided to do it again, and again, and again each time donating the funds to a different nonprofit, until they finally became their own nonprofit in 2016.

OFVS filled up with dozens of performers and shows until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Dedicated to still giving her kids the opportunity to dance, Boyer grabbed some plywood and turned her car into a mobile tap studio for outdoor tap sessions.

Today, OFVS has roughly 250 students, including people trying classes out as drop-ins sporadically.

“I feel that there’s a lot of people, especially older kids, who feel welcomed here since they feel they missed out on taking dance classes because they didn’t start when they were 3,” Boyer said.

Like many nonprofits, OFVS is always looking for sponsors and donations to continue doing the work it does. Boyer said that a goal would be to have a full-time admin on staff to help with the daily tasks and eventually have its own dedicated space to rehearse and perform in. Right now, the organization rents out rooms at a church in Bridgehampton.

But, luckily, the families of its students are always there to help. “Parents come in to help volunteer when we have a lot of different events or excursions,” Boyer added, mentioning that the crew will perform at Walt Disney World and take trips to Manhattan to see Broadway shows. It has also been hosting family friendly drag shows since 2011, featuring local drag artists.

“We want the community to know who we are and what we do,” Boyer said. “Give us a try … For people who don’t fit in anywhere else, they’ll fit in with us.”

For more information, visit ofvs.org.

Project MOST

After the community saw its value while it was an after school program at John J. Marshall School in East Hampton, Project MOST began to expand to Springs. And now, nearly two decades later, to Montauk.

Executive Director Rebecca Morgan Taylor said that since its inception in the early 2000s, the community continuously saw the need for after school activities, programming and summer camps to match the working families on the East End.

“We shifted our thinking and grew our summer program to a full summer program,” she said. “We made it a full day. Most camps end at 2 or 3 p.m., but we start at 8 a.m. and end at 5 to match the working population here.”

Its after school programming is a “seamless day for the kids,” Taylor said. Project MOST offers academic enrichment, offers homework support and after the pandemic, the team created small group tutorial programs focusing on reading and writing skills.

Taylor added that there’s even more for the kids; yoga, STEM classes, art classes, double Dutch jump roping — a little bit of everything to help students have a well-rounded experience. And on top of the standard classes that happen year-round, Project MOST will often bring in guests to showcase different workshops like circus performers, African American dance classes, musicians and more.

“It’s an ongoing array of enrichment activity,” she said.

Project MOST’s after school programs enroll about 300 children, while this past summer camp hosted 200. The nonprofit also offers a school vacation session during February and April breaks that saw about 150 students who didn’t go out of town. Taylor said Project MOST probably sees about 1,000 kids per year.

“Something that is part of our next phase of growth that we did after our summer program was have a community learning center where we do one-off programming for kids on weekends and affordable enrichment opportunities for them,” Taylor added.

She said that a couple of hundred people every month attend those workshops.

To fund and support families who are in need of financial assistance, Taylor said that the organization awarded more than $80,000 in scholarships during the summer. Last year, it provided $160,000 to families in need of assistance ranging from full to partial funding.

“We pride ourselves getting to know who our families are, what they need and offer the process to obtain financial assistance,” she said. “It’s also several conversations with families to understand what’s happening in their lives.”

For a family in need of financial assistance, $2,000 can sponsor one student, covering all the cost of the after school program from the school year, while $3,600 covers all the costs of summer outdoor education and excursions for one student.

Looking forward, Taylor said the organization is hoping to continue to grow to help serve working parents from Montauk to Southampton. This past summer, the Town of East Hampton asked Project MOST to take over the Montauk Playhouse Community Center, where it provides daycare to about 50 kids in the community starting at 6 weeks old.

“When we took over, it has given us a presence out there,” she added. “We’re learning about the community and what they need while trying to implement programming out there.”

Taylor said that it is still working toward moving a gifted house to the Neighborhood House property, located at 92 Three Mile Harbor Road, with plans to make the spot home to its community learning center. She added that the organization relies heavily on volunteers and is always looking for people to help with different programming like Homework Club or to come in and read to the kids. Also welcomed are guests like musicians or artists, who come in and teach kids about their crafts.

“If there’s a unique class and a teacher that teaches it, as long as we have the funding, we’re open to try and do it,” Taylor said. “We’re open to really anything.”

For more information, visit projectmost.org.

Southampton Fresh Air Home

Founded in 1901, the Southampton Fresh Air Home (SFAH) was created by a group of women who wanted to share the benefit of ocean air with children who have physical disabilities. Starting with just 10 kids, it has grown to service nearly 600 children every summer at the organization’s camp and during other off-season programming.

“For children with physical disabilities, socialization and recreation could be extremely difficult,” said Executive Director Thomas Naro. “We try to make it as easy as possible by providing transportation and giving caregivers a break.”

Assisting children with physical disabilities ages 8 to 18, many of the kids are located in Hampton Bays, Southampton and Sag Harbor. However, Naro said kids come from all over Long Island and even New York City to spend their summers at the home.

“A lot of the kids come back every year,” he said. “They’re part of the family.”

Similar to any other summer camp, SFAH hosts a sleep-away camp that offers pools, swimming, sports, games, evening activities, campfires and anything else that has been adapted for kids with disabilities — even biking on trails. Naro said that about 80 percent of guests use wheelchairs, so everything has been made ADA compliant so they can enjoy their time on the grounds.

The property, which was gifted to the group in 1905, now consists of 10 buildings, two pools, a sports court and a garden with pollinators and bird feeders.

But to expand its outreach, SFAH also has started programming on the off-seasons that include weekend and day trips, spa weekends and life skills trainings for the older guests to help prepare them for independent living, the workforce and even navigating transportation systems.

It also takes groups on field trips to Manhattan and other places for fun.

“As a nonprofit, we rely on the generosity of our donors to support our programs,” Naro said. It also relies on volunteers, with a year-round full-time staff of five and a few part-timers. Naro has even dedicated some time to help out during SFAH’s new bike riding program.

“I volunteered with the morning bike rides,” he said. “That’s my opportunity to talk to them, ride with them, learn about them. I really make sure I take that time in the morning to get up from my desk, get out and learn about what their favorite things are, which enables me to do my job.”

The goal for SFAH is to continue to grow. The campus that hosts the summer camp maxes out at 150 children. That’s why the home has created programming for fall, winter and spring.

“The more we can do in the off-season, the more people we reach and the more people we help,” Naro said.

For more information, visit sfah.org.