Mid-Island Youth Jewish Community Center receives $950,000 ARPA grant

The Mid-Island Youth Jewish Community Center has received a $950,000 grant from the American Rescue Plan Act to help recover from steep financial losses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nassau County Legis. Arnold W. Drucker (D-Plainview) presented the grant during a news conference Thursday at the Plainview-based community center.

The funding is a lifeline for the nonprofit, which, CEO Rick Lewis told Newsday, lost nearly $2 million over the course of the pandemic and has yet to recover those reserves.

“Most people walk in the front door, and they say, ‘Wow, this place must be doing amazing, because it’s crowded and the parking lot is full,’ ” Lewis said at the news conference. “But unfortunately, a crowded parking lot and a full pool and fitness center in early childhood doesn’t necessarily mean financial success.”

In an interview, Lewis said expenses have skyrocketed across the board, from minimum-wage hikes to security costs that have increased after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel by Hamas. And while the JCC stayed open during the pandemic and followed state health mandates, many members canceled their memberships during lockdowns and have not returned.

“It’s amazing because while the JCC appears to be financially healthy, it struggles just like everybody else,” Lewis told Newsday. “This check makes a very, very big difference.”

The grant, he said, will help restore emergency reserves depleted by the cost of reopening under changing state health mandates.

“There was no hesitation that we had to do it. We knew we had to do it whether we had the money or not,” he told Newsday.

The JCC serves Nassau County, offering early childhood programs, summer camp, fitness facilities, social services and inclusive programming for people with special needs and Alzheimer’s disease.

Drucker, a longtime supporter of the community center, emphasized the symbolic and practical importance of the JCC to the surrounding community.

“What first started out as a facility to cater to a Jewish population has grown, evolved and transformed itself to a hub of a multicultural, multi-faith and multiethnic community,” he said at the news conference. “It is a beacon of light for all Long Islanders.”

Jason Blumkin, president of the JCC’s board of directors, shared how his children, including one with autism, have benefited from the inclusive environment and adaptive programming at the community center.

“We are fortunate to have a place that caters to so many different parts of our community,” Blumkin said at the event. “You feel such pride in the ways the JCC allows us to provide so much and how the staff and volunteers do it.”

Ann Dorman Adler, a longtime board member, recalled how her connection to the JCC began 30 years ago when she was a new mother searching for support and community.

“We came for Mommy and Me, and we sort of stayed forever,” she said at the news conference.

Despite the financial strain, Lewis said the JCC has its eyes on expansion and innovation.

“We see a very, very bright future including expanding programs, going with off-site programming, getting further out into the community,” he told Newsday.

Still, he acknowledged the uphill climb.

“We will be here for everybody,” Lewis said at the event. “But we still suffer the struggles of what we had to do during COVID.”

CORRECTION: Ann Dorman Adler's last name was misspelled in an earlier version of this story.