backstretch childcare | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. (BCCA) annually hosts a Holiday Shopping Day for all of the families of backstretch workers at Belmont Park and Aqueduct Race Track. This year, BCCA held its event on Saturday, Dec. 3 in the clubhouse at Belmont Park. The Belmont Cafe was transformed into a Winter Wonderland which included a Sugar Plum Cafe and Holiday Shop. Thanks to the New York Racing Association (NYRA), BCCA was provided with a beautiful venue to host its event and NYRA's facilities and security departments provided much needed support on all levels.

This year, 500 children were escorted by elves who assisted them as they chose presents for themselves and for everyone in their families. Over 100 volunteers assisted the children while they shopped. Other elves helped to select merchandise for the Holiday Shop and personally baked treats for the Sugar Plum Cafe. Our children met elves at the wrapping station where they watched while their gifts were prepared.

The shopping experience was complete when they stopped to visit Santa in the Reindeer Court. Santa was assisted by elves as the children received candy canes, took photos, and told Santa what was on their wish list. The day was filled with smiling faces as the children and elves sang along with the carols playing in the lobby and in the shop.

This event day was made possible thanks to the incredibly generosity of donors who participated in BCCA's call-to-action at its annual Racing for the Children dinner and auction, held each year in Saratoga Springs in late August. The funds raised that evening were used to purchase new coats, vests, sweaters, robes, kitchen appliances, beauty accessories, and tool boxes, to name a few. BCCA received donations of new toys thanks to a new partnership with Jazwares Inc. through their philanthropic arm, Jazwares Cares, in addition to donations from the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots Foundation with whom BCCA has shared a long-lasting partnership.

BCCA's volunteers are essential to the success of the event beginning with the planning stage, set-up day, day of event operations, and clean up and break down. BCCA recognizes all its volunteers from the Thoroughbred racing industry and its bountiful group of volunteers from the National Charity League, New York Chapter of Garden City.

This year, as BCCA celebrates 20 years of providing an early childhood education and development program for children year-round at Anna House and during the summer race meet at Faith's House at Saratoga Race Course, BCCA is grateful to our donors for their incredible support of our most important programs. The generosity of our donors allows us to fulfill our commitment to the families of the backstretch workers with the knowledge that their children will receive a great start toward a better future. You really can't put a price on giving a child a great start in life and a gift of any size matters.

We invite you to Think BIG for BCCA because when we come together, we can make a great impact on the lives of our children and their families. To join our year-end appeal, please visit us at www.belmontchildcare.org.

The mission of the Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. (BCCA) is to provide a safe, supportive, and academically inspiring environment for the children of parents working in the Thoroughbred racing backstretch area located at New York's historic Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack, and Saratoga Race Course. We are committed to promoting early childhood education, molding young minds, and encouraging the fulfillment of dreams.

Joanne K. Adams is the Executive Director of the Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. (BCCA), a 501 c 3 organization.

The post Letter to the Editor: Jingle Bells Ring for the Backstretch Families! appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Finding affordable quality day care is a struggle most working parents face, but for parents working on the backstretches of America's racetracks, the combination of low pay and early hours make it even more of a challenge. For years, too many backstretch parents were forced to leave their children in less-than-ideal situations or drive to work at 5 a.m. with their kids sleeping in the back of their car.

But in the late 1990s, after talking to his good friend Jerry Bailey about the situation, Michael Dubb took matters into his own hands and built Anna House, a model day care program for backstretch workers located right in the Belmont barn area.

This past Tuesday, a dozen children graduated from the program, and will head to the local public school system this fall. But the Anna House care doesn't stop there. Early-morning care, breakfast, after-school care, tutoring, summer programs, and literacy programs for parents are all a part of the remarkable and comprehensive system overseen by the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA).

“Most of the children come from bilingual families, and so we teach them English first and foremost,” said Dubb. “We teach them computer skills. We teach them arts and crafts. We teach them interaction. We teach them gardening. We teach them how to play chess. We teach them how to climb walls. We teach them how to build character and confidence. And it really sets them up for life. These are happy, exuberant kids ready for the challenges that life is going to bring them and ready to excel.”

For the past 10 years, Libby Imperio has served as the President of the BCCA, and oversees fundraising, grants to expand the programs offered, and more.

“I became involved because my husband and I went to their Saratoga fundraiser, Racing for the Children. And they had a wish list asking for diapers, books, changing tables, formula and with the thousands of fundraisers we go to, no one had ever asked me for a specific item before, and it really tugged at my heart. That was the beginning. And I just kept asking, `What can I do? What can I do?'”

Years later, she knows the answer.

Since its inception, Anna House has gone beyond educating preschool children and has expanded its programs to parent literacy, basic childcare, and more.

“I'm so proud of our expansions,” said Imperio. “Our first expansion was after-school tutoring, which we provide to up until 13 years old. Then we took that concept and provided a school-age program, so our graduates and even kids that did not originally attend here who are in elementary school, when they have the day off or school vacation, they have now a safe and healthy and nurturing place to attend. And we have about 20 kids enrolled in that program.”

The BCCA and Dubb built Faith House in Saratoga so that workers relocated for the eight weeks could bring their children knowing they would have a safe place to go for a summer which involves both learning and fun.

They also provide basic life and childcare skills. “We joined with the other backstretch charities, BEST and the Racetrack Chaplaincy to develop `The ABCs of Life' for the mothers of the backstretch,” she said. “That course is teaching things that we all take for granted: how to write a check, nutrition on a low income, basic health and dentistry for children, cooking, and just your basic ABCs of life. But my favorite program has become the women's literacy program. It started out with about just five moms on the backstretch, and we now have about 25 mothers. And it makes me so happy because that just will help not just themselves, but their children as they go forward in life.”

Tuesday's graduation was the 20^th time that the Anna House kids left the program to head for the public schools, and Dubb said that some of them were now circling back.

“I've seen familiar faces back here at the racetrack working,” said Dubb. “But one of them, a young child at the racetrack named Angel Torres whose father was an assistant trainer, he was a child of the backstretch, and went on from here to get his college degree. And he's one of the now one of the top financial people at my company.”

Anna House's most important fundraiser is coming up at Saratoga, said Imperio-the very event she attended all those years ago which inspired her involvement. Every year, the BCCA needs to raise $1.7 million for operations.

“Our biggest fundraiser of the year is Racing for the Children, being held in downtown Saratoga August 25th at the Universal Preservation Building (at 25 Washington Street). It's a new location for us this year, so we're really excited about it. I think it will be a beautiful event.”

Dubb said that initially, he saw the need and thought as a builder, he could fix it, and move on.

“When I built this, I really just wanted to donate a building and ride off into the sunset,” he said. “But I couldn't do it. And in 20 years, I'm most proud of the children and I'm most proud of their parents. This is the real American dream. Come here to work hard and to do right by your kids. That's what my grandparents did. And I'm just so happy that I can share my good fortune and make this happen, but it's really not about me. This is the gift that keeps giving to me. It brings me more pleasure than anything else on the racetrack-more pleasure than winning any kind of race. A race is for a moment, but a child's life is for a lifetime. And knowing that we're making a difference, really, that's what really, really drives me.”

To make a donation to Anna House, or to learn more about their upcoming fundraisers, visit www.belmontchildcare.org.

The post Anna House Graduation: Child Care and So Much More appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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