Anna House Graduation: Child Care and So Much More

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 20th 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.

Source of original post

Graduation Day as Anna House Celebrates 20th Anniversary

The Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA) celebrated the Anna House Class of 2022 graduation Tuesday at Belmont Park with 12 students from its early childhood education program for the children of backstretch workers based at Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course.

The ceremony, attended by New York state and local elected officials and community leaders, marked the completion of the children's year-round pre-K program, where they were taught English, math, reading, gardening, art, nutrition and other topics in a STEAM-based curriculum. The students are now prepared to enter Kindergarten in September in local public schools, with many set to continue in BCCA's school-age program where they will receive tutoring and enrichment activities outside their public-school classrooms.

“This is always such a big day for our children and for our families and it's one that we all look forward to each year,” said BCCA President Libby Imperio. “To celebrate their accomplishments and to see how proud they are is a credit to them and to their families as we all work together to prioritize the importance of education.”

BCCA was established in 1998 and since opening its doors in 2002, Anna House has educated more than 1,000 students.

During Tuesday's event, the children presented handmade “thank you” gifts to BCCA Founder and Chairman Michael Dubb, Imperio and the BCCA Team. They also gave a special painting to Dubb to commemorate Anna House's 20th anniversary.

Look for a video feature on the ceremony and the program in Saturday's TDN.

The post Graduation Day as Anna House Celebrates 20th Anniversary appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

TERF Awards $100,500 in Grants

The Thoroughbred Education and Research Foundation (TERF) has awarded $100,500 in grants to 12 organizations. With the vision and mission of bettering the life of Thoroughbred, TERF primarily aims to support students in pursuit of education in Equine Medicine and to fund research efforts which better the life of the Thoroughbred horse.

To fund scholarships and education, $10,000 was awarded to the Belmont Child Care Association, Inc., $2,500 to Amplify Horse Racing, $12,000 to Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, $4,000 to the MidAtlantic Horse Rescue, $5,000 to the Retired Race Horse Project, $5,000 to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, $4,000 to the University of Minnesota Foundation, $10,000 to the Maryland Horse Industry Foundation, $14,000 to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, $16,000 to Wilson College and $4,000 was awarded to HorseMen U. Additionally, $14,000 was awarded to the Foundation for the Horse, the charitable arm of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), to fund a graduate student/resident research grant.

To learn more about the Thoroughbred Education and Research Foundation, visit www.terfusa.org. To make a tax deductible donation to TERF, click here or send a donation to TERF c/o The Chester County Community Foundation, 28 West Market Street, West Chester, PA 19382.

The post TERF Awards $100,500 in Grants appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Saratoga Mini-Golf Challenge Leads To A Bonanza For Backstretch Charities

When NYRA TV analysts Andy Serling and Anthony Stabile kiddingly challenged one another to a mini-golf game during the Sunday, July 18 broadcast of Talking Horses at Saratoga Race Course, neither could ever have dreamed the outcome.

The joke quickly gained traction after Serling received a text from Kirk Wycoff of Three Diamonds Farm. “Make it a foursome – two-on-two. Get the losing team to donate $5,000 to New York-based backstretch charities,” Wycoff suggested.

And with that, the on-air challenge became a reality.

More texts and many more donations proceeded to pour in, including $5,000 from thoroughbred owner Louis Lazzinnaro of Nové Italian Restaurant in Wilton, N.Y., who encouraged some friends to give as well. And by the time the mini-golf game ended on Monday, Aug. 2, it had raised $100,000 for New York-based backstretch organizations.

“It's a testament to the generosity of people in horse racing,” said Serling, half of the Serling/Wycoff mini-golf team which took on Stabile and Lazzinnaro amidst the waterfalls and rotating windmill hazards at Goony Golf in Lake George, N.Y. “And it shows what can happen when a lot of people gather and are ready to have some fun, which affords the opportunity to create real benefit. That's one of the beauties of Saratoga, which lends itself very well to that.”

Sharing the donations will be another foursome – the Saratoga-based aftercare organizations Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and Old Friends at Cabin Creek; as well as the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America, New York Division, and the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA), which serve backstretch communities in New York.

“The horse racing family is the greatest family in the world,” said Stabile. “While we're competing for the same dollars, we're still a family and when the chips are down, we're there to lift each other up. We're fortunate enough to be able to make our living at the track, so giving a little back to the people and to the horses who keep it going is the least we can do.”

Serling said the unique concept grew thanks to the generosity of Wycoff, Lazzinnaro and a lot of like-minded racing enthusiasts.

“It shows the commitment of people involved in horse racing and the importance of doing something for the workers on the backstretch and the horses, all of whom give so much to us,” he said. “Who would ever have figured that this is where a game of mini-golf would lead?”

Ah yes, the game.

“Kirk Wycoff is one of the greatest mini-golfers I've ever seen,” said Stabile.

Fortified by Wycoff's three holes-in-one, the Serling/Wycoff team defeated Stabile and Lazzinnaro, otherwise known as “Team Nové,” by 15 strokes.

“In this case, it's just fine to be on the short end,” said Stabile. “There's no such thing as a donation that's too small. But raising $100,000 for these great charities? I could never have predicted that – and it comes at an amazing time.”

Stabile refers specifically to the BCCA, where he serves as a member of the advisory board.

“There's never a bad time to donate,” he said. “But given that the BCCA has just opened its Saratoga child care center to go along with the one they operate at Belmont Park, it's great timing.”

Lazzinnaro agreed. “All are superstar organizations,” he said of the donation's recipients. “The people who work there have dedicated their lives to what they do. That's why it's great this worked out.”

The post Saratoga Mini-Golf Challenge Leads To A Bonanza For Backstretch Charities appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights