Now more then ever, the youth of Martha’s Vineyard are in need of a safe and secure space, apart from home, where they can engage with peers and in enrichment. The Y is grateful that we have been able to give Island youth that space and a dose of normalcy this year, while supporting the childcare needs of parents. Pre-pandemic, the additional dedicated youth programming space was needed to meet the demand of participants. No one would have predicted that without this newly expanded space supported by MVYouth, our program would have not been able to run safely and successfully as we make our way through the pandemic.

The emphasis in our youth programs has always been character building, and this is specifically important when it comes to social and emotional learning. A primary element of our youth development program is giving kids an engaging and rich experience that allows them to exercise some of their other faculties that might not be as active during the conventional school day. With many kids having experienced social isolation during this time, the Y has been a space to safely gather and build on the important social and emotional experiences each kid deserves.

With the newly expanded youth classroom space, we have been able to keep cohorts smaller in size and separated to accommodate for social distance. Thankfully we are also able to meet the community need for after school childcare and we are finishing the year serving pre-pandemic numbers of participants. The additional classroom space also allowed for us to expand our summer camp to include another group of 15 children. This was critical this year as the demand for summer camp childcare was at an all-time high on the Island.

Thanks to the support and generosity of MVYouth, the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard has been able to navigate through this challenging time as an organization that has returned to serving Island youth in-person safely.