Teen Club Impresses NYC Youth Commissioner

At the end of every school day, instead of rushing home, some one hundred Bais Rivkah students stay behind for the school’s Teen Club. A visit by the NYC Youth Commissioner, whose office sponsors the program, left him with a profound impression.

The program is the result of a partnership between Bais Rivkah and the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island, which facilitates the grant from the Dept. of Youth and Community Development (DYCD).

The DYCD runs over 900 programs throughout the city, and its commissioner, Mr. Bill Chong, chooses a handful to come and visit personally each year.

The DYCD guests were welcomed to the program by Rabbi Moshe Wiener, the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island; Rabbi Benjy Stock, and Bais Rivkah’s on-site program staff.

After a meeting discussing the importance of after school programs and the needs of the Crown Heights community, the guests were led through the program, observing the various activities and interacting with the students to hear from them the benefits the program.

The girls shared with the commissioner many reasons why they love the program, and the benefits that they gain by being a part of it.

At the end of the tour, the students assembled to thank the commissioner and present him with a gift that was hand-crafted by a group of the students. A panel of students thanked the Commissioner and the DYCD staff for giving them this opportunity. The Commissioner was amazed by the gratitude of the students, their positive energy and enthusiasm.

The Bais Rivkah Teen Club is an after-school program for the school’s 6-8 graders that provides nourishing food, homework support, and stimulating recreational clubs and workshops. It has begun its fifth year with much enthusiasm. Because it is government funded, all the participants enjoy the program absolutely free.

“The program keeps kids in a very positive environment, giving them a fun time without the need to seek out other things, and keeping them with friends,” said one of the program staff members.

“Another aspect is giving children the ability to explore different interests, whether it’s guitar lessons, cake decorating, hairstyling, computers and graphic design, woodworking, dance, drama or photography – giving them an idea of something they would like to pursue after they graduate,” she said.

For more information about the program, e-mail Afterschool@bethrivkah.edu.

9 Comments

  • Andrea Schonberger

    I’ll probably get a lot of bull for asking this question but I have to ask. I gather Bais Rivkah is a private school. If so, then how can this fantastic club be government funded? I doubt that the club is open to all girls of the neighborhood as the school appears to be private and as such the school has every right to restrict membership to the student body. Or is it different in NYC? Just wondering…

    • Pragmatist

      DYCD funds many after school programs in private schools – the idea is the just because the students are not in public school, they should not be denied access to these types of programs. There are a lot of factors that go into which schools get these funds, but the City believes that these funds are well spent, based on numerous studies that show that these programs go together with better outcomes for the city, whether they are for PS kids or Private school kids.

  • Rivka Gurevitz

    Andrea Schonberger I normally never comment on-line, but I feel the need to respond to a lot of misconceptions. I happen to know some of the people behind the funding for this. BR can’t get funding for things like religion, BUT: NYC does give funding even to private schools if they can show a needs based reality for things not related to religion. Also in Private Schools where the demographic fits- even secular text books will be covered, and students won’t have to pay. It’s not always about Private. I say this because I actually know the people who help with the funding. The people at JCCGCI work on getting grants from private and public and help schools, organizations etc. with the funding to do all sorts of things. Not all funding is based on what kind of school, and knowing Rabbi Wiener, he is one of the most HONEST people that I know, and would NEVER do anything that was unlawful.

  • Reb bengy stock

    Go Bengy he so hands on!!! Always there when you need him!!!

  • NYC resident

    Since EVERYONE pays taxes, whether you have children or not, and whether those children attend private or public schools, the government can cover things that are not religious, such as food, transportation, after school activities, etc
    Why shouldn’t some of our taxes come back to help our own, just because we have a specific standard of education

  • FRIENDS

    amazing work Chanie Moskowitz i hope bais rivkah realizes and appreciates what kind of worker they have!!!

  • Dr. B.

    A heartfelt Yasher Koach and congratulations to Benjy Stock and to the School’s educational and non-educational Administration for all there hard work, dedication, passion and leadership. These programs are truly amazing!