Five Towns centers receive grant money

The Five Towns Community Center and the Five Towns Senior Center are expected to receive their annual grants from the Town of Hempstead, totaling more than $119,000, to continue the services and programs they provide to the community. The town approved the grants at its Aug. 2 meeting.

Bertha Pruitt, executive director of the Community Center, said it would receive an $85,283 grant for bilingual services and an $11,000 grant for senior services.

The center’s Aid to the Foreign Born program provides an array of services for those born outside the U.S., including registering children for school and citizenship test preparation. “Our services offer the type of support to allow them to function once they are in this country,” Pruitt said.

The Aid to the Foreign Born program, managed by Yiset Abreu and Ignes Collado, helps at least 10 participants a day with a wide array of services. According to Abreu, while most people in the program are from Central America, it includes transplants from India, Israel and other countries. “We do everything here,” Abreu said. “We help with social services, immigration, employment preparation, resumes, citizenship … pretty much you name it and we do it.”

Abreu added that she and Collado are constantly brainstorming new ideas to add to their bilingual services. “It would be nice if we could do some sort of English-enhancement class and workshop for domestic violence,” she said. “The plan is to have some new educational programs and more events to unite the community. The educational part is key, and awareness of what programs are out there for them.”

The Community Center also provides daily activities for senior citizens, and offers services to help them deal with problems with health care, housing, food stamps and Social Security.

Kim George, the head of senior services at the Community Center, said the grant money would help support current programs and services and possibly allow for the creation of some new ones. “It’s a bonus because we’re able to do more,” George said. “With more programs, the better time they have.”

Georgiana Wolfson, executive director of the Five Towns Senior Center, said that facility would receive a $23,100 grant to offset general operating expenses for its 300 members. The Senior Center offers a daily exercise class as well as painting, sculpture, singing, computer literacy, creative writing and other activities.

“We provide services for the underprivileged and the elderly,” Wolfson said. “We’ve been getting this grant for many years, and without it, it would be a tremendous hardship.”

The grants to the centers are funded by the town through revenue generated by property taxes, parks and recreation fees as well as state taxes provided to the town.

The Community Center’s grant does not make up for the $98,000 in funding it lost from the Lawrence School District in November. Pruitt said that the school district previously funded youth services and programs such as job preparedness and placement, and battling bullying, but had to decrease funding to the center as part of a cost-cutting measure.

“We’ve managed to do more with less, and we’ve sought other funding to support the agency,” Pruitt said. “It’s been a tough year trying to maintain the quality of services to the community with fewer funds.”

She added that the Community Center has had to rely on volunteers to maintain youth services. “We’ve gotten more volunteers to fill in the gaps,” she said. “For now, we have to depend on more volunteers.”

To volunteer at the Community Center, call (516) 239-6244.