The Chabad of Merrick-Bellmore-Wantagh is launching an after-school program designed to give local Jewish children opportunities to develop new skills while building friendships and a stronger connection to their community.
The Albert & Temi Horowitz CKids Clubs will serve children ages 4 to 12 during the 2026-27 school year, providing enriching and exciting activities such as gymnastics, drama, sports and movement, baking, Hebrew language, art, STEM and science.
The program is being supported by a grant from CKids International, allowing Chabad to offer specialized programming at heavily subsidized rates and provide scholarships to families who need additional financial assistance.
Chabad Rabbi Shimon Kramer said the clubs developed from the success of the organization's Hands-On Hebrew School, which has grown from a handful of students to about 180.
“We found that the Hebrew school students — they make great friendships,” Kramer said. “They get to know friends outside school, and it really adds to their social-emotional being.”
But because Hebrew school meets only once a week, Chabad heard from families who wanted their children to have more opportunities to spend time with their peers, Kramer said.
The clubs are intended to provide that additional opportunity while also giving children access to extracurricular activities.
“They can actually, besides for all the skills that they're learning after school, which is great for them, it also brings them self-confidence, friendship, learn how to work with others,” the rabbi said.
Chanie Kramer, program director at Chabad, said the organization surveyed parents before developing the clubs to determine which activities would be most appealing to local children.
The activities receiving the most interest became the foundation of the program, with sessions offered in blocks of roughly six or seven weeks, rather than requiring families to commit to an activity for the entire school year.
That structure is intended to make the program easier to fit into increasingly busy family schedules.
The grant also allows Chabad to hire specialized instructors without passing the full cost on to families, Rabbi Kramer said.
“It makes it affordable to allow every child to come,” he said.
Each session costs $126, according to Chabad. Students enrolled in Chabad's Hebrew school receive a 50 percent discount, lowering the price to $63. Scholarships also are available.
Chanie Kramer said the goal is not simply to provide another set of extracurricular classes, but to create a place where children can socialize with other Jewish children while participating in activities they enjoy.
“They're actually having fun together,” she said. “They're socializing with other kids their age, and parents are looking for that. They want their kids to develop those friendships.”
Rabbi Kramer said those relationships can also play a role in helping children feel comfortable with their Jewish identity.
“The fact that they're Jewish — they don't have to hide that they're Jewish,” he said. “We feel that this would help them with their identity and feel good about being Jewish.”
The program will incorporate Jewish experiences through elements such as kosher snacks, Hebrew, songs, stories and shared activities, while keeping the focus on hands-on enrichment.
One of the planned offerings will be a drama session in which children will work on a production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” The drama session will run for a longer period because of the time needed to prepare the production.
The clubs will be held on Mondays and Thursdays, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 2174 Hewlett Ave. in Merrick.
Chanie Kramer said Chabad will consider the program successful if families return for additional sessions and the clubs lead to greater family engagement with Jewish programming.
“If we get a large interest in re-enrolling in the clubs or requests and just more family engagement, more families coming together for Jewish programming, then I'll know that we're in the right direction,” she said.
Registration is open at chabadjewishlife.org/clubs.
