Mission: The Yerwood
Center is a community resource center providing educational and personal
development opportunities to Stamford’s diverse community.
All programs at Yerwood Center are open to the entire community. Our current programs include:
Yerwood Scholars is our academic-based K – 5th grade extended day program. Yerwood Scholars is open Monday through Friday with special programs in half day and during school vacations. Students rotate through a program which includes academic support, the reading room, arts & crafts, recreation & fitness, nutrition, community service, computer technology, financial education and more. Partners are a key component to our after school program. Previous partners have included Stepping Stones, Girls Scouts, Stamford Achieves, Sound Waters, Delta Society Pet Partners and the Stamford Sailing Association. The program is supported by program fees, foundation support, corporate donations and individual scholarships and contributions. Volunteers are welcome to assist in the Yerwood Scholars program as reading buddies, tutors, program presenters and mentors.
Preparing Individuals Determined to Excel or P.R.I.D.E. is our
academic based middle school extended day program. P.R.I.D.E. runs
Monday – Friday and serves 30 middle school students. The program began
in Sept. 2007. Students rotate through a program
rich
in academic support, civic engagement, financial education, community
service work, career exploration, computer technology, creative writing,
reading, public speaking and more. Students have been extremely
involved in writing and public speaking and often serve as tour guides
as Yerwood events, showing visitors through the facility and explaining
program. They produced a “nutrition rap” focusing on the “healthy” and
“unhealthy” foods found in fast food restaurants. Program partners have
included Stamford Hospital, Urban League and Smith Barney. P.R.I.D.E.
is supported by program fees, foundation support, corporate donations
and individual scholarships and contributions. Volunteers are welcome
to assist in P.R.I.D.E. as tutors, program presenters and mentors.
Aspiring Leadership Through Action or A.L.T.A. is a high school in partnership with the Stamford Public Schools. We offer academic and career exploration programs for between 40 – 70 high school students every Wednesday and Saturday. Two days per week student receive tutoring and other academic support at their respective high schools. In 2007, the program entered its second year. Students participated in 6 week programs including media, leadership/public speaking, writing, the arts, college preparation, fashion design, business & finance and more, learning about careers and developing projects such as designing clothing and writing poetry. Students presented their projects at the end of each 6 week session at a parent dinner and ceremony. A.L.T.A. is supported by a grant from the State of CT as well as foundation, individual and corporate donations.
YES Summer Camp is our academic based elementary camp which
serves about 130
children each year. YES Camp runs Monday through Friday for 8 weeks
each summer. Camp includes academic work, recreation, field trips,
community service, arts & crafts and community speakers as well as
traditional camp activities. In 2008 we continued a new ELL classroom
component in partnership with the Fairfield County Community Foundation,
the Stamford Public Schools and Person to Person to help kids continue
to use English language skills throughout the summer months. YES Camp
is supported by program fees, camperships funded by Person-to-Person and
the Fairfield County Community Foundation, corporate contributions and
individual gifts.
Gordon & Diane Myers Technology Center is open 6 days a week and provides the community with free access to the latest computer technology including Internet access, Microsoft Office products, language programs and online programs such as customer service training and certification. The lab is open Monday – Saturday with specific time for adults only. This is set aside each weekend afternoon for the children enrolled in our after school programs. Technology Center staff are on hand to assist with technical issues as well as provide nightly classes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other software in addition to the basics on Internet use and understanding computers. In 2007, Yerwood Center provided over 1,000 hours of free technology training to adults. There is no fee for the use of the computer lab or printers. The Gordon and Diane Myer Technology Center is supported by private contributions, foundation grants and corporate support. Approximately 40 adults per day use the technology center.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) is a free tax payer assistance program. Using our state of the art technology center, Yerwood serves as a VITA site offering free tax assistance and electronic filing of returns to qualified individuals and families. The VITA program includes training for all tax preparation volunteers, most of who are bi-lingual. The program is supported by a grant from the IRS. Volunteers are welcome to train as preparers for the VITA program. In 2007, Yerwood’s VITA volunteers assisted and e-filed more than 85 tax returns for income qualified community members.
My Second Closet is a free, volunteer run men’s clothing store located at Yerwood Center. Through volunteer donations and staffing, My Second Closet offers free business attire to young men getting ready for employment interviews or for their first jobs. In addition to being fitted for suits, jackets and ties patrons find welcoming advice on how to interview and tips to keeping employed. My Second Closet is open one day and evening per week and also by appointment. In 2007 just over 400 young men visited the emporium. Donations of men's gently used business attire are always welcome.
English as a Second Language Classes are offered on a weekly basis for adults and families who have recently relocated to the US and Stamford. Staffed by volunteers, participants learn English language skills, receive help translating important letters and announcements and find other support to help the family become an integral part of our community. In 2007, more than 1500 families received support from the ELL classes.
Parent, Family & Community Involvement is a key component to all programs at Yerwood Center. We host monthly activities for parents in the form of update meetings, family dinners, movie nights and more to encourage parents to be involved with the work their children are doing. Through support from our program partners we also offer seminars for parents on financial matters, computer literacy, reading with their children, community engagement and more. In 2007, we were fortunate to host Days of Caring where employee groups, such as UBS, Proctor & Gamble, GE and Deloitte, volunteered in our programs - mentoring, reading and providing special activities for the children.
In addition to the above programs Yerwood Center serves as a for hosts many community information meetings, athletic leagues practices and competition, senior groups meetings, church group events, fairs and other special events. We strive to make our building, including our pool and gym, an integral part of the Stamford community.
