Spotlight on Tri CYA

The Tri Community and Youth Agency (Tri CYA) is a private, not for profit organization that serves families in the Huntington, South Huntington, and Cold Spring Harbor communities. For more than 50 years, they have been dedicated to supporting the growth and development of youth and their families through a range of programs. Tri CYA provides educational, recreational, social, cultural, athletic, counseling, and advocacy programs with the support of local businesses, school districts, law enforcement, religious organizations, volunteers, and other agencies. What makes Tri CYA such a remarkable place is that they are constantly identifying the needs of the community members and addressing those needs through programming and outreach.

Recently, some of our Outreach committee members visited Tri CYA to see for themselves the good work they are doing and how our support is being utilized. We were most impressed with everything going on, and all of the exciting events that were being planned for the Summer. Ongoing, every day programming is “drop-in” for the children and consists of homework help and tutoring, cooking classes, and other creative arts groups. There is a food pantry for families, with distribution every Monday. Every Friday, they accept donations of all kinds from clothing to home goods for families in need.

Back in December, many of our Parishioners donated gifts to their Project Toy drive and some of us were able to volunteer as gift wrappers for the families, which was a wonderful experience. More recently, they had a resume workshop for teens and young adults to build and update their resumes. They also love to focus on achievements of their youth, and hosted a Youth Entrepreneur Bazaar, where students could showcase any of their business ventures to the community. During the Summer, they offer field trips planned for children to places like the beach, museums, and sporting events, all free of charge.

Tri CYA is a remarkable place right in our backyard and the Outreach Committee is excited to have rekindled our relationship with them. There are many opportunities and ways to get involved and we look forward to sharing them with all of you at St. Johns.

For more information about Tri CYA, please check out their website at Tri CYA or contact Lindsay Kamdar or Becky Bonventre at [email protected] to learn about direct service opportunities.