Islip Goes Purple
Islip Goes Purple is a month-long initiative designed to unite The Town of Islip in raising awareness of mental health, substance use disorder and celebrating those in recovery. Since starting this initiative in 2019, several townships have “gone purple” and held events throughout National Recovery Month in September.
During the month of September Youth Enrichment Services celebrated recovery and shared information about mental health and substance use disorder at many Islip Goes Purple events. Thanks to ALL the community members and community partners who have helped Islip Goes Purple expand exponentially!!
Latest Happenings at YES
Meet Rhonda Nedderman
YES is so extremely excited to announce that Rhonda Nedderman is our new Director of Programs! Rhonda is a lifelong resident of Central Islip and has been with YES since 2014. We first met Rhonda when she wandered into a job fair hosted by Senator Boyle in search of a new career. Previously, Rhonda worked as a Client Services Manager for thirteen years at a private firm servicing multi-million dollar telecommunication companies which also required extensive travel. When her company changed direction, she decided to pursue her underlying lifelong passion of education while also wanting something more flexible so she could spend more time with her two toddlers. That day of the Job Fair, Rhonda found just that and started working PT at YES.
Over the past 8 years at YES, Rhonda took on many challenges and quickly became a FT employee. Rhonda has served in so many capacities at YES- Assistant Program Coordinator, Work and Careers Coordinator, After School Site Coordinator, Summer Site Coordinator and on and on. Rhonda has actually served in every capacity within the YES Programs Division. These past years have prepared Rhonda for this challenging position and we are quite confident she will continue to grow our programs and services. Rhonda has made re-opening all pre Covid-19 services and activities and restoring all back to on site her first priority.
Rhonda is not only busy at YES and with her children but also busy traveling, cooking, playing basketball, Zumba and operating a home-based business. Rhonda is a member of the scholarship committee at her Church and serves as a member of the NAACP. Rhonda is a proud graduate of Central Islip Schools and chooses to remain in the community serving and giving back. Rhonda has a BS in Business Administration and is an alumnus of SUNY Farmingdale. We know our YES programs are in good hands!
Meet Maria Quiroga Olsen
Maria Quiroga Olsen- Clinical Director
YES is excited to announce that Maria Quiroga Olsen is the new Clinical Director of our Mental Health Clinic. Maria first came to the YES Clinic as a student intern and stood out as one of our most effective student interns. YES then hired her to work as a PT Clinician eventually accepting a position as a FT clinician under the direction of our former Clinical Director Mary Beth Harmon. We are extremely fortunate that Mary Beth will remain at YES in a PT capacity while she pursues a new direction in her career. Mary Beth’s influence and leadership has prepared this Clinic for its natural next phase as we open our brand-new state-of-the-art clinical facility in Brentwood.
Maria is a Bilingual Spanish Licensed Social Worker who emigrated to the United States from Argentina at fourteen years old. Maria began her journey as a helping professional at Island Harvest Food Bank where she worked for seven years assisting families, individuals and communities facing daily food insecurity. Maria assisted in developing and implementing multiple programs that aid communities and families in achieving critical determinants of health. At the end of her tenure at Island Harvest Food Bank, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Maria was very instrumental in developing and implementing the most significant food distributions on Long Island. Maria has always had a deep passion for helping children and adolescents at various levels of intervention. Maria also worked at Outreach/Adolescent Inpatient House II in Brentwood as a Family Department Social Worker. Maria worked with patients and their families as they struggled with substance use disorders.
Maria graduated from SUNY Stony Brook School of Social Welfare with her MSW. Maria is excited to continue her journey helping others as she continues to assist children and families in the provision of mental health services. Maria has many amazing ideas to make sure that the Clinic not only grows but that the health and well-being of our children and youth flourishes in a safe and supportive environment.
Meet Marc Soto
YES is excited to welcome Marc Soto!
Marc A. Soto joined the YES family in October 2021 as the Director of Prevention & Community Services.
Before joining YES, Marc held various managerial positions in multiple companies and law firms and most recently as Executive Director at Pronto of Long Island in Bay Shore. Marc spent twenty-seven years at Verizon, where he last served as Senior Staff Manager for Verizon’s New York City wireline operations. While at Verizon, among numerous accomplishments, Marc was proud to work in the command center during the Superstorm Sandy recovery, be a lead facilitator of the Service Elite employee initiative and led and drove extraordinary results for Verizon as national and local President of the Hispanic Support Organization (HSO), a national employee resource group including his most proud accomplishment: the HSO NY Scholarship fund.
Marc received his B.A. from Fordham University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Nebraska College of Law. Marc is a proud papi of two girls: Mia and Ashlee. Marc was a volunteer firefighter at Merrick Hook & Ladder Co. 1 and is a passionate advocate and motivational speaker for organ & tissue donation, diversity, equity & inclusion and education. Marc’s hobbies are his motorcycle and travel.
Welcome Aboard Marc!
YES is deeply saddened by the devastating loss of Gabby Petito. YES was very fortunate to have known and worked with this amazing young woman and her Mother, Nichole Schmidt, through our collaboration with the Great South Bay Coalition (GSBC) Nichole Schmidt was instrumental as a founding member of the GSBC in helping YES secure a federal Drug Free Community Support grant which addresses substance use/abuse in the Bayport, Blue Point and Sayville communities. Gabby actually designed the winning logo for GSBC and also brought so much life and love to everyone she touched. Rest in peace Gabby- you made a difference and your impact will be felt for years to come.
YES After School Programs
YES offers daily after school programs at local elementary and middle schools daily. Activities include homework help, wellness center, tutoring, study groups, dance, arts & crafts, music, cooking, recreation, work readiness / career exploration, character building, high interest field trips, guest speakers, etc.
Mentoring Programs
YES offers a variety of mentoring programs within the auspices of our daily programs. Mentoring programs include PAR FORE (USGA) Golf, USTA (Tennis), Career Mentoring, Peer Mentoring, and Mentoring for youth with special needs.
Youth Leadership / Development Programs
YES offers a variety of programs designed to build leadership skills in our youth. Programs include the Youth Leadership Project (a program designed for youth with special needs ages 14-26), Natural Helpers, Youth Advisory Councils, Community Reinvestment Program, Saturday Enrichment (grades 1-5), etc.
YES Activities
YES offers a variety of recreational programs including Open Gyms, Drop In Lounges, YMCA Teen Night, Friday Night Socials, etc. Please call to find a program in your community.
Counseling Services
YES offers individual and family counseling. Licensed bilingual social workers have a specialty in working with children and adolescents.
Work Readiness / Job Placement Programs
YES offers a variety of Work Readiness, Career Exploration and Job Placement Programs designed to prepare youth to succeed in school, college and the ultimately within the workforce. Programs begin as early as Middle School and are for youth 14-21 years of age. Please call to find a program that can best meet your needs.
Tutoring
YES offers tutoring services for a monthly administration fee. Please call so that we can schedule weekly tutoring sessions for you or your child.
Prevention Services
YES offers free substance abuse, violence, bullying and gambling prevention workshops and programs to the school districts, parents and other community organizations. Evidence based curriculum includes Too Good for Drugs, Too Good For Violence and Life Skills.
Summer Programs
YES offers a variety of daily summer programs for youth ages 5-21. Programs begin the first Monday after school ends and culminate on the last Friday before school begins. Programs begin as early as 7am. Programs include: Summer Enrichment (Pre-K–6th grade), Summer Fun (7th–12th grade), Drop In Lounge and YLP (Youth and special needs children ages 14–26).
Youth Enrichment Services meets all 20 Standards of Charity Accountability
As established by the Better Business Bureau.