BCCA Celebrates Spring Fling!

BCCA recognized 2022 honoree, Junior League of Long Island, and 2021 honorees, Angela M. Jaggar, Ph.D. of the Angela and Scott Jaggar Foundation, and Erin King Sweeney of King Sweeney Strategies LLC, at our annual Spring Fling Hat Luncheon and Fashion Presentation which was hosted at the Garden City Hotel.

Spring Fling featured a fashion presentation by Neiman Marcus, a luxury raffle, and live auction. Thank you to all those who participated. Your support is tremendously appreciated!

Happy Mother’s Day!

We are so proud of our mothers in the BCCA’s Women’s Literacy Program! Established in 2016, the program works to engage the mothers of the children at Anna House with an opportunity to learn English and teach them the importance of reading with their children. These women are more confident and eager to communicate in English, exercising the skills they have learned with others. This program provides not only an academic environment for learning but a safe and supportive one for the mothers to discuss and work through issues they encounter in their daily lives. The Women’s Literacy Program has been so successful and has grown to welcome all women on the backstretch. This Mother’s Day, to thank these women for all that they do, BCCA gifted them the opportunity to pamper themselves with a gift card to a local salon!  

Easter at Anna House!

This year, the children of Anna House were gifted Easter baskets by the National Charity League - Garden City Chapter. BCCA and the children of Anna House send a special thank you to the National Charity League, one of our generous community partners. With the kindness of our supporters and community, BCCA can provide a safe and inspiring academic environment to change children’s lives!

Think BIG for BCCA!

This March, BCCA invited its supporters to Think BIG to celebrate 20 years! With your support, BCCA is committed to providing a safe, academically inspiring, and supportive environment for the children of the working parents of the Thoroughbred racing backstretch area at New York’s Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack, and Saratoga Race Course. Donors helped us create full-year scholarships for students, cover monthly costs for infants, and helped fund our Playground Improvement Project at Anna House. Thank you to our supporters for helping us to mold young minds and encourage the fulfillment of dreams! Coming together can make a BIG impact on families and a child’s future because a gift of any size is a BIG deal!

BCCA spreads love for Valentine's Day!

This year, Anna House is celebrating 20 years of love and compassion for others! Students designed shirts with messages from the heart for the children of Ronald McDonald House Charities-New York Metro, an important community partner!

Also for this Valentine’s Day, BCCA supporters received beautiful and specially designed tinnies with a nautical alphabet message, CHILDREN, with a $75 donation. The commitment and generosity of BCCA’s supporters allows us to assure the backstretch workers that their children are receiving a great early childhood education with a curriculum that teaches the importance of philanthropy and giving back!

Anna House Celebrates 20 Years!

This year, BCCA is celebrating 20 years of providing an early childhood education and development program for children year-round at Anna House located at Belmont Park. BCCA welcomed Faith’s House to the family last year and it is open for the Summer race meet at Saratoga Race Course. The children we serve are the sons and daughters of the New York Thoroughbred racing backstretch workers at Belmont Park, Aqueduct Race Track, and Saratoga Race Course. We provide quality child care for children between the ages of 6 weeks to 5 years old, opening our doors at 5 a.m. so working parents can get to the barns on time. We also offer after-school tutoring and enrichment programs, and before-school drop-off for elementary and middle school students at Anna House, making BCCA a continual resource for the children of our backstretch workers.

BCCA’s Annual Holiday Shopping Event

BCCA was thrilled to host our Annual Holiday Shopping event in-person this year on Saturday, December 4 in the Belmont Cafe! Over 500 children from the backstretch families of Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack lined up to “shop” for their relatives. Numerous volunteers from the local community acted as “elves” taking each child around to pick out the perfect gift. A special thank you to Lt. Triolo for reprising his role as Santa!

This cherished event would not be possible without our generous supporters and BCCA would like to extend an extra special thank you to the following organizations who helped spread the Christmas cheer: USMC Toys for Tots, NYRA, the National Charity League, Inc. (Garden City Chapter), and the Garden City Service League of Boys.

This year, BCCA added even more holiday cheer as each family received a special gift! Thanks to a partnership with P.C. Richard & Son and generous donations from individuals within the Thoroughbred racing industry and Northwell Health Infection Control Department, BCCA was able to provide 225 families with brand-new toaster ovens!

BCCA celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month!

Recognizing National Hispanic Heritage Month is important to BCCA.

As many of our students come from Hispanic backgrounds, they are proud to share their family heritage with one another.

Our students made flags representing their nationalities which they used to decorate the classrooms!

Our students celebrated throughout the month by reading some of their favorite bilingual books by Hispanic authors.

Our School-Age Students learned about Columbian artist, Fernando Botero, and recreated one of his masterpieces, Dog Turning a Corner!

BCCA wishes all our school-age students a successful year as they head back to school!

Virtual Learning at Anna House

After a year of remote learning, our students are excited to return to in-person classes at their local public schools and thanks to BCCA’s Virtual Learning Program at Anna House, they were able to stay on their path to academic success during this time of education and internet inequality.

BCCA teaches the importance of giving back!

As our students prepared to head back to school, they each received a back pack filled with the necessary supplies to succeed this year. They discussed how fortunate they were to receive new backpacks and supplies each year and decided to help other local children in need. They secured backpacks for children and then decorated them with encouraging phrases and fun colors to excite them for the new year!

They're off at Saratoga

and so is BCCA!

Our long-time dream is now a reality!

Photo Credit: Adam Coglianese, NYRA

BCCA's Ceremonial Ribbon-Cutting at Faith's House included the BCCA Board of Directors, NYS Senator Daphne Jordan, NYS Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, and Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly.

BCCA’s 2021 Anna House Graduates!

Congratulations Estefany and Karter!

BCCA Chairman, Michael Dubb, and BCCA President, Libby Imperio, presented the 2021 graduates with their diplomas!

A special thank you to Floral Park Memorial High School's National Junior Honor Society for providing each of our graduates with a backpack full of school supplies for Kindergarten in the Fall.

Belmont Child Care Association offers first look at new child care center serving Saratoga Race Course backstretch

Faith’s House to provide child care and early childhood education programs for the children of backstretch families 

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. (BCCA) today offered a first look at Faith’s House, the new child care center at Saratoga Race Course, which is set to begin serving families and children of the backstretch community in summer 2021.

Located on the Oklahoma side of the Saratoga backstretch, the 4,300-square-foot facility will provide child care and early education programs for infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children. The center will be open seven days a week from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. to accommodate the schedules of backstretch workers and horsemen. 

The building was funded by Michael and Lee Dubb and is named in honor of Faith Dubb, the late mother of BCCA founder and board chairman Michael Dubb.

“We are very excited to open the doors of Faith’s House to the backstretch community this summer,” said Dubb, who is a prominent thoroughbred owner in addition to his work with the BCCA. “This important program will provide the hardworking families of the Saratoga backstretch with the peace of mind that comes with knowing their children are being cared for in a fun and enriching environment with a focus on early education.”

Faith’s House will feature dedicated rooms to serve infants, toddlers and preschool aged children. Upon entering the new child care center, visitors are greeted by an oversized black and white mural of a thoroughbred racehorse.

The facility is designed to accommodate up to 35 children and includes numerous cribs for newborn infants. Two rooms within Faith’s House are dedicated to serving preschool aged children with an array of educational resources, including books, dictionaries and writing and drawing materials.

A fenced-in play area is located outside the rear of the building with eco-friendly, rubber tiles and flooring to provide a safe and forgiving playground surface.

The Saratoga facility will complement BCCA’s sister child care center Anna House, which serves families of the Belmont Park backstretch. More than 1,000 students have participated in Anna House’s programs since its opening in 2002. 

“On behalf of the New York Racing Association, I would like to thank Michael and Lee Dubb for their generosity and dedication to the backstretch community,” said NYRA President & CEO Dave O’Rourke. “We have been fortunate to witness the benefits of child care and early education through their initial vision of Anna House at Belmont Park and are indebted to Michael and Lee for funding and spearheading this companion facility at Saratoga Race Course. We are thrilled to welcome this beautiful new facility to Saratoga and extend our appreciation to the entire BCCA team and our own facilities staff for bringing this project to life.”

The summer 2021 opening coincides with the annual summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, which brings approximately 950 backstretch workers and their families to the Spa. 

Faith’s House will be operated by Bright Horizons, an organization known for excellence in the child care industry which manages early childhood education programs at more than 1,000 child care centers. 

“On behalf of the BCCA Board of Directors, I would like to thank Mike and Lee Dubb for their incredible generosity in building Faith’s House which fulfills a 10-year dream for the BCCA,” said BCCA President Libby Imperio.

Local officials shared their support and enthusiasm for the new child care center, which will open in July. 

“I would like to congratulate the Belmont Child Care Association, along with Michael and Lee Dubb, on the opening of Faith’s House,” said Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (113th AD). “The backstretch workers who are integral to the sport of racing have long needed the child care services and support that will be provided by Faith’s House so that their families can join them in Saratoga for the summer meet.” 

“The past year has informed us more than ever of the importance of quality child care for working families in our community,” said City of Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly. “This new center will undoubtedly be an outstanding addition to Saratoga Race Course and to our city. We are thrilled to welcome Faith’s House to Saratoga Springs and thank Michael and Lee, the BCCA and NYRA for making this project possible.”

For more information about Faith’s House, including details on registration and enrollment, contact BCCA Executive Director Joanne K. Adams by phone at (516) 488-2103 or via email at jadams@belmontchildcare.org.