Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Anna House to your house!

We have an attitude of gratitude at Anna House!

Hear from one of our school-age students, Lourdes, about what she is grateful for this year!

BCCA is so thankful for our community partners, supporters, and friends. It is because of you that we were able to make this Thanksgiving a special one for all the Anna House children and their families.

BCCA thanks the National Charity League - Garden City Chapter for their partnership and generous donation of Thanksgiving packages for our Anna House families!

We are so grateful for our partnership with the Junior League of Long Island (JLLI) who also provided Thanksgiving packages for our Anna House families!

BCCA Executive Director Joanne K. Adams picked up the packages from JLLI President Stephanie Kearns.

 BCCA was thrilled to resume our Women's Literacy Program in a virtual setting this fall and we expanded the program to include cooking demonstrations for our mothers and their friends!

For our Thanksgiving themed class, BCCA provided each woman with a bag filled with all the necessary ingredients which were distributed by BCCA President Libby Imperio prior to the class.

Thank you NYRA and TVG!

BCCA is incredibly grateful to NYRA and TVG for their support as their generosity will help to ensure that BCCA is able to continue providing our life-changing programs for the children of the backstretch workers. As we set out on a new path this year to keep our students connected in this time of education and internet inequality, we launched our Virtual Learning Program. By building out our toolkits and outfitting our classrooms with smartboards and tablets, we are now able to "beam in" music, dance, and art teachers from the outside!

“Thank you to NYRA and TVG for the incredibly generous donation to BCCA, as well as BEST and RTCA-NY", said BCCA President Libby Imperio. "The recognition of the tireless work being done by the backstretch community is not only commendable but a necessity for the betterment of all of our racing families.”

“NYRA President David O’Rourke has been incredibly supportive of the people of the backstretch and the fact that he was able to guide us through this period of tremendous challenge and uncertainty while spearheading this innovative and thoughtful process that resulted in a large donation from TVG to all of the backstretch charities is without parallel and so appreciated by all of us at the BCCA," said BCCA Chairman Michael Dubb.

It is with immense gratitude and appreciation that we thank NYRA and TVG for Thinking BIG for BCCA during these challenging times. When we come together, we can make a great impact!

NYRA and TVG to donate $410,000 to support COVID-19 relief for backstretch non-profits and thoroughbred organizations

By Pat McKenna

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and TVG today announced a series of COVID-19 relief donations for a broad spectrum of non-profit organizations working to support the thoroughbred racing community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $410,000 in charitable contributions will be distributed to seven non-profit organizations including the New York Chapter of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America (NYRTCA), the Backstretch Employee Service Team (B.E.S.T), the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA), the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium (RMTC), the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program (RTIP), the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund (PDJF) and the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA).

"The racing industry has rallied in incredible ways in response to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kip Levin, CEO of TVG. “The entire TVG team is grateful that our partnership with NYRA will benefit these great organizations who do so much every day to help those in need.”

NYRA and TVG created the relief fund in the spring of 2020 to proactively respond to the myriad challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the 54-day suspension of live racing in New York, the closure of casinos across the state and the continued lack of on-track attendance at all racetracks in New York. 

“These organizations are all longtime partners of NYRA who have performed outstanding and oftentimes heroic work throughout the pandemic,” said NYRA President and CEO David O’Rourke. “Our thanks to TVG for recognizing the importance of the services they provide to the men and women who sustain the sport here in New York.”

As a result of the success of the joint effort between NYRA and TVG, the NYRTCA, B.E.S.T and the BCCA, whose work is devoted to the overall health and well-being of New York’s backstretch community, will each receive donations of $100,000. 

In addition, $30,000 each will be donated to the RMTC and the RTIP with $25,000 going to both the PDJF and the TAA. 

In early March, NYRA established the COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan Committee, comprised of key NYRA staff members as well as representatives from the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA), B.E.S.T, and the NYRTCA. Working together, the committee developed and implemented health and safety protocols aligning with the most updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and the New York State Department of Health.

Representatives of B.E.S.T, NYRTCA and BCCA set up food banks, distributed masks, provided up-to-date communications on health care, worked as translators and collected and even distributed gift cards for groceries for the hundreds of Belmont-based backstretch workers and their families. They also created more virtual learning opportunities and at-home instruction for the children of backstretch workers enrolled in Anna House, the childcare and early education facility at Belmont Park, along with performing hundreds of other tasks that will never be recorded. 

TVG has been able to remain on air since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and has prioritized keeping its employees safe through strict social distancing, health protocols and remote broadcasting. The network has maintained a strong commitment to the horse racing industry and has continued sponsorships of the TVG Pacific Classic, TVG.com Haskell Invitational and the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile while also expanding to sponsor additional races at Keeneland in both July and October as well as a Breeders' Crown race. Additionally, TVG has partnered with charitable organizations throughout the industry, including the TAA, California Retirement Management Account (CARMA) and the PDJF to raise funding and awareness.

About TVG

Headquartered in Los Angeles, TVG, an affiliate of FanDuel Group, is one of the largest legal online gaming companies in the US, processing over $1 billion in horseracing wagers annually from residents of 33 US states. TVG network airs races at over 150 racetracks worldwide and is among the most widely distributed horseracing networks in the world, operating TVG and TVG2 in more than 50 million US homes. The network was recently upgraded to HD on Spectrum cable and DirecTV. The company has demonstrated its commitment to the racing industry, its horse owners, tracks and fans through sponsorship of several preeminent races including the TVG Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the TVG.com Haskell Invitational and the TVG Pacific Classic. For more information about TVG, visit: tvg.com.

About the New York Racing Association

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) holds the exclusive franchise to conduct thoroughbred racing at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. 

NYRA tracks are the cornerstone of New York State's thoroughbred industry, which is responsible for 19,000 jobs and more than $3 billion in annual statewide economic impact.

Accredited by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance, NYRA is a founding member of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, a group of the nation's leading racing organizations working collaboratively to advance safety reforms across the sport.

Over the course of 217 days of live racing in 2019, NYRA generated more than $2.1 billion in all-sources wagering handle with paid attendance exceeding 1.5 million.

Spooky Doors of Anna House

Learning to express yourself through art is an important part of the curriculum here at Anna House and one of our favorite ways to do so is by decorating our classroom doors!

Throughout the month of October, our students worked together to come up with a theme for their door and they were thrilled to finally reveal the finished project in the week leading up to Halloween. Take a look below to see our 2020 Spooktacular Doors of Anna House!

Virtual Learning in BCCA’s Women's Literacy Program

BCCA is proud to lead the way in the empowerment of women, specifically the mothers of our children of the backstretch. BCCA’s Women’s Literacy Program is generously funded by the New York Women’s Foundation and this year BCCA launched a virtual learning program to address the issues of internet and education inequality. We worked hard to provide our mothers with the toolkits necessary to engage in virtual learning and we were proud to offer them iPads to allow for the continuation of English classes via Zoom in addition to encouraging the bonds between mother and child through both education and ESL opportunities.

First day Back to School for BCCA's School-Age students learning remotely from Anna House!

BCCA is thrilled to offer our school-age students an opportunity to attend their local public school in a virtual setting at Anna House. We have provided our students with tablets and earphones and each classroom is equip with a white board for remote learning. BCCA is grateful to our generous grantors who make it possible for us to provide this technology at a time when internet inequality is so prevalent among under served communities.

BCCA has worked with our Bright Horizons staff at Anna House to create learning pods of 10 students/classroom and our Anna House teachers offer our students with one-on-one attention during their school day session as well as after school tutoring 5 days/week. Our teaching staff are also working with our parents to assist them with Seesaw Distance learning.

The BCCA and NCL-GC Community Partnership

BCCA’s community partnerships are important because they connect us to our neighbors and provide us with opportunities to share our mission. The National Charity League-Garden City Chapter (NCL-GC) has worked closely with us for the past four years. The mother-daughter duos have served as after-school program tutors and mentors and they have included project driven teams to provide much needed support to our students and their families.

The NCL-GC Back to School project provided backpacks with school supplies for our school-age students as well as early childhood project supplies and snacks for all of our classrooms at Anna House: K-Prep, Pre-School, Toddlers, and Infants, too! Our students were filled with joy upon receiving their backpacks as the excitement begins to fill at Anna House with anticipation for a new school year.

NCL-GC is making a difference in the lives of our children by reminding them that, through these thoughtful donations, there are many incredible individuals in the community who remember them and take the time to make a difference. And, BCCA, in return, remembers the NCL-GC every day. In fact, they were a 2019 Honoree at our annual Spring Fling Hat Luncheon. We are truly grateful for their on-going support.

BCCA's School-Age Students Express Their Understanding of Science Through Art

BCCA’s school-age students at Anna House are learning about science behind the importance of wearing masks and social distancing during this pandemic. Thanks to BCCA’s Integrated Arts Program our students use art to express their feelings and their understanding of the subject matter.

Washing hands on a regular basis is common practice in the classroom. Our school-age students learn the importance of practicing good health routines in an effort to combat disease.

BCCA's Racing for the Children Week-Long Virtual Party

BCCA hosted its annual fundraiser online this summer. The virtual party began on Monday, August 3 at noon and ran through Sunday, August 9 at noon. The virtual format served as a temporary substitute for BCCA's annual dinner in Saratoga. Over the seven-day period, supporters were invited to visit the website to enjoy video messages from well-known racing personalities, bid on our premium auction, learn about the call-to-action for our programs, and enjoy recipes from Saratoga Springs restaurants, amongst other interactive elements. All proceeds from the event supported BCCA's mission to care for the children and families of the backstretch, including the operation of Anna House at Belmont Park, as well as the forthcoming Saratoga Child Care Center, which is set to open in 2021.

Presenting the 2020 Anna House Graduates!

On July 29, nine Students graduated from Anna House in a socially-distanced ceremony. Each child was given a backpack full of school supplies to take with them when they head off to Kindergarten in the Fall.

Anna House to Reopen at Belmont Park on June 22

With strict new safety protocols firmly in place, the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA) is set to reopen its Belmont Park daycare center Anna House, on Monday, June 22..

Anna House, the childcare and early-childhood education facility at Belmont designed for the families of backstretch workers, most of whom are based at Belmont Park, will reopen utilizing the most up-to-date health guidance established by the New York State Department of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (C.D.C.) and BCCA's educational consultant, Bright Horizons, to combat the spread of COVID-19. 

Anna House closed on March 17, shortly before NYRA suspended live racing on March 19 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York. Live racing without spectators resumed at Belmont on June 3, and the spring/summer meet will continue through Sunday, July 12. 

This week, teachers and staff at Anna House are receiving intensive training about the new protocols; and BCCA Executive Director Joanne K. Adams said she also intends to create more opportunities for the children to use distance learning and at-home instruction. "Virtual learning is a part of the 'new norm,' and we are committed to providing our children with the support they need to achieve success in school," she said. 

In the more than two months that Anna House has been closed, BCCA staff have remained active in helping families on the backstretch, They mounted a drive to collect supplies for infants and toddlers who attend its education facility. Adams also worked with United Way of Long Island through its United Together Response Fund for COVID-19 to distribute donated gift cards, totaling more than $30,000 in value, to all backstretch workers at Belmont Park.

"Reopening Anna House has been our goal from the get-go and we're proud once again be fulfilling our mission of serving these families," said BCCA President Libby Imperio. "It will be wonderful to see the children again."

BCCA Board Chairman and co-founder Michael Dubb said the reopening marks an important step forward for backstretch workers, who kept fulfilling their duties, often at considerable personal risk, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Giving a solid head start to the children at Anna House is critically important to the whole ecosystem of the racetrack," Dubb said. "Backstretch workers are the unsung heroes of the racing world. Helping their kids helps them and makes our industry and sport a lot stronger. It's great to be getting back to what we do best."

Join us in being Tougher Together!

Give mom something special this Mother’s Day!

"A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them."

– Victor Hugo

For a limited time, receive a BCCA custom-designed scarf with a $150 donation. The scarf has a hidden message, CHILDREN, spelled out in the nautical alphabet between the horses.