“We have been members of the Y for three years. As new residents of Scotch Plains at the time, we joined the Y in an effort to acclimate and network with members of our local community. We also wanted to give our daughters a nurturing and safe space where they could participate in enrichment programs. As Y members, we love the familial environment and the great staff. We also love that we can come to one trusted place to participate in different programming for all members of our family. Before the Y’s closure in March, our youngest daughter was attending the YMCA Two-Day 2’s Preschool program on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Saturday mornings, our older daughter came to the Y for gymnastics and ballet classes. During the week, Dan would come to swim laps before work. When the Y was closed, we missed our exercise and program routines, but we especially missed the social aspect of the Y community. Our family returned to the Y in September. We enrolled our older daughter in the Full-Day Program for Virtual Learners and our younger daughter in the Full-Day Child Care program. We like the fact that our daughters are back into a healthy daily routine, where they can learn, grow and socialize with other children their age. The Y provides a positive and safe environment for our girls during a time when the pandemic has had a draining and adverse effect on us all. For us, as working parents, we can either go to the office or work from home and be productive, while knowing our daughters are at a nurturing place that we have trusted since we first moved to Scotch Plains. Overall, our experience at the Y has been very positive. Above anything else, we have seen both of our girls grow tremendously. The Child Care program teaching staff are truly wonderful. We are looking forward to seeing more programming, especially for children, return to the Y, as things hopefully become safer to do so in the new year.”