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Nonprofit to move to large facility
A Baldwin-based nonprofit dedicated to caring for teenagers and children, especially after school while their parents work, 3D’s Aftercare Inc., is expanding.
It’s now housed in the 3D’s Community Empowerment Center, at 586 Seaman Ave. The new location, at 881 Merrick Road, across the street from the Nassau County Police Department’s 1st Precinct, measures about 4,400 square feet, significantly larger than the original site.
Preparations for the move are under way, and a grand opening is scheduled for Feb. 12, the same day as 3D’s Aftercare’s 13th anniversary as an organization.
To build on partnerships within the community, Dr. Zodelia Williams, founder and executive director of 3D’s Aftercare Inc., said the center offered sponsorship opportunities to groups and organizations to help ensure a seamless transition for the students.
“The purpose of the sponsorship is so we can partner and collaborate with other community organizations to empower and affirm our children and families,” Williams said. “When the children and families see that we are collaborating with other people who also have their best interest at heart, they know that, together, we really can make a difference.”
Each group sponsored a themed room, and there are seven rooms that span the street-level center.
The Nassau Suffolk Association of Black Social Workers is sponsoring a sensory calming room; Pat’s Dance Studio, a fixture of the Baldwin community, a dance and gross motor skills room; the Iota Theta Zeta chapter of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, an art and music room; the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees, a technology and innovation room; and STRONG Youth, an organization focusing on gang violence prevention, an education room. The Blacklist Literary Room will support reading exercises.
Sponsoring a room means that the organization or business provides the paint, materials and people power needed to enhance the room, and it pledges to do so in an energy-efficient manner that also supports students’ social-emotional learning.
In return, sponsors’ names will be featured on plaques in their respective rooms, as well as on social media posts, and sponsors will be offered free use of their spaces for meetings three times a year. They will also be able to use the original 3D’s location for events once it is safe to do so.
“By offering partnerships, we are allowing other community organizations to highlight their organizations and teach our children about culture,” Williams explained.
The Blacklist Literary Room, for example, will work to highlight authors of all backgrounds, while the STRONG Youth room will educate students about history and social justice. Kolstein Music, another Baldwin staple, will provide instruments for the art and music room.
“Being that Zoe is a part of our sorority — she’s our sorority sister — we wanted to show her support and also the community of Baldwin,” said Sharmaine Bisnauth, president of Iota Theta Zeta, which has served Nassau County for 42 years. “We just wanted to assist in any way that we can, because we know Zoe will do wonderful and great things for the children of Baldwin, because that’s what she’s been doing, and will continue to do.”
But moving was not originally in Williams’s plans.
Baldwinite Erik Mahler, owner of Mahler Realty, informed Williams about the availability of the space, underneath the First Church Baldwin United Methodist Church, where Mahler serves as a church board trustee.
“I was quite comfortable in our space,” Williams said, “although we were busting at the seams . . . I never even saw it coming.”
“First Church United Methodist always gives back to the community wherever possible,” Mahler said, “and we are extremely excited for the expansion of 3D’s, who is an integral part of the Baldwin community as well.”
Because space was limited in the original location, Williams said she had to turn down parents who had asked to bring their children to the center. But she plans to begin accepting more students in the summer.
She thanked Mahler for what she described as a miracle, adding that, at first, she didn’t think it was feasible to expand because she didn’t have sufficient funds to do so.
Williams, a longtime social worker, said she does not receive funding from government agencies, so much of the money comes from private donations, parents, Community Development Block Grants and CARES Act funds, besides her own pocket.
The partnerships with the organizations also helped Williams and her staff by cutting painting costs, helping to ease the financial burden of the expansion. And while most of her staff members are Baldwinites, she will seek to hire employees from around the Town of Hempstead in the coming months.
Additionally, while 3D’s is not affiliated with the church, Williams plans to fix some of the building’s windows and replace the lighting with energy-efficient fixtures to help save some money.
And Sweet and Savory Café in Baldwin will cater 3D’s meals.
“It’s a win-win for the entire community,” Williams said.
