After years of fund-raising efforts, YES Community Counseling Center of Massapequa is ready to purchase a building to serve as a community center, the agency's administrators announced last week.

According to Jamie Bogenshutz, executive director of YES, a non-profit social services organization serving the Massapequa, Plainedge and Farmingdale school districts, the agency is currently in contract to buy an undisclosed, 10,000 sq. ft. building located in the center of those three communities on North Broadway.

"The fund raising has been successful, and because of the success of the board and the community support, we are making an offer on this building," Bogenshutz said during an interview at the offices the agency presently rents on Broadway in Massapequa. "This community will have its center."

YES has served the local community and school districts for more than 20 years, providing such programs as individual, family and group counseling, outpatient drug and alcohol treatment services, services for domestic violence victims, bereavement/grief counseling, and career preparation programs. With the new building, administrators hope to have a greater impact on local families, as the new street-level center will be larger, and have greater capacities than YES' current second floor office space. A major aspect of the plans for the center is a modified gymnasium, which will allow the agency to provide family recreation for the first time.

Fund raising for the building began more than 10 years ago, with efforts climaxing within the past four to five years. Events and outings, such as a day of softball with actor and Massapequa native Alec Baldwin, received an outpouring of community support. "All of our fund raising has been a result of all the people who believed in us, and believed in what we do," said Bogenshutz.

Assistant Director Mark Wenzel noted that all sectors of the community have been supportive, particularly the schools. As the agency embarks on the next step toward establishing a center - contract negotiations for the purchase of the building - Bogenshutz and Wenzel emphasized that continued community support is vital.

"We've worked so long and hard, and it's really great to see us getting close," said Bogenshutz. In order to bring the project to completion, however, constant community support will be needed, especially in the form of more financial contributions, and volunteer help to renovate and open the building. That is because although the agency's operating costs are funded by the state and county governments, establishment of the new building is not, and therefore must come from private donations.

YES administrators want the community to get as excited about opening the center as they are, and to get involved. "I envision Kiwanis in there holding hammers," said Bogenshutz. She added that financial sponsorship opportunities will also be available for those who would like to put their mark on the community center. Individuals or organizations will likely have the opportunity to sponsor bricks, for example. "I want to somehow let people know that it's theirs - that they have a piece of it," said Bogenshutz.

Another reason that local people should support the center, Bogenshutz noted, is that by strengthening families, the programs of YES help strengthen the local community. "They have a resource with a demonstrated history of support," she said. "I hope that when people consider charities to donate to, they give to us, because charity begins at home, and you can't get more at home than us." The agency's next big fund raiser will be a fashion show, planned for May 10, at the Manor East in Massapequa. Following that, Alec Baldwin will come back to Massapequa on July 14 for a family outing fund raiser.

Wenzel added that the presence of social problems in the community, such as teenage drinking, demonstrates the continued need for the services provided by YES. For example, the agency last month hosted a forum on teenage drinking in Massapequa, in which teenagers spoke about their experiences, which brought that issue to light. "There's a lot going on out there," he said. "And that's what we're responding to."

The community center will be for all ages, and programs will be family-oriented, according to Bogenshutz. With the new community center, YES hopes to continue and expand its present range of services, which include: individual, family and group counseling, outpatient drug and alcohol treatment services, a family life support project, prevention and post institutionalization project, vocational counseling and job placement for youth, Rent-A-Kid (which matches local youngsters with odd jobs) , information, referral and advocacy services, crisis intervention services, services for domestic violence victims, parenting programs, bereavement/grief counseling, a speakers bureau. The agency also sponsors Commerce Plaza (a career/life preparation initiative implemented in the schools), a leisure-time program, groups for anger management, a conflict resolution and socialization program, and an employee assistance program. In addition to providing the current services of YES, the center is expected to host recreational programs in the gym, and to provide meeting rooms for use by local community groups. Bogenshutz noted that the center will not be open around the clock, but that hours of operation will be determined based on the needs of the community. "The services that are created will be in direct response to the needs of the community," she added.