New York—NCSY (ncsy.org), the Orthodox Union’s consortium of Jewish leadership and identity building programs for high school youth, recently announced that it has launched “60 Days of NCSY,” a website featuring special NCSY content developed to mark the organization’s milestone 60th anniversary.
The website, which will roll out new content daily throughout the months of May and June, includes historical, inspirational, nostalgic, and humorous articles about the NCSY experience; profiles of 60 extraordinary individuals who impacted the lives of NCSYers across the country and around the world (chosen by the NCSY alumni and NCSYers they inspired); and an online photo gallery with the largest collection of NCSY photos ever compiled.
Locally, NCSY went through a very difficult time in the 70s in Teaneck, when child abuse charges were brought against Baruch Lanner, then national head of the organization. For many years, matters went unresolved until finally justice was served. And with that, the Jewish community realized that it is not immune to the same problems faced by other communities, and the Orthodox Union cleaned house and changed reporting procedures. All Modern Orthodox organizations and institutions were put on notice that such abuse was not to be tolerated. It was hoped that this would also change behaviors, but recent events at Yeshiva University and in Teaneck have once again shown that there is still a long way to go until the community develops an effective protocol for dealing with child abuse and sexual child abuse. At the very least, the Lanner episode was an important wake up call.
That is not to say that Bergen youth did not benefit from the program. In Fair Lawn there was a strong program for children in public schools who were brought to observance. In the late 70s and 80s, there were not the rich Jewish resources that are now available. The results of the changes are evident in content featured on the “60 Days of NCSY” website developed by current NCSYers, NCSY alumni, staff, and supporters. Visitors to the site are encouraged to submit additional articles and upload pictures to the online photo gallery.
Visit the “60 Days of NCSY” website at http://60.ncsy.org.
