Ahavas Golda is a haven of beanbags and belonging, singing, and story time. Being a second home means being open seven days a week. After school. Sunday. Friday. Motzei Shabbos in the winter, too. It also means providing each girl with a nutritious meal — gluten-free, sugar-free, starch-free, or whatever her dietary specifications.

Each shift, the girls enjoy wholesome activities ranging from cooking to cookie decorating to shape dancing. Throughout the year, we devote time to developing talents, like piano playing, and real-world skills, such as caring for younger children.

Girls, parents, and staff members appreciate that Ahavas Golda is “like a small community — everyone knows each other and there’s a spirit of friendship.” 

Lev Chaya was specially formed for girls whose level of functioning is in-between, and need a more individualized program. Activities are hands-on and sensory-based, along with an emphasis on social skills and emotion regulation. The girls also join Ahavas Golda for specialty activities, like animal therapy, guitar lessons, and trips.

Parents are thrilled watching how much their daughters are learning — and how much their counselors truly care for them. “The counselor really loves my daughter!” is a common refrain heard at Lev Chaya, a program that is true to its name.

Ahava Elite is geared toward graduates of the Ahavas Golda program, featuring advanced classes in computer skills, job training, and lots more. The individuals blossom in the mature and vibrant atmosphere, gaining friendship, skills, and stimulation on a higher level.

What started as a Zumba dance program now includes tap and karaoke — and a full-on cooking class. Fit with Friends is a program where high-functioning young women get to enjoy music, movement, and microphones. (Being in the spotlight! What can be better?) With so many of their siblings, friends, and relatives passionate about fitness, they’re delighted to have their own dose of evening exercise.

When the participants kept asking for more, Fit with Friends expanded to include a straight-from-school cooking program: Master Chef. From Monday through Thursday, straight after school, chefs’ hats are donned and the serious business of supper prep begins. It’s a happy hub of dicing, frying, mixing, and carefully copying down the recipe…  and a wonderful way to encourage healthy eating, creativity, and independence.

Above all the practical gains, Fit with Friends is a special place. “Dancing has a unique power,” the instructor observes. “Whenever I see a girl’s face light up, it’s a meaningful moment.”

At Buneini, boys and young men can express their often hard-to-contain energy in a healthy, enjoyable way. Following a delicious dinner after they arrive, they participate in special activities that speak to their hobbies and talents, like exercise, cooking, music, and woodworking.

Buneini is always open when yeshivah isn’t —even on Purim! Every Shabbos, the boys are treated to a full schedule of activities in keeping with the spirit of Shabbos — parshah, Tehillim, games, Minchah, and of course a special Shabbos party. In the winter, programming continues after havdalah, where boys are kept busy and stimulated until they are dropped off at home tired but content — another day well spent at Bunieini!

These days you’d be hard-pressed to find a day on the calendar when Buneini isn’t running, but it wasn’t always this way. Moishy, an enthusiastic Buneini member, called the director in a tizzy one rare day in the earlier years when the program was closed.

After expressing disappointment that Buneini wasn't open, he innocently asked, “Maybe you can run the program today just for me? I love it so, so much!”

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