Impact Report 2014

IMPACTREPORT2014 Y M C A

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The Y. For a better us.TM

1997

1990

1989

1955

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1854

1995

CHICKAHOMINY FAMILY YMCA opened

NORTH RICHMOND, MANCHESTER, TUCKAHOE YMCAs all opened

Opened Navas Lodge at YMCA CAMP THUNDERBIRD

SOUTHSIDE VIRGINIA YMCA merges with YMCA OF GREATER RICHMOND (later becomes PETERSBURG FAMILY YMCA)

CHESTER FAMILY YMCA opened

1974-5

Richmond’s first black YMCA merges with the YMCA of Metropolitan Richmond.

All units merged into Metropolitan YMCA; began South Richmond/Chesterfield branch (name later changed to MANCHESTER FAMILY YMCA)

Richmond YMCA organized at st. Paul’s Episcopal Church

2012

2011

2014

2005

SHADY GROVE FAMILY YMCA opened

Celebrate 160th Anniversary

Launch of 2025 Strategic Plan

SWIFT CREEK FAMILY YMCA opened

ATLEE STATION FAMILY YMCA opened

JAMES CENTER YMCA and JOHN ROLFE FAMILY YMCA opened

GOOCHLAND FAMILY YMCA and ELIZABETH RANDOLPH LEWIS POWHATAN YMCA opened

MIDLOTHIAN FAMILY YMCA opened

First division of Boys Club at VUU—photo courtesy Kautz Family YMCA Archives. University of Minnesota Libraries.

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DEAR FRIENDS, There are a lot of good things that organizations do to impact the lives of children and families across the Greater Richmond area.

But every day, the YMCA OF GREATER RICHMOND aims to distinguish ourselves.

In 2014, the YMCA OF GREATER RICHMOND marked the successful launch of our 2025 Strategic Plan, which positions the Y as a significant leader in the fight to build a healthier, stronger community for all. The Y does this through academic enrichment for youth, evolving teens into leaders of tomorrow, strengthening the family unit and making our community healthier. Many of the programs that are already proving to be successful are documented in this Impact Report.

For 160 years, it has been the YMCA’s hallmark that every person that comes through its doors and every life reached in neighborhoods across the region be changed for the better. Looking to the future, the Y remains committed to partnering with fellow nonprofits and key community leaders who will walk with us in our journey.

On behalf of the Y, I would like to offer my thanks to our members, board, staff, donors and volunteers for contributing to the success of the past year and your continued support.

DR. JAMELLE S. WILSON Chair YMCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

STRATEGIC PLAN 2025

Under the direction of the strategic plan, the Y aims to be more focused in our efforts to build a healthier, stronger community. Below are the key focus areas of the plan. To view in its entirety, visit ymcarichmond.org.

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Increase academic success and healthy activities for youth in out of school time Increase leadership opportunities for teens Reduce obesity among youth and adults Reduce the occurrence of diabetes in adults Be inclusive and accessible to people and communities across Central Virgina

SPORTABLE AT THE YMCA

HEALTHY LIVING

Supporting Athletes of All Abilities Every day, the YMCA OF GREATER RICHMOND strives to inspire, nurture and challenge the best and brightest to step forward and work alongside us to strengthen our community.

Among those that answered the call is Sportable, a Richmond-based nonprofit dedicated to creating greater wellness opportunities for individuals with physical disabilities.

Through this partnership, the Y has made three of its facilities— Downtown, Midlothian and Shady Grove—more accessible with adaptive equipment and ensuring staff are trained to work with those with physical challenges. To date, many athletes have signed up for this program. Among them, 13-year-old Taylor Bernard. Taylor Photo courtesy of Sportable

Taylor strengthens her mind and body thanks to a partnership between the Y and Sportable. Her spirit is inspiring to everyone she meets!

says not only is the partnership changing people’s perception of athletes with disabilities, it’s giving

her new found confidence.

“It helps my mental state a lot.

Knowing that even though I have a

People with physical disabilities make up the largest minority group of the US.

disability, I can still exercise. And with Sportable and the Y, I have no limits at all.”

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME PROGRAMMING The YMCA OF GREATER RICHMOND offers 45 child care sites across the Greater Richmond area. Serving nearly 2,000 children daily in after-school and over 2,500 a day in summer day camp, the Y sees every interaction with youth as an opportunity for learning and development. From YMCA Before-and After-School Child Care, to Summer Day Camp, to YMCA Teen Leaders’ Club, we are building a strong foundation for the next generation of leaders in our community.

WOODVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL The YMCA OF GREATER RICHMOND is going beyond our walls and into communities that need it the most. In 2014, for the first time, the Y began providing year-round programming for nearly 80 students at Woodville Elementary School. In its 5th year of providing after-school care, the program expanded to include a summer day camp, and launched our continuum of care for out of school time programming at Woodville Elementary.

Poverty is the greatest risk factor in the lives of children and families served in this program. A staggering 56 percent of the residents live below the poverty level and nearly half (46 percent) over the age of 25 have not completed high school or its equivalency. Throughout the year, the Y engages children and their families in activities that promote academic enrichment, physical activity, healthy eating habits, water safety instruction, and provides them with positive role models.

Children enjoy fun activities in a safe, nurturing environment surrounded by positive role models.

Most children lose two months of academic skills in the summer. That’s where the YMCA steps in.

Along with providing fun, healthy activities in YMCA summer day camp, the Y also provides children with academic programs to help fight summer learning loss and close the achievement gap. By incorporating literacy, arts and science components to our camp programs, we’re giving children the enrichment and character building activities that will propel them to succeed in life.

Students enjoy an afternoon of soccer at Greenleigh.

GREENLEIGH MOBILE HOME PARK COMMUNITY Hispanic students represent the fastest-growing minority population in the U.S. Since the 2003-04 school year, the number of Hispanic students has more than doubled, to about 13 percent of the school population in 2013, according to Virginia Department of Education data.

To help prevent barriers that

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local Hispanic students may have in achieving academic success, the CHESTER FAMILY YMCA has formed a partnership with Chesterfield County to provide academic support to children living in the Greenleigh Mobile Home Park community. This community, located on Jefferson Davis Highway, is made up mostly of Hispanic residents, many of whom

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have recently moved to the U.S. The Y, along with community supporters, has created a Learning Cottage in the Greenleigh community to help provide children academic support that is not easily accessible to their parents.

This is important because many of the parents are unable to provide this support for a myriad of reasons. Two days per week, the Y

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works with volunteer teachers from Elizabeth Scott Elementary School and Elizabeth Davis Middle School to provide more than 30 elementary and middle school students tutoring and homework assistance. Activities include math and reading enrichment.

Students also participate in physical activities to keep them healthy and engaged.

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BUILDING TEENS INTO FUTURE LEADERS YMCA LEADERS’ CLUB AND Y ACHIEVERS: One of the key goals of the YMCA OF GREATER RICHMOND’S 2025 Strategic Plan is to equip teens with the skills they need to be leaders of tomorrow. We do this through both Y Achievers and YMCA Leaders’ Club. These clubs serve as development programs for future Y leaders in our community.

Photo courtesy The Progress-Index

Shallai Videtto, 17, is one of the teens celebrating the opening of the new basketball gym at the PETERSBURG FAMILY YMCA in January 2015.

Y Achievers is designed to serve students from a variety of cultures and financial backgrounds.

To date, 72 teens have participated in the program.

Among them Shallai Videtto, 17. He attends Y Achievers at the

PETERSBURG FAMILY YMCA. Shallai says he loves his hometown, but the city has its flaws—shootings, gang activities and other negative influences that can trap impressionable youth. He says the Y keeps him grounded and safe.

Employment and training In 2014, the YMCA OF GREATER RICHMOND employed more than 3,000 full-and part-time staff of which nearly 500 were teens.

The Y ranked 43 on the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s 23rd annual Top 50 list of the region’s largest private employers

“The Y keeps me off the streets and gives me something positive to do. I’m in the Y every day after school. Tutors in Y Achievers help me with my homework. My family is already seeing me progress academically. I love the Y.”

Through Y Achievers, the Y will: • Provide career success strategies for youth in vulnerable populations, creating confident young people and stronger communities.

• Equip participants with the skills they need to graduate from post-secondary institutions and successfully enter the workforce or attend college.

• Provide positive role models from the teen’s own cultural group and opportunities to network in a like-minded program while bonding with peers to encourage each other toward success.

MEET MALIK 17 years old Attends John Marshall High School Member of the NORTHSIDE FAMILY YMCA HAS BEING AT THE Y CHANGED YOUR LIFE? Joining Leaders’ Club helped me build myself as a better leader and a role model for younger kids. The Y makes me want to do better and be better. A lot of people at the Y are really good at what they do—the Y counselors, they’re like mentors to me. They help me be a better mentor to kids who have been through some of the problems that I have had. A lot of people here at the Y want me to do better. They actually care about me. I used to be the angry guy and get into fights. I guess I’ve grown up and matured. The Y has helped me with this.

YMCA Leaders’ Club provides teens FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE Y: Everything!

WHERE WOULD YOU BE WITHOUT THE Y? On the streets, that’s the honest truth—on the streets. Probably be hungry, maybe smoking, making bad decisions.

LIK MA

with extensive leadership training, offering opportunities for service to the YMCA and the community. These clubs serve as development programs for future leaders in our community.

Currently, more than 430 teens are involved in Leaders’ Club, the highest enrollment ever for the organization. These teens come from all walks of life— but at the Y they are all treated equally and given a fair chance at success. Malik experienced that firsthand. In his own words, he explains how the Y is changing his life.

WHAT HAS BEING AT THE Y TAUGHT YOU ABOUT YOUR OPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE? It’s opened doors, especially with volunteering. Volunteering at the Y can help you get a job and get into college. You get good work experience volunteering at the Y and you can start when you’re young.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

HOMEWORK HELPERS Tutoring programs for the refugee communities The TUCKAHOE FAMILY YMCA offers a program to refugee families living in Henrico County. Once a week for one hour, 17 children who are Nepalese, Sudanese and Hispanic Latino, gather at the Tuckahoe Library to receive homework help, including reading enrichment. The program, driven by volunteers and supervised by YMCA staff, provides community support and enhances English language skills.

Students receive assistance in all areas of their academic studies by volunteer tutors.

“The Dance Your Way To Fitness group has become a family—we greet each other with hugs when we arrive and we share sweaty hugs before we leave. The residents are all asking what’s next and when the next program is going to start up, which is awesome because they are truly excited about getting active!”

JACKI QUINLAN | Community Fitness Engagement Specialist - Sports Backers

DANCE YOUR WAY TO FITNESS Breaking down barriers and helping community members lead healthier lives

A collaborative partnership between the YMCA, Sports Backers and the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) is becoming a great success. The ‘Dance Your Way to Fitness’ program aims to increase physical fitness levels for residents living in the Gilpin Court Community. This dance-based fitness program goes to residents in their own community since many of them have limited access to transportation.

Participants take part in ZUMBA®, Tai Chi, the Jitterbug, and other forms of group exercise.

SELF-CONFIDENCE

TEAM WORK

RESPONSIBILITY

RESPECT

YMCA Youth Sports help young people become better players and better people by emphasizing skill development over competition, all while teaching good sportsmanship found in our values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.

HONESTY

Every day, the Y serves nearly 2,000 kids in before-and after-school child care. Nearly 8,000 youth develop skills, learn how to work together on a team and develop self-confidence in YMCA Youth Sports programs.

CARING

FOR A BETTER US

KEEPING YOUTH HEALTHY AND ACTIVE

COMMUNITY IMPACT IN 2014 YMCA OF GREATER RICHMOND 177,517 INDIVIDUALS SERVED through programs and membership

5,343 VOLUNTEERS gave over 72,000 hours of service worth a value of over $1.4 million

71,480 SWIM LESSONS were taught NEARLY 3,000 CHILDREN GRADUATED from YMCA Learn to Swim

3,366 FATHERS, DAUGHTERS AND SONS MORE THAN 2,000 CHILDREN were provided with the tools they need for a successful school year in YMCA Bright Beginnings

7,244 ADULTS AGE 65 AND OLDER stayed healthy and fought senior isolationism at the YMCA

THE COMMUNITY RECEIVED $3.5 MILLION IN CHARITABLE GIVING through its Annual Campaign and all public support.

THE Y PROVIDED NEARLY $6 MILLION IN FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE allowing us to remain Open to All

First YMCA building in Richmond, 6th and Main Streets: 1886.

developed closer family bonds through the Y Guides program

OUR MISSION

To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.

YMCA OF GREATER RICHMOND

2 West Franklin Street • Richmond, Virginia 23220 P 804.649.9622 ymcarichmond.org