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TOGETHERNESS Strategic Plan 2010-2015 The Plan in Action in 2014 YMCA OF THE NORTH SHORE
TABLE OF CONTENTS Our Mission, Vision, Values and Areas of Focus.... 03 Culture.............................................................. 04 Facilities........................................................... 07 Aging Population................................................ 08 Childhood Obesity.............................................. 11 Funding For All................................................... 12 Teens................................................................ 15 Affordable Housing............................................ 16 Achievement Gap................................................ 19
OUR MISSION Our Y welcomes all. We strengthen communities, educate and nurture children and promote healthy living in spirit, mind and body.
OUR VISION Where all children, adults and families are healthy, confident and connected.
OUR VALUES Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility.
OUR AREAS OF FOCUS YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Nurturing the potential of every child and teen. HEALTHY LIVING Improving the community’s health & well-being. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Giving back and providing support to our neighbors.
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CULTURE We will be a modern day “Main Street” committed to fostering a genuine spirit of community for all.
OBJECTIVE: Organize community outreach activities which bring together YMCA members in service and social opportunities.
At the Y, we’re dedicated to strengthening community by helping our neighbors feel healthy, connected and secure. In this spirit, YMCA members and staff are advancing our “Main Street” mission by dedicating themselves to giving back to the community through a new program called TogetherhoodTM. Togetherhood empowers Y members to lead volunteer service projects that directly impact the community in which they live. Designed to be a simple, fun and rewarding experience, members identify a need and mobilize Y members and community volunteers to fulfill their mission. The first of our Ys to launch Togetherhood, the Greater Beverly YMCA partnered with Beverly Bootstraps to make an impact on low-income families in need. This summer the Back to School Bonanza program provided 700 school age children with school supplies and back packs, dozens of which were collected in the Y’s lobby. Togetherhood volunteers also helped distribute fresh produce to residents of the Apple Village housing complex through Bootstrap’s Mobile Market. This free farmers market promotes better health and nutrition by providing eligible households with fresh fruits and vegetables. Throughout the month of September 2014, over 70 families received almost 1,300 pounds of produce each week.
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FACILITIES We will strongly support all local and association wide efforts to develop and improve YMCA facilities.
OBJECTIVES: Be leaders in green facility initiatives, completing energy efficient projects and incorporating LEED standards in new developments. Maximize all YMCA full facility and camp properties by developing long-term master plans. Deepen engagement of our neighbors in Southern NH and Greater Newburyport by pursuing the development of new YMCA facilities in those areas. Ensure each local Y facility is capable of accommodating the needs of all strategic initiatives.
Our goal is to further the Y’s mission in each of the 25 communities we serve. 2014 marked a pivotal year for our association with the opening of the Plaistow Community YMCA in Plaistow, NH. Major renovations were made to create an unparalleled, full-service YMCA experience for regional residents. In addition to the existing basketball, volleyball and pickle ball courts, the Y now offers a state-of-theart fitness center with the latest equipment and a group exercise studio. Addressing the community’s need for quality licensed child care, the Y renovated the facility to include a new Plaistow Community YMCA Early Education Center, providing licensed infant and toddler care, pre-school and kindergarten readiness programs. In Salem, our Y saw a need to fill a gap for children interested in the arts. In the winter of 2014, the Salem YMCA unveiled the newly restored historic Ames Hall, the new home of the Salem Y’s Creative Arts Center. Beginning in 1896, the hall was the go-to community gathering place for performances and speeches. However, when it was converted into a gymnasium in the 1970’s it fell into disrepair. With the support of a group of dedicated volunteers, over $1 million dollars was raised to bring the Creative Arts Center to life. Now—more than 100 years since it was built—Ames Hall is open again in all its grandeur, and is the host of spectacular performances from the YMCA Theatre Company.
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AGING POPULATION We will be a place where adults always feel welcome and never outgrow.
OBJECTIVES: Develop intergenerational programming and activities that will connect teens/youth to older adults. Implement programs, services and resources which address the chronic health issues of Baby Boomers.
In a continued effort to pioneer a healthier community, the YMCA of the North Shore is solidifying partnerships with healthcare organizations to strategically plan the next phase of its health-focused programming. With the support of Lahey Health, the Greater Beverly YMCA piloted the Diabetes Prevention Program. This innovative lifestyle modification program is designed to help adults adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles by eating healthier, increasing physical activity and losing a modest amount of weight in order to reduce their chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Currently, diabetes affects nearly 26 million people. Prediabetes affects an estimated 79 million people—one in three adults—in the U.S., but only 11 percent of those individuals know they have it. Research by the National Institutes of Health has shown that programs like the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program reduce the number of new cases of diabetes by 58% overall and by 71% in adults over age 60. In just four months of the yearlong Y program, participants have already lost an average of 4% of their total body weight. By expanding the program to the Cape Ann and Haverhill Ys in 2015, the YMCA of the North Shore is poised to make a significant impact in the health of our community.
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CHILDHOOD OBESITY We will champion the fight against childhood obesity in our communities.
OBJECTIVES: Improve nutrition habits and increase physical activity of children and families. Establish or actively engage in a community wide signature healthy living initiative.
Childhood obesity is at epidemic levels in our country. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2010 more than a third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. At the Y, we take this threat very seriously, and have developed innovative programs to tackle this issue head-on. This past summer, the Y had a significant impact on building healthy lifestyle skills in our youth with the Pedometer Project. At nine of our summer camps across the North Shore and in Southern New Hampshire, each camper received a pedometer to track their activity. Through creative, fun programming kids learned new ways to be healthy and fit and were active all summer long. So active, in fact, they each walked an average of 1.5 miles EVERY day. That’s a total of: 111,751 miles or 4,265 marathons or 40 trips across the U.S. or orbiting the earth nearly 4.5 times Together they burned 5,475,807 calories or 1,564 pounds! The ultimate goal—learning the foundation of healthy living.
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YMCA of the North Shore Strategic Plan 2010-2015 The Plan in Action in 2014
FUNDING FOR ALL We will be a place where community fundraising ensures all are welcome regardless of their ability to pay.
OBJECTIVES: Build a culture of philanthropy within our Y staff, board and membership to implement a volunteer recruitment strategy that will increase the number of fundraising volunteers. Grow our Y’s endowment and commit to a comprehensive Planned Giving effort.
Thanks to a strategic effort to increase the number of Y donors, each year we provide over $2.5 million in assistance to nearly 13,000 members and continue to offer new programs to people in our communities. With a major gift from a donor, the Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA is building bright futures for teens and young adults in their community through a new Adaptive Workforce Development Program. With expert care, participants learn hands-on job training fundamentals like time management, customer service skills, personal grooming and interpersonal communication guidance. Emulating a typical employment experience, the 8-month program includes regular shifts, routine workload, participating in staff meetings and daily accountability. Through progressive responsibilities and one-on-one attention, each participant gains confidence and develops independence and skills to last a lifetime. Our committed and generous donors enable us to further our mission of fostering youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
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TEENS We will be the foremost provider of activities that support the healthy development of teens.
OBJECTIVES: Engage an increased number of teens in local, domestic and international service opportunities. Involve more teens in our YMCA by expanding our leadership, educational and recreational programs to new locations and opening teen centers in new communities.
The Salem Y nurtures the talents and dreams of teens through its drop-in SAY Media Studio, an innovative program that teaches a variety of digital media production skills like graphics, web technologies, film production and editing. Kids in the After School program build confidence and valuable leadership and job skills as they are armed with the know-how to work in the media industry and are given opportunities to put their new-found skills to work with real-world clients. Each year the program continues to grow. Today more than 20 teens participate every week. They have produced over 30 video and photography projects over the past year. Further, the Y has hired seven SAY Media teens to work in programs in other areas. New in 2014, the Salem Y is continuing to inspire youth to explore their creative side with the opening of its new Music Lab. In a state-of-the-art sound proof studio, kids try new instruments, jam with professional musicians, write songs and learn how to record music. Best of all, they’re given a warm sense of belonging and are welcomed to the vibrant local music community.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING We will champion the cause for all people in need of affordable housing across our communities.
OBJECTIVE: Maintain our existing affordable housing initiatives so individuals and families will continue to thrive.
Affordable housing is one of the biggest challenges facing residents of the North Shore. The Y continues to work tirelessly to meet this need. Our Y operates nine housing facilities in four communities including Beverly, Ipswich, Cape Ann and Haverhill, putting a roof over the heads of nearly 550 children and adults. A new program at Ipswich Y’s Powderhouse Village is a true testament to the power of collaboration. In the spirit of community, the Y is celebrating its first year partnering with Marini Farms to provide a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) farm share to families and individuals who are living in the Village, bringing local, fresh produce to the tables of families who might not otherwise afford it. Of the 130 Powderhouse residents, 25 families participated in the CSA at no charge thanks to a special grant. The program also included a complimentary farmstand at the Village, connecting people and promoting healthy living habits for all residents to enjoy.
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ACHIEVEMENT GAP We will work to close the Achievement Gap among children from low-income environments by increasing their school readiness and educational success.
OBJECTIVES: Using evidence-based programs, form partnerships with local public schools through either afterschool programming or summer learning loss initiatives.
Statistics show that a large number of children from low-income households reach kindergarten unprepared and continue to fall behind at school each year without proper intervention. Our Y believes all children have potential and we plan to affect change. We are dedicated to reducing the Achievement Gap and giving them a fighting chance for academic success.
Reduce summer learning loss by modifying our existing Y summer camp curriculum, training and staff qualifications.
Building on the success of the Haverhill YMCA’s pilot program in 2013, the Cape Ann, Greater Beverly and Salem Ys launched Summer Learning programs this year. Free for qualified incoming third graders, the programs taught nearly 200 children who were pre-tested as needing intervention, with a reading level at least six months behind their peers.
Enhance our existing early education programs to ensure all children in Y programs enter Kindergarten prepared for success.
A certified Massachusetts teacher spent mornings building the children’s literacy skills through reading and writing activities, and tailored weekly lesson plans on the students’ individual needs and interests. After a free lunch, kids participated in fun, physical activities at the Y’s traditional day camp, Camp Windward. At summer’s end, these children were reading with greater aptitude and were building vocabulary skills each day. Having increased their reading to an average of two books per day, kids’ confidence soared! Together with new friends from the program, they were excited to learn and enthusiastically continued their new-found interest in reading at home.
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YMCA OF THE NORTH SHORE Cabot Street YMCA 245 Cabot Street Beverly, MA 01915 978.922.0990
Cape Ann YMCA 71 Middle Street Gloucester, MA 01930 978.283.0470
Salem YMCA One Sewall Street Salem, MA 01970 978.740.9622
Sterling Center YMCA 254 Essex Street Beverly, MA 01915 978.927.6855
Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA 40 Leggs Hill Road Marblehead, MA 01945 781.631.9622
Haverhill YMCA 81 Winter Street Haverhill, MA 01830 978.374.0506
Ipswich Family YMCA 110 County Road Ipswich, MA 01938 978.356.9622
Plaistow Community YMCA 175 Plaistow Road Plaistow, NH 03865 603.382.0641
www.northshoreymca.org