Young Mens Christian Association of Central Massachusetts

“Prior to filing form 990 the ceo will disburse the form electronically to board members.”

“The board of directors review the organization's conflict of interest policy annually in order to insure that the organization's board of directors, officers, and employees are regularly and consistently monitoring and enforcing it.”

“The organization utilizes the services of a human resource consultant who gathers information from other comparable organizations and data provided by ymca. The information is then reported to the executive committee and benchmarks are compared in order to determine the appropriate compensation.”

“Forms are available for public inspection upon request.”

“Net loss on interest rate swap agreement -879,335.”

“Mission statement the ymca of central massachusetts is an association united in a common goal to strengthen our communities and to develop the spirit, mind and body of all persons, regardless of means, through activities guided by and based upon our core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. Cause statement the ymca of central massachusetts will strengthen the foundations of community through programs and services that support youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. Diversity and inclusion vision statement the ymca of central massachusetts will nurture and support an environment that reflects, respects, and celebrates our differences, and embraces the richness of our diversity. Strategic advantage the ymca of central massachusetts successfully impacts families and individuals by fostering a sense of belonging to a movement that continually evolves to meet the relevant needs of our community. Organization description the ymca of central massachusetts is an association united by a vision of strong, thriving communities filled with healthy individuals and families working together to lead balanced lifestyles in body, mind and spirit. No other community-based, non-profit organization in central massachusetts has the geographic reach or the breadth of programs and services that encompass youth development, healthy living and social responsibility as the ymca. Our five branches support nearly 30,000 members across 57 cities and towns in the heart of the commonwealth. Collaboration with more than 100 other partners extends our reach to nearly 50,000 individuals annually. We also deliver programs at more than 15 sites in other locations, along with our two rural summer day camps. Our y has enjoyed many successes in recent years, especially with last year's celebration of our 150th anniversary. In an historic annual campaign, our passionate volunteers and staff champions came together to raise over $1 million to support those members of the y who most need our support. To ensure our services are available to those who need us most, our y is proud to offer many low and no-cost programs - providing everything from affordable, educational afterschool childcare to a wellness initiative forming a support network for cancer survivors to a fitness and nutrition strategy to empower families to grow healthier together. Our programming is designed to evolve with the growing and changing needs of our communities. Ymca history the ymca of central massachusetts has been impacting children, teens, families and adults for over 150 years. When our y began in 1864, it operated out of one rented room on the second floor of the iconic mechanics hall in downtown worcester - one of the first landmarks in the city. Today, our y has evolved from serving one gender and one religion to proudly serving all people. We have become one of the region's most impactful non-profit organizations. Thanks to our deep roots in the community, our y continues to be uniquely positioned to address the ever-changing needs of those we serve. While our health and fitness resources help our members become their best selves, our impact reaches far beyond our wellness centers. Both inside and outside the walls of our y, we deliver impactful programming to those who need us most. In 1920, the flagship central community branch opened its doors in downtown worcester's main south neighborhood. Due to the socioeconomic demographics of this part of the city, the central branch functions as a safe haven for the residents of the area, including the newly installed teen achievement center and family locker room. Many low-income members from the neighborhoods we serve qualify for free or reduced membership and programs. Just down the road, the greendale family branch was established in 1929 thanks to norton company's (now saint-gobain's) generous donation of facilities. This year, with the help of our valuable mission partners, greendale is expanding an”

“Examples of programs include: early childhood education y early childhood education strengthens the holistic development of infants, toddlers, young children and their families by supporting early literacy, healthy-habits development and strong parenting skills. Our program provides early-learning readiness experiences designed to prepare them for entering the education system on the right foot. We also feature nutritionally educational exercises when age appropriate, such as food group sorting and healthy food collages along with fruit and vegetable color organization. Furthermore, opportunities for family involvement and events are highlighted throughout the year, with a focus on nutritionally-optimum diets and physical play. By offering this vital programming, the y is laying the groundwork for future and ongoing achievement and success. School's out this initiative is available to students throughout the association from kindergarten to sixth grade and develops physical, intellectual, emotional and social skills in children. Students in school's out follow the same schedule every day - as much as that is possible. Our staff understands that in order to meet the constantly changing and expanding needs of youth, it is essential to be flexible and adaptive. When children first arrive to school's out after school, they have the opportunity to relax with quiet activities. Immediately following quiet playtime is a healthy snack. Next, they are encouraged to work independently during homework/learning time with the support of y staff. Finally, children engage in activity time. Despite the established schedule, we intentionally vary the program's routine to encourage students to become well-rounded and flexible. To instill healthy habits in the youth we serve, active play or team sports are incorporated into activity time at least once a week as well as nutritional education. Our staff act as positive role models, demonstrating the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle. School's out offers a balanced and adult-supervised environment. Children flourish in the structured setting we provide them, as outlined by the well-established school-age care curriculum frameworks from the ymca of the usa. The core content areas are arts & humanities; character development; health, wellness and fitness; literacy; science and technology; service-learning; and social competence and conflict resolution. Our main goal is to keep youth engaged in learning while having fun. The school's out experience is crafted to complement school learning practices, support diverse learning styles and encourage the development of the whole child in spirit, mind and body to ensure academic and social success for the children we support. Moreover, data shows that afterschool programs increase children's engagement in school, reduce their risk of absenteeism and alcohol consumption and raise their likelihood of going to college. The program's services are a welcome relief to many working parents who previously struggled to arrange transportation to quality childcare - leaving their children potentially unsupervised and at risk to destructive decisions. Thanks to school's out, parents in our communities have access to affordable afterschool programming for their children which supplements the education they receive at school and encourages healthy choices. Summer literacy programs our y operates three critical summer literacy programs. At camp blanchard, camp lowe and lakeside summer camp, literacy activities are incorporated into the daily curricula to mitigate summer learning loss - and sometimes increase overall reading and writing skills! Once again engaging in the city-wide summer literacy initiative, we conducted summer play to help keep youth excited about reading and writing during the summer months while gaining many other skills. In 2015, at the central community and greendale family branches, utilizing three worcester public schools literacy specialis”

“Healthy living - improving the nation's health and well-being; as part of our overall commitment to health and wellbeing, our y joined a movement known as health innovation - a national response to the growing obesity crisis. We are proud to be a catalyst in supporting individuals and families in their pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. Our y strives to set the bar for wellness standards - not just meet them. Our programming is driven by staff, volunteers and mission partners and is member-focused. At a branch level, national resources and technical assistance have translated into program innovation and improvement relating to our youth wellness initiatives. We have integrated the food & fun curriculum, created by the harvard school of public health, designed to help ymcas integrate healthy snacks, active games and creative learning opportunities into afterschool programs. Over the past few years, we have built capacity and have been able to experiment with different aspects of program implementation, all with the goal of gaining a better understanding of our children and families and reaching them in meaningful ways. Examples of innovative healthy living initiatives include: livestrong at the ymca our y has proudly hosted livestrong at the ymca since 2011. We are privileged to be amongst the ranks of over 400 ymcas across the nation who offer this program. Our initiative is instrumental in helping the people affected by cancer reach their holistic health goals. We help survivors and their caregivers build a network of support, composed of everyone from y staff to peers in the community, in order to improve their wellbeing in body, mind and spirit. To date, we have served 500 survivors along with many more family members and loved ones. Livestrong at the y is available to any adult over the age of 18 who has completed or is undergoing cancer treatment. Y staff and volunteers perform an extensive intake process, including communication with potential participants' physicians. To reach more people in need, our y partners with valuable community leaders, such as saint vincent hospital and dana-farber cancer institute to help inform potential participants about the benefits of the program. Our y is proud to foster relationships in our region with prestigious medical institutions such as these who share our commitment to compassionately supporting vulnerable members of our communities. One of the most positive aspects of livestrong at the y is our ability to be flexible, which is made possible by offering the program across our four, full-service branches - and recently piloted at the new leominster community branch. Thanks to the evidence-informed curriculum, our staff is able to tailor the exercise routines to meet the health and safety needs of each individual. For certain survivors, a calming, outdoor yoga class is the best fit. For example, one participant was weak from a white blood cell count of zero. He was not strong enough for the type of exercise he was used to. Instead, our instructors showed him how to build up strength using relaxation techniques and yoga. Others can handle a more rigorous spinning class or strength training session without straining their bodies. Let's go! Let's go!: family fitness and nutrition is a pediatrician-referred program operated in collaboration with reliant medical group for eight-week sessions. The initiative focuses on children, ages seven to 17, who have been identified as overweight or obese and engages their entire family to develop skills for a balanced lifestyle. Over the life of the initiative, let's go! Has served 125 children and even more family members. The program meets twice per week for one hour each session. The large group classes provide hands-on education and knowledge specific to healthy eating and physical activity. Fitness-led programming encourages full family involvement and gives parents the opportunity to participate. Group training is a means of reinforcing family f”

“Engaging a neighborhood - engaging a community the ymca is proud of its involvement in many neighborhood community events that promote our social responsibility focus area. National night out is a nationally recognized neighborhood crime and drug prevention event that occurs annually on the first tuesday in august. This event is celebrated in many of america's largest cities and towns. In addition to increasing awareness of crime and drug prevention programs, national night out strengthens neighborhood spirit and community-police partnership, while sending a message to criminals that our neighborhoods are organized and fighting back against crime. Each august, the central community branch hosts worcester's national night out. Families of many diverse backgrounds, local politicians and leaders, police officers, firefighters, clergy and people of all ages, including our youth, celebrate our community coming together. This annual event features the participation of dozens of children who enjoy the many educational and fun activities held that night. Many parents take the opportunity to ask how they can get involved in community programs that are focused on protecting their neighborhoods. The evening includes fun activities such as face painting, educational games and a festive block party atmosphere. There are several other local neighborhood initiatives, including wheels to water summer swim program, beginning years family network, and friends of families in transition, which are essential partnerships that assist us and other collaborating organizations in meeting our mission. Collaborations with over 150 different formal and informal groups help us reach even more individuals throughout our 57 communities. Global centers of excellence according to the global center of excellence (gce) frameworks developed by the ymca of the usa, a gce y is distinguished from other associations by its commitment to achieving and maintaining exceptional global best practices. In 2012, we were honored to join a group of only 50 ys to become a global center of excellence. Global centers of excellence focus on responding to and serving diverse and changing regions and populations in order to best strengthen communities. Our y's gce strategy fosters understanding of and connection to the global reality influencing local cities and towns, addresses demographic changes, develops programs/services to meet the needs of diverse, underserved communities and positions us as a leading global human service organization. As a nationally-recognized global center of excellence, the y constantly strives to identify and address the needs of the diverse populations we serve. In 2015, we turned our focus to inclusive programming, such as global sports for brazilian - among many other - populations, female-only classes for muslim women and volunteer opportunities for individuals with special needs. We also engaged a local university in a project to study the needs and cultures of newcomer populations in our community. Investments in people in 2015, our y exceeded the $1 million goal for the annual campaign, directly benefiting those members who rely on us most. As an organization, we provided $950,000 in direct financial assistance and program subsidies - $800,000 of which supported initiatives specifically aimed at supporting youth. Our signature events, the annual golf classic and the livestrong at the ymca program reception are instrumental in helping us achieve our goal and continue to provide significant levels of assistance throughout central massachusetts.”