Young Mens Christian Association of Paris Bourbon County Inc.

“The ymca's executive committee is given a copy of the 990 for review and approval.”

“Annually board members fill out a new conflict of interest policy. These are reviewed by the executive director and any conflicts are brought to the attention of the executive committee.”

“Process for determining compensation of the executive director/ceo include an annual review by all members of the executive committee. Recommendation for compensation is voted upon in the executive committee and approved by the full board during the budget presentation.”

“Ceo/executive director makes available financial statements, conflict of interest policy and 990 to any requests that come in. A copy of our 990 is also available on our website and the guidestar website.”

“The mission of the ymca is to put christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all. Our ymca continues to meet the needs and challenges of our community by listening to our constituents. Today families are facing financial strains and both parents work leaving less time for family time. Our youth are struggling to get the family support they need to develop positive skills and values that will help them throughout their lives. The ymca is here to ensure that every child and youth can deepen their positive values. That every family has a place to come to build stronger bonds and achieve greater work/life balance. The ymca works with every individual to strengthen their well-being by developing healthy spirit, mind and body. The y's focus areas of youth development, nurturing the potential of every child and teen; healthy living, leading the voice on health and well-being; and social responsibility, giving back and supporting our neighbors, is present in every program and service we provide.”

“Member services: the paris-bourbon county ymca's most effective way to strengthen relationships and member involvement is by engaging members at all levels and all ages. We bring families closer together, encourage good health and foster connections through healthy living, youth development and social responsibility. As a result, 4,000 people in our community are receiving support, guidance and resources they need to achieve greater health in spirit, mind and body. The ymca provides opportunities beyond individual and family activities for members to become involved, volunteer and lead the ymca. The ymca engages members to move from a casual member, to a volunteer and to a supporter for the y. We do this by engaging them with other members and programs and through staff involvement. Membership development is relationship based and focused on engaging members as whole persons and providing personalized member experiences in a supportive, uplifting environment. The total experience of a member's involvement with the ymca, starting with the initial engagement and including participation in programs and activities that address individual wants, needs and interests has ongoing support through relationships with staff and other members in an environment that is caring, honest, respectful and supportive of healthy choices. Through december 31, 2013 the paris-bourbon county ymca served 4,210 members. Our ymca believes in giving back and supporting our neighbors. Our nation struggles with an obesity crisis, families struggle with work/life balance and individuals search for personal fulfillment. Our services are accessible, affordable and open to all faiths, backgrounds, abilities and income levels. In 2013, we provided $95,955 in financial assistance to people who otherwise would have faced economic barriers to participation.”

“We believe that all kids deserve the opportunity to discover who they are and what they can achieve. That's why we help young people cultivate the values, skills and relationships that lead to positive behaviors, better health, and educational achievement. Our ymca child care programs offer a range of experiences that enrich cognitive, social, physical and emotional growth. Through our licensed pre-school and after-school centers, the ymca is a champion in the holistic development of children and youth. In 2013 we served 96 children in our infant, toddler and preschool programs and 101 children in our after school program. Our pre-school operates for 12 hours per day in a safe, nurturing environment where children are prepared for later school success. The ymca collaborates with the united way and the child care council to ensure our staff are trained and certified. Our commitment to quality includes participation in the governor's "stars for kids now" initiative. Children are taught values for a life long success. Our after-school program provides care throughout the school year and all day care for children during snow days, holiday breaks and early school dismissals. Our character-driven program helps children develop moral and ethical behavior and builds self-esteem. The ymca summer camp program offers adventure and learning activities that provide challenge, education, and promote spiritual awareness, mental development, physical well being, social growth and self-respect. Our camp is open to all regardless of ability to pay. Over 56% of the 62 children who attended camp in 2013 received financial assistance for program fees.”

“Youth and teen programs: building strong kids means supporting and empowering children to develop the values and skills they will carry with them throughout life. Those that are ingrained with strong values become leaders in our communities. Our youth sports programs include soccer, gymnastics, basketball and running club served over 670 youth in 2013. The children learned that everyone plays and everyone develops team skills they will be able to use throughout their lives. Volunteer development is key in our team sports. Our running club and our leagues rely solely on volunteers who mow and line the soccer fields, coach and organize the teams, and in 2013. Over 1,250 volunteer hours were recorded. All of our volunteer coaches and parents sign a code of conduct agreeing to be respectful of all and follow the program's code of ethics. The ymca offers a variety of free community-wide activities. At our healthy kids day, over 75 children and their families enjoyed games, activities and healthy snacks. This event was another example of healthy living while bringing families closer together.”

“Aquatics: aquatic programming has long been a mainstay in building healthy spirit, mind and body for children and adults. The ymca's aquatic programs provide opportunities for holistic health and well-being often with a focus on health seeker's and their families. Aquatic programs mirror our focus of healthy living, youth development and social responsibility. In 2013, more than 752 people came to the ymca for our aquatic programs recognizing the value in our relationship-based approach. Our ymca gave back to our community and nurtured the potential of our children by providing free swim lessons to every second grader in our community. 325 children gained skills needed to be safer around the water. In addition to swimming instruction, our ymca provides competitive aquatics, lifeguard training, recreational swim (indoor and out) and water therapy. In 2013, over 51 children and their families participated in our swim teams. Parent and community volunteers provided more than 600 hours of volunteer support to the swim team programs making them some of our most loyal volunteers. 40 teens received lifeguard training at our ymca that will ensure qualified guards for area pools. Our ymca has the only pool in our community and we open our outdoor pool to anyone who wants to participate. We also allow the high school swim teams and the special olympic swim team to use our pools at no cost. In addition, we make our pool available, at no charge, for boy scouts working on merit badges as well as the local military institute that do water survival training in our pool. Health and fitness - the paris-bourbon county ymca addresses the most pressing challenges of the diverse population we serve. We do this by providing a broad range of accessible, effective and quality programs to address a variety of ongoing and emerging individual and community needs. All of these programs are anchored in the ymca's philosophy of personal growth in spirit, mind and body. Building upon our charitable heritage, financial assistance ensured those who need the ymca most- from all backgrounds and income levels-were able to benefit. The majority of adults who join the ymca do so because they wish to participate in some form of exercise, whether an organized class or an individual workout. The ymca makes fitness accessible to the entire community by providing many weekly classes. The ymca is addressing the obesity epidemic through all health and fitness programming. By listening and responding to our community's most critical social needs, our pioneering healthier communities initiative continues to work on making our community a healthier place to live. Through our community wide assessment, we responded to the unmet needs of safer sidewalks to fresh fruits and vegetables in our schools. Our work continues in reducing the obesity epidemic.”