AYP magazine, AUGUST 2017

A publication by the Association of YMCA Professionals

Inspired Leadership for the YMCA Professional Vol. 7 No. 4 Aug/Sept 2017

Ys must intentionally engage with people on how membership strengthens their community and advances a cause.

Congratulations to the newest graduates of the 2015 YMCA/JCC CRI Training Coach program.

Learn, Grow, Succeed Education and Training For YMCA/JCC Professionals Most Recent Alumni Jean Fry Jennifer Brownlow John Binnie Joseph Granza Justin Noel Karen Buckley Katelyn Szafir Kathy Dew Kelli Holder Krystal Snider Kyle Britton Lincoln Huth Lisa Becht Lisa Horton

Luke Brookner Matt Sallinen Maureen Wilcox Megan Brazill Melanie VanderHorn Melissa McGlynn Melissa Wright Meredith Frazier Patrick McGahan Peta McMillan Peter Christenson Peter Rana Robyn Cohen Santiago Prada

Sarah Faulkner Seth Hazen Shannon Hughes Sharon Allen Shelley McCarty Stacey Hatch Tim Cedrone Tim Lebling Travis Randle Trevalyn Bell Troy Henrich Valerie Prenzlow Victoria MacKenzie Wade Messner

Since its inception, Cybex has hosted over 300 YMCA/JCC professionals, representing over 600 branches at our world headquarters for a unique learning experience, the YMCA Training Coach program. This four-day comprehensive workshop combines classroom instruction with practical hands-on training. Topics covered include anatomy, kinesiology, biomechanics, and motor learning. The program was created to help further the participants’ education in exercise science. It also provides cardio and strength product training to equip their staff with safe and effective ways to better serve their members on the wellness floor.

In 2016, the Cybex Research Institute (CRI) Training Coach team, led by Dr. Paul Juris, will once again offer YMCA and JCC health and wellness professionals this highly personalized and exclusive opportunity.

Availability is limited.

For more information on attending one of the 2016 sessions, contact Al Rousseau at +1.860.621.8888.

Visit cybexintl.com to learn more.

“The workshop provides the education and training for our staff to be experts for our communities and members.”

Bobbi Wiliams Associate Executive Director Merrimack Valley YMCA

Scan the QR code to see what people are saying about the YMCA Training Coach Program.

© 2016, Cybex International, Inc.

Aaron Mayfield Christina Patel Abel Albanes Colleen McLain Adrian Sadowski Collette Cosby Alex Ciambrone Craig Lewis Alex Shelton Dan Chambers Amber Nelson Dan de Saussure Andrew Jeffrys David Trubiani Ann Johnson Fiona Kriaris April Hix Harriet Shirley Bonnie Livingston Heidi Zarder Brandon Brugger Hiliary Nichols Bryan Einwalter J Morgan Carlos Garcia Jamie Lyell Carma DeVillers Jayne Miller Morgan Catherine Santamaria

perspective

Evolving AYP for a Better Us When the national board made the decision to dissolve and explore a new structure within Y-USA, we hoped that we could take our organization to the level we dreamed was needed and to move into the 21st Century.

It is of course still in the process of development, and future articles will provide more detail, but the new framework is fully in view and we are excited for the AYP of the future. Recently, chapter presidents, AYP leaders, and members of the national board met with Y-USA staff for an in-depth look at the YMCA Professional Network (YPN), the next evolution of AYP. YPN will continue to serve as a professional development network that is: Membership based Led by network board volunteers (Y professionals) Focused on professional development and networking An opportunity for peer-to-peer learning and innovation Here are the five Ramp Up Teams shaping the YPN model.

Network Structure & Support Workgroup Robert Lowell (lead) Linda Ambis (Y-USA) Scott Baughman (YMCA of Greater San Antonio) Spencer Bonnie (Y-USA) Nancy Byrum (Peninsula Metro YMCA) Tracy Miller (YMCA BethesdaChevy Chase) Lisa Tallman (Y-USA) This group is drafting chapter leadership guidelines, accountability standards, and metrics.

Mike Miller (Newport YMCA) Nicky Rosenbluth (YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta) This group is focusing on the integration of the AYP website and communication channels with Exchange and LCDC.

Sal Cisneros

eLearnings & Workshops Workgroup

President & CEO, Channel Islands YMCA Board Chair, AYP

Theresa Hillis

Sue Mackey (lead) Missy Huppert (YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities) Marsha Moore (YMCA of Greater Kansas City) Kimberly Moser (Peninsula Metro YMCA) Jay Parker (YMCA of Central Virginia) This group is working with subject matter experts to create courses geared towards Y professional development.

Executive Director Kandiyohi County Area Family YMCA

Finance & Operations Workgroup

Events Workgroup Robert Lowell (lead) Heidi Brasher (YMCA of Greater Houston Area) Lindsey Lerit (Andover/North Andover Branch YMCA) Sam Mars (Y-USA) Andrea Reno (Y-USA) Juleigh Ruby (Y-USA) Anna Schemmel (Y-USA) This group is developing the methods to support regional and local chapter events.

Knowledge Management Workgroup Lisa Tallman (Y-USA) Missy Huppert (YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities)

Heather Hughes (lead) Terri Radcliff (lead) Emily Aprea (Summit Area YMCA) Chris Butler (YMCA of Greater Fort Worth) Elizabeth McCann (Y-USA) Matt McGovern (Y-USA) Nancy Owens (Y-USA) This final group is developing structures and guidelines for chapter bank accounts and operations. With this group’s efforts Y-USA will assist EAF with all back office processes.

For years AYP leaders have dreamed of many of these advancements. What could have been a sad and painful demise for AYP, now has the potential to be one of the most pivotal accomplishments of our professional organization.

We owe a great deal of thanks to these Y leaders for evolving AYP for a better us.

August/September 2017 AYP magazine 1

Interested in contributing to AYP magazine?

Contact Carla Kalogeridis at (888) 664-9904 or ayp_edit@networkmediapartners.com.

Custom Publishing Services provided by Network Media Partners

Advertising Contact: Holly Klarman hklarman@networkmediapartners.com 410-584-1990 AYP magazine is published bimonthly by the Association of YMCA Professionals. Š2017 by the Association of YMCA Professionals.

All rights reserved. Materials may not be reproduced without written permission.

Address copyright queries to ayp_edit@networkmediapartners.com Annual subscription to AYP magazine is $35 (international is an additional $75 a year) and is included in the membership dues for AYP members. If you are unsure of your subscription status, please contact Josh Cruz at josh@ayponline.org or call 413-748-3884.

Statement of fact and opinion are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of the officers or members of AYP. AYP magazine connects, inspires, and advances the leaders of the YMCA through an exploration in leadership arts, thereby inciting creativity, strength, and strategic thinking.

Association Media & Publishing 2017 Silver EXCEL Award, General Excellence 2015 Silver EXCEL Award, General Excellence 2015 Bronze EXCEL Award, Design Excellence 2012 Silver EXCEL Award, Most Improved, 50,000 or fewer APEX 2014 Award of Excellence, Magazine, Journal & Tabloid Writing 2013 Award of Excellence, Magapaper & Newspaper Writing 2012 Grand Award, Design and Illustration 2012 Award of Excellence, Design and Illustration 2012 Award of Excellence, Magazine & Journal Writing

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Community is the Cause

By Thomas Marcetti and Carla Kalogeridis Being part of the Y means being part of the cause. But are you clearly communicating what you want from members?

Great businesses are powered by great people.

We c elp you have both.

Using an innovative KronosÂŽ workforce solution to attract and retain best-fit people and manage them more cost-effectively means your YMCA can do more to deliver safe, quality programs to your members while reducing costs and reallocating the savings into furthering your critical mission. Learn more at kronos.com/nonprofits today.

AYP National Board of Directors Chair Sandy Morander, YMCA of Greater San Antonio Chair-Elect Sal Cisneros, Channel Islands YMCA Treasurer Kelly Kay, YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City Secretary Kimberly Moser, Peninsula Metropolitan YMCA Immediate Past Chair David Byrd, YMCA of Greater Kansas City Theresa Hillis, Kandiyohi County Area Family YMCA Harry Rock, Springfield College Kim Moser, Peninsula Metropolitan YMCA Tracy Miller, YMCA of Metropolitan Washington Michael Bright, YMWCA of Newark and Vicinity Ted Wenta, YMCA of Snohomish County Craig Heinrichs, YMCA of Greater Indianapolis Terri Radcliff, YMCA of the USA Lisa Ramirez, YMCA of Greater San Antonio Ebony Young, YMCA of Greater New York Jon Agnew, Philadelphia and Freedom Valley YMCA

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postings

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got a minute?

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findings

EAF Board Chair Eric Ellsworth, YMCA of Greater Indianapolis Chair-Elect George Romell, YMCA of Greater Rochester Secretary/Treasurer Bob Hastedt, YMCA Retirement Fund Teresa Rogers, Volusia-Flagler YMCA Karen Leslie, YMCA of Greater Providence Rig Riggins, YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh Dick Bennett, Lake County (Ohio) YMCA Krystal Canady, YMCA of Eastern Union County Joan Lovell, YMCA of the USA Jim Havlick, Association of YMCA Retirees Tracy Miller, YMCA of Metropolitan Washington Andy Vamis, YMCA of San Francisco Rob Wilkinson, Kishwaukee Family YMCA Sean Elliot, Philadelphia and Freedom Valley YMCA Alan Hostrup, YMCA of Greater Los Angeles

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AYP Mission The Association of YMCA Professional inspires, connects and empowers Y leaders to achieve personal excellence to support the movement.

AYP Fundamental Principles Innovate, Lead, Support — these guide the AYP focus and Its leadership Data Driven, Defined Outcomes, Relevant, Network Plus — these shape the development, delivery and direction of AYP experiences

Kirby Reis, Flat Rock River YMCA Camp, Indiana

Seven Ways to Introduce Innovation

the science of...

Trauma

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feature Taking Up the Cause of Health Equity Ys push beyond fitness goals for healthier mind, body, and spirit for all

feature Building a Better Y, One Plan at a Time Move past mediocre outcomes with your own map for the road to success

News from AYP chapters and members

Is modern society allowing trauma to flourish?

Kimberly Moser, Peninsula Metropolitan YMCA Theresa Hillis, Kandiyohi County Area YMCA

Stitzer YMCA Center, 2nd Floor Springfield College 263 Alden St. Springfield, MA 01109 www.ayponline.org Tel: 413-748-3884 Fax: 413-748-3872

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marketplace

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spirituality

Items of interest from vendors and partners

Listen First Listening to the “still, small voice,” you’ll know when God needs you to reach out to someone

Everyone Needs to be a Master Coach

AYP Editorial Advisory Group

Association of YMCA Professionals

perspective

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body, mind, spirit Quote from a West Wing actor and a warning not to put work before your health.

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postings

BOOST MEMBERSHIP AND REVENUES AT YOUR YMCA Join nearly 1,000 YMCAs that are increasing membership and revenues by taking advantage of the Silver&Fit® Exercise and Healthy Aging Program, offered by American Specialty Health Fitness (ASH Fitness).

Our dynamic network serves over 4 million eligible Silver&Fit members.

The application process is free, easy, fast, and online.

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• Membership reimbursements for participation

• No application or ongoing fees with ASH Fitness

• 33 older adult approved group fitness classes available Visit www.ASHLink.com and click “Contact Us,” or call toll-free at 877.329.2746, option 5.

AYP Chapter 3 award winners (pictured l to r): Kathy Scholl, Mark Lafortune, Suzanne Friedbacher, Josh Royce, Derek Branco, Catherine Proto, JP Bernard, and Mary Perlini.

Chapter 3

Powerful, Humorous Message and Staff Recognition at Annual Meeting The AYP Chapter 3 Annual Meeting on June 2, 2017, featured a very funny, but also serious look at humor in the work place. Eric Hutchinson, the district executive director for the YMCA of Greater Hartford, spoke about the power of humor in the workplace with an eye toward knowing where to draw the line. He noted the importance of having fun while at work because we tend to be more productive employees.

AYP Chapter 3 also handed out staff awards including: Distinguished Program Achievement Award — Mark LaFortune AYP Service Awards — Derek Branco and Josh Royce YMCA Star Award — Kathy Scholl and Mary Perlini Rookie of the Year — Catherine Proto and JP Bernard John Coduri Leadership Award — Suzanne Friedbacher

SPREAD THE WORD

Your News is Our News

¨

NA-083B (01/17) © 2017 American Specialty Health Incorporated (ASH). All rights reserved. Silver&Fit and the Silver&Fit logo are trademarks of ASH.

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AYP members and chapters are encouraged to submit personnel announcements and promotions, YMCA news, and other stories to Thomas Marcetti at ayp_edit@networkmediapartners.com. Relevant photos are welcome, too!

got a minute?

kirby

REIS

Program Coordinator Flat Rock River YMCA Camp, Indiana

Perfect happiness? Kayaking down Flat Rock River Greatest fear? Deep sea creatures Greatest achievement? Found a job I love Favorite fictional hero? Mrs. Frizzle of “The Magic School Bus” series Favorite real-life hero? Me in 10 years Animal you would like to be? An eagle Favorite plant? Dandelions Favorite food? Cheesecake Where you want to be? Anywhere with vast scenic views Ultimate vacation? Backpacking through Europe Tops your bucket list? Backpacking the Appalachian Trail Trait you value in others? Sincerity, kindness Greatest regret? I don’t believe in regrets Most happy? Adventuring in new environments Proudest moment? Helping to bring more kids to camp Current state of mind? Excited for summer

Change one thing about yourself? Increase attention span Favorite thing about

your co-workers? Their dedication and enthusiasm Favorite thing about your YMCA members? Their excitement for nature Inspires you most? Helping others be the best version of themselves Would like to live? On a lake or river Dream occupation? Teaching youth about the outdoors — my current job Your most obvious characteristic? Positivity Like most in a friend? Spontaneity Like most in a child? Curiosity and excitement Favorite movie? The Count of Monte Cristo Keeps you up at night?

Netflix Dislike most? Pessimism

Most important for the YMCA movement? Dedicated, passionate, and innovative servant leaders Your motto? Hakuna matata

How did this interview make you feel? Stumped, and questioning how well I know myself!

ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY MORROW

August/September 2017 AYP magazine 7

findings TECHNOLOGY

Seven Ways to Introduce Innovation Into Your YMCA

By Steven L. Blue The reason innovations fail is not because of technology. Innovations fail because of people. The people who might employ a new technology may not be sold on it.

Or they might feel threatened by it. Welcome to the dark side of innovation.

Yes, the biggest threat to a new innovation in your branch may be your own people. This threat comes in several forms. First, people may want to cling to the old tried-and-true. because that gives them comfort. Often, people feel threatened by a new innovation because they think it will outdate their skills and their jobs.

When introducing innovation into your organization, you have to neutralize these threats. Here are seven ways to introduce innovation into your YMCA.

1. Make innovation a top priority. Don’t let it be an activity that people should pay attention to after they get the real work done. Innovation is the real work.

2. Put your money where your mouth is. Incentivize people who support the effort. Make innovation a key component of performance evaluations.

3. Coach people who are against the effort. Be ready to make organizational changes. People who are advancing the effort should be put into positions to do more. People who are hindering the effort should be moved out of the way.

4. Remember the three Cs of effective communications: Clear, compelling, and convincing. Be very clear in communicating your expectations. Paint a compelling picture of what happens to the company if you don’t innovate, and all the good things that will happen when the innovation efforts are successful. Be

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convincing as to why innovation is so important. You don’t have to look very far to find examples of companies that failed to innovate. Kodak didn’t fail because it didn’t know how to innovate to meet the threat of digital photography. It failed because they didn’t want to. On the flipside, Encyclopedia Britannica also saw the digital revolution coming. and chose to innovate. Now Britannica’s digital sales are better than their print sales ever were.

5. Hire or contract the resources needed to innovate. Remember, your own people won’t know what they don’t know. Fresh, new ideas from outside the organization may be needed.

6. Train people in the new innovations. Don’t let them think the plan is inwith-the-new and out-with-the-old; otherwise they are sure to be against it.

7. Regularly review progress. This needs to be done by the CEO so the organization knows this is a serious effort. Stay very close to the effort so you will know when it starts to break down. And when it does, take action fast.

Steven L. Blue is president and CEO of Miller Ingenuity, and author of the new book, American Manufacturing 2.0: What Went Wrong and How to Make It Right.

August/September 2017 AYP magazine 9

findings COACHING

W H E N THERE’S A N E E D, WE HAVE

THE WAY Since 1904, AYP members in need have found financial support and caring through the

Emergency Assistance Fund of AYP. It is only possible through your contributions.

The next person in need might be you.

Please send your EAF pledge today. https://goo.gl/8DQDQy

10 AYP magazine August/September 2017

To Unleash Potential, Everyone Must be a Master Coach “Every workplace contains enormous, untapped potential waiting to be developed,” leadership expert Gregg Thompson says. “When it comes to unleashing human promise and optimizing performance, one process has consistently proven more effective than any other: coaching.” Thompson — author of The Master Coach: Leading with Character, Building Connections, and Engaging in Extraordinary Conversations — believes the power of coaching is not limited to those at the top. People at all levels can be effective coaches.

An organization that develops a coaching culture in which the values, perspectives, and behaviors of the coach become part of standard procedure, will be well on the road to optimizing the performance of its people.

“The master coach sees other people as full of potential,” he says. It is this shift in perspective — away from performance management, assessment, and criticism, and toward the possibilities for the future and innate capacities — that lies at the heart of coaching. Mastery involves three dimensions: Character: “The decision to coach is not yours alone,” Thompson says. Another person must allow you to be their coach, and this will only happen based on the quality of your character. Authenticity, self-esteem, and emotional intelligence are the hallmarks of a master coach.

Connection: “Relationships are the medium through which the transformational process of coaching occurs,” Thompson says. A strong peer-to-peer connection must be built, even between people at different levels of the organizational hierarchy – and both parties must be fully accountable for their decisions and actions.

Conversation: Coaching conversations are much more than talking with others about their goals and dreams. They are high-stakes, daringly candid interactions that stir potent emotions. These conversations progress from exploring aspirations to generating new possibilities to forging concrete action plans, using proprietary techniques designed to challenge people to dig deep and find their personal truths.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Attracting and Engaging Members Through Digital Marketing Optimization

By Sheryl Hoskins, General Manager for Communities, ACTIVE Network The traditional YMCA membership model is advancing alongside digital technologies and generational shifts.

Increasingly, members of all ages prefer and expect to engage with people and organizations through seamless, digital, and mobile-optimized experiences. With the pace of digital innovation continuing to accelerate, YMCAs can also accelerate their digital marketing tactics to attract new members and communicate their mission and values to new generations.

KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR DIGITAL MARKETING PLAN: 1 . Are you “listening” to your members? While member surveys and 1:1 engagement can give you insights into your members’ needs and expectations, “digital listening,” or monitoring and analyzing members’ online actions and conversations, can provide a 360-degree view into what members want from your YMCA and its offerings. New technologies provide the data and analytics needed to inform an effective plan for reaching and engaging members at the right time, through the right channels, and with the right messages. Easy-to-use YMCA membership engagement tools can reveal what inspires your members to click and read your content: their search habits within Google, deviceusage preferences, and websiteusage patterns can guide you on where to focus your efforts.

2 . Are you using digital technologies to optimally engage your members, both virtually and on-site? Some of the most common member engagement strategies have gone digital. As the YMCA of East Bay shows, you can enable members to virtually interact with your YMCA through a dynamic, digital communication wall that serves as an engagement tool for members to access your YMCA’s news, information, and content from anywhere and at any time.

Simultaneously, you can leverage these online channels to obtain memberlevel engagement data and insights on top-performing content. To create efficiencies that enable increased face-to-face time with members on-site, staff can use mobile technologies, such as the ACTIVE Net Connect mobile app, for securely managing child care check-in and check-out, from anywhere within your facility.

3 .How do you empower your digital marketing team? Once you’ve “listened” to your members and translated insights into a more strategic digital plan, you may find there’s a need to shift marketing resources. From ACTIVE’s experience working with YMCAs, there is an increased need for one-on-one, digital marketing counsel and support. ACTIVE now has a team of digital marketing consultants on staff to assist our YMCA customers to better engage their members through digital mediums.

For example, YMCA of San Antonio recently elevated their digital strategy in order to increase the number of online visits and transactions. Together with ACTIVE’s digital marketing consultants, this YMCA’s marketing team utilized data insights to create a strategic, integrated digital marketing plan inclusive of website conversion rate optimization, content strategy, PPC, and SEO. Within six months of implementing this plan, their website visits increased 60 percent, online transactions 41 percent, and conversions 45 percent. Through digital monitoring to understand their members’ online preferences, they were able to reach and resonate with potential and current members.

While advancements in technology are in many ways changing the traditional membership model for YMCAs, there is significant opportunity for you to use these advancements to connect with members and enhance their experiences with your YMCA.

ABOUT ACTIVE NETWORK YMCA MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY http://www.activenetwork.com/solutions/active-net

ABOUT ACTIVE NETWORK http://bit.ly/2tM37Cw

August/September 2017 AYP magazine 11

the science of...

TRAUMA

Research Suggests that Modern Society May be Allowing Trauma to Flourish

By Jenara Nerenberg

Sixty percent of adults report difficult childhood experiences, including drawn-out divorces, violence, and abuse.

The effects of trauma are long-lasting, ranging from anxiety to post-traumatic stress disorder to physical illness.

But according to Dr. Gabor Mate, focusing solely on the role of family in childhood trauma misses the bigger picture. What if trauma also results from a shortcoming on the part of society to support families in thriving? If society helped informed teachers and parents meet children’s basic human needs for attachment and connection, would we produce fewer traumatized adults?

Mate focuses much of his therapeutic work on the healing of trauma, exploring the role of adverse childhood experiences in leading to addiction and other suffering later in life. He is the bestselling author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, and his work has garnered international attention and a dedicated following.

While research has discovered what we all need to connect and flourish, he argues that society isn’t putting this knowledge into practice — which puts us all at risk. We caught up with Mate for more.

Q: Can you explain your thinking around the “myth of normal?”

A: I think normalcy is a myth. The idea that some people have pathology and

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the rest of us are normal is crude. There’s nothing about any mentally ill person — and it doesn’t matter what their diagnosis is — that I couldn’t recognize in myself.

The reality is that, in every case, mental illness is an outcome of traumatic events.

And by trauma I don’t mean dramatic events. There’s a difference.

Fundamentally, it has to do with whether human needs are being met or not.

Since we live in a society that largely denies human developmental needs — doesn’t even understand them, let alone provide for them — you’re going to have a lot of people affected in adverse ways. Most of the population, in fact. And so then to separate out those who meet the particular criteria for a particular diagnosis from the rest of us is utterly unscientific and unhelpful.

More to the point, you need to look at what it is about our society that generates what we call abnormality.

Q: For example, how do you view something like autism?

A: We have to realize that, whatever is going on, it can’t be some genetic problem because genes don’t change in a population over 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, or even 300 years. Whatever is going on, it is not genetically determined. It may be biological, but it’s not genetic, because we can’t reduce biology down to genetics.

In fact, human biology and human neurobiology are interpersonal. The brain is a social organ, and it’s affected by the environment, and particularly it’s affected by the psycho-emotional environment. Then you have to ask: What might be happening in society that might be affecting infants and children?

Q: What leads to trauma in our society?

A: The essence of trauma is disconnection from ourselves. Trauma is not terrible things that happen from the other side — those are traumatic. But the trauma is that very separation from the body and emotions. The real question is, “How did we get separated and how do we reconnect?”

Because that’s our true nature — our true nature is to be connected. In fact, if that wasn’t our true nature, there would be no human beings. The human species — or any species — could not evolve without being grounded in their bodies.

You couldn’t have a bunch of intellectuals walking around out there in the wild, wondering in an abstract sense about the meaning of life, when there’s a sabertoothed tiger lurking behind the next bush.

It’s not an automatic outcome of living in the world that we should become disconnected. It’s a product of a certain way of life and a certain way of parenting and certain childhood experiences, where it becomes too painful to stay connected so disconnection becomes a defense.

Q: Is there any research that is grabbing your attention right now?

A: Well, there is this field of neuropolitics, where they look at how people’s political views are affected by their brain functioning, but they haven’t put that together with the child development research yet. They could do a lot of work on why people are resistant to reality.

Take the simple case of climate change, which is beyond controversy among scientists. The human role in rapid climate change is frightening — the widening gap between ice floes in Antarctica, the melting of the polar ice caps, the rising of the seas. What world do you have to live in not to be concerned about those things or not to recognize that they exist?

Or take drug policy and the so-called war on drugs. You don’t need one more bit of research to show how harmful and devastatingly costly that is in human terms. Do we need research on why the research is not being implemented? No, we know the reason — powerful forces in our society benefit from it. So it’s not a failure at all. From their point of view, it’s a great success.

Same with climate change. Powerful interests benefit in the short-term, and they think in the short-term. They benefit from the economic dividends of industries that threaten the climate. It’s a political and social question, not a scientific question. Science exists within a social, political, and economic context. Who makes policy? Who influences policy? Who presents information to the public?

Who controls those institutions?

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August/September 2017 AYP magazine 13

We make it our business to know your business.

When something happens at your YMCA, it may not be a disaster.

But no matter what kind of claim you may have, it’s reassuring to know West Bend will handle it with efficiency, professionalism, and compassion. That’s because we understand your business.

When a child was in distress while swimming in a Y pool, the lifeguard staff knew just what to do, thanks, in part, to the training they recently received from West Bend. The lifeguard’s rescue and surveillance skills turned what might have been a catastrophic situation into a minor incident.

Your Y is important to you, the people you serve, and your community. It’s also important to us. That’s why we make it our business to know your business.

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Q: As a society and as individuals, what is the way back to wholeness?

A: It’s impossible under capitalism, because the essence of capitalism is to separate the mind from the body. And, basically, people are all considered material goods. People matter only insofar as they produce, consume, or own matter. If you don’t produce, consume, or own matter, then you don’t matter in this society.

We have to recognize the severely prohibitive limitations along with the great achievements of this particular way of life. It’s not a matter of providing some utopian prescription.

On a personal level, it’s a matter of deep self-work. One thing we’ve done now is we’ve had a lot of brilliant, necessary research about what trauma is and how it shows up in the form of physical and mental illness and alienation and disconnection from other people and from yourself. And a lot of work has been done on the reversal of trauma and the healing of it — and also on the prevention of it. But, again, we are not applying that knowledge.

Medical students and psychiatrists, for example, never learn that stuff. Most physicians don’t even hear the word “trauma” in their education and they have no understanding of it. Every time they see somebody with an autoimmune disease or mental illness, they’re looking at somebody who’s traumatized, but they don’t realize that. Therefore, we deal with only with the physical manifestations, but not the actual causes.

To move forward, we have to have a society that is formed by the research that is already extant. So that anyone who deals with children needs to know the simple facts about the importance of relationality and brain development, and teachers need to be much more involved in relational activity with their students than in getting facts across. Because the curious, motivated brain will want to know the facts spontaneously and then they’re easier to teach. But when kids are troubled and alienated because their relational needs have not been met, and you try to hammer facts in their heads, it’s impossible.

So, the educational system needs to change and the medical system needs to change. How young families are supported needs to change. American policy around maternity leave has to change.

I was going to say it’s not brain science, but actually it is brain science! It’s very straightforward. Even under this system, there are a lot of things that could be done and the only question is, “Why aren’t they being done?”

Jenara Nerenberg is a writer covering innovative ideas in the sciences and humanities for the Greater Good Science Center at University of California Berkeley.

partner program

AYP Partners support our community The AYP Partner Program is designed to help connect Y professionals with vendors and suppliers that have made a commitment to AYP. AYP Partners want to support the Y movement and provide you and your facility with the best products, services, and solutions.

You can find AYP Professional Partners featured in AYP magazine, at www.AYPonline. org, and at AYP events throughout the year. Consider supporting the companies that support your association — just look for the AYP Partner logo.

August/September 2017 AYP magazine 15

Ys must intentionally engage with people on how membership strengthens their community and advances a cause.

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By Thomas Marcetti and Carla Kalogeridis

I

t might be the Y’s best and worst kept secret — the Y is so much more than a place to work out.

Too often it seems, people see Y membership as access to a community-friendly gym, and Y professionals get caught up in whether membership revenue is sufficient to support other initiatives.

These are not bad things. They are important pieces of a larger goal. But when those pieces dominate the Y story, they cloud the fact that membership is part of a cause, and that cause is community.

August/September 2017 AYP magazine 17

WE CANNOT GET stuck in the notion that our key focus is providing physical activities...Ys must emphasize that membership includes physical activity in the context of a cause to create a better world for all, and that our focus is on community.

Joan Lovell Associate General Counsel YMCA of the USA

“If you look to the inception of the Y — the focus was on helping young men develop holistically, in spirit and mind as well as body. We believed that building the character of those we serve would make them change agents for improving society in general,” says Joan Lovell, associate general counsel at YMCA of the USA. “Although the movement is now a century and a half older, it is still critical to emphasize membership’s role in our cause of strengthening communities.”.

Lovell is working with Cindy McDermott, vice president of membership and social responsibility at YMCA of the USA, on new cause-driven language for Y staffs to refocus the meaning of membership.

“No question about it,” McDermott says. “We must do a better job articulating what it means to be a member of the Y. The term “member” is more expansive than someone who has access to our facilities. Anyone engaged with the Y is a member and advances our cause in ways like volunteering, donating, participating, and supporting others in youth programs or maintaining health and supporting others in the pool or wellness center. Membership at the Y is belonging to a place that gives you the opportunity, not only to achieve your own goals, but to support other members and the community at large. ” “The genius of the Y has always been looking for unmet needs in a community and filling them,” Lovell says. “We cannot get stuck in the notion that our key focus is providing physical activities. The physical fitness niche is shared by a lot of providers. Ys must emphasize that membership includes physical activity in the context of a cause to create a better world for all, and that our focus is on community.”

Amanda Thomas, director of communications and special projects, YMCA of Southern Arizona, oversees a local project called “People of the Y” based on the popular internet project “Humans of New York.” Staff are collecting stories of what the Y means to its members and sharing them with the introduction, “The Y is more than a gym … it’s a cause.”

“The cause is what sets the Y apart from for-profit organizations. That is what entices people to become members. It’s what keeps people as members,” Thomas says. “The more we talk about our cause and about serving everyone in the family, the more engaged people become.”

CHANGE THE FOCUS Adam Shilling, association membership and program director, YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids in Michigan, is working on a program similar to Thomas’s with his team. “The Y doesn’t have competition because no one does everything we do,” Shilling says. “Sure, there are competitors for parts of things we do, but the Y is not one thing. We don’t want to be one thing. So we need to show people that, tell people that.

“We’re more than a gym. We’re a community. Membership is not the four walls of the facility,” Shilling continues. “We as a staff have to believe that we’re more than a gym-and-swim or the community won’t. The more our actions reflect that, the more the message resonates. It happens by one interaction, one membership tour at a time.”

18 AYP magazine August/September 2017

To that end, Shilling is using stories collected from members as part of newmember tours. At various places throughout the facilities, pictures hang on the wall to prompt staff to share stories of member impact. “These opportunities to share our impact really help articulate from the outset what it means to be a part of the Y community,” Shilling says. “The new member can identify themselves in a person’s story. They come in feeling a shared experience and like they already know someone else.”

Being a first point of contact for a member is something Shilling is very comfortable with. When Shilling started working at the Y about 12 years ago, he started at the front desk.

“Part of our duties was to give tours. We always talked about not giving ‘duh tours,’ as in ‘This is our pool. Duh, of course it’s a pool.’ There was always the push to talk about what happens, how people interact and benefit,” Shilling says. “Sharing member stories on the walls is really a continuation of that idea, but it’s more intentional, more personal.”

The good news is that learning how to give a cause-driven tour just got easier through resources from Y-USA available at the Brand Resource Center. McDermott says the resources are all about changing the perceptions by changing the conversation from the very beginning. “Take, for example, aquatics,” she says. “Before, staff would be talking only about swim lessons. Now, they are talking about preventing drownings.” To make the most of the resources, staff are encouraged to go through new Y-USA trainings to help refocus their efforts.

Shilling is a fan of the concept. The stories and pictures are more than just tour aids. Shilling says every time staff and members see the images, it’s a reminder that this isn’t just the cardio area or kid’s zone. It’s a place where something special happened for the person. It’s a place where something special is happening right now for the people there.

“It really does make it easier for our Y to go about the process of living and focusing our actions as a movement,” Shilling says.

THE Y DOESN’T HAVE competition because no one does everything we do.

Adam Shilling Association Membership and Program Director, YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids

EXAMPLES OF CAUSE IN ACTION Reframing the way a branch thinks about its facilities is a good first step. “Many people are members just to go in and socialize in the lobby. They just want to have a safe place to be,” McDermott says. “Some Ys allow people who are homeless to come in and shower. That’s not what a gym does. That’s what a community does.”

“Sometimes, it seems like the areas where we have the most remarkable impact are in our lesser-known programs,” Shilling says. “Our diabetes programs, for example. We are changing lives in incredible ways. We are saving lives, but we’re talking about thousands or tens of thousands across the country.” The Centers for Disease Control, however, reports that more than 29 million people in the U.S. have diabetes. The Ys must find a way to put the emphasis on programs like these when working to attract new members.

Another bright spot Shilling points out is the New American Welcome Centers initiative. When he worked at Y-USA in Chicago, Shilling says he volunteered to support Syrian refugee families and was astounded by the hardships they faced in coming to the U.S. — especially that some spend as long as 16 years with refugee status, being shuffled from camp to camp, before they can finally call the U.S. home.

August/September 2017 AYP magazine 19

“I can’t imagine going through that, then moving to a country where you don’t know anyone, and trying to settle in,” Shilling says. “It means a lot to know that folks who have gone through the unimaginable can be embraced by the Y, get help establishing roots, and become part of the community, especially at a time when they might be questioning if our country does, in fact, embrace them.”

Those aren’t programs a gym would have, and learning how to tell these stories is what will strengthen each Y’s impact in its community.

THE CAUSE IS WHAT sets the Y apart from forprofit organizations. That is what entices people to become members.

Amanda Thomas Director of Communications and Special Projects YMCA of Southern Arizona

CHANGING FIRST IMPRESSIONS One of the first places Lovell looks to determine a branch’s priorities is the same place potential members look — its website. “When you search for your Y online, does it come up as a charitable organization or a gym? When you go to the home page, do you see right away that the Y has a cause, or do you see fitness class schedules? Where Ys talk about benefits of membership, is the message about helping the community or having clean towels? Words matter, and the message is important. Is the Y leading with cause in its public-facing communications?”

That is why it was important for the Southern Arizona Y to share member stories. Thomas says the stories are shared on the website, through various social media platforms, in new-member tour material, the annual report, and more. “We want to reach as wide an audience as we can, so we do everything from longer, newspaper-style stories to short, quick quotes and a photo,” Thomas says.

The project was initially aimed at outreach, so Thomas says his team was pleasantly surprised to find significant support for it. “People were so excited to see themselves featured or to see someone they knew. They would bring a friend over and say, ‘I know them,’” Thomas says. “Almost immediately, people starting asking if they could recommend someone they knew who had a really powerful story.

The members took ownership very quickly, which was great.”

The importance of tour messaging cannot be underestimated. Often, what cements a person’s first impression of the Y is their first tour. This is where the lobby is defined either as a place to wait for an exercise class or as a meeting place for members of the community who want to come together to do good works. “When you walk into the building, are you seeing a charitable organization or a gym?”

Lovell says.

Systemic changes of that nature require full investment from every member of the organization.

CHANGING THE CULTURE EMPHASIS Lovell’s description of Y membership might cause staff to pause and think. She says: “Membership is one of the programs we deliver as part of our cause. Membership is a charitable program of the Y. It’s not just helping support our mission — it’s integral to our mission, part and parcel of our mission. And for that message to truly resonate throughout an organization, it has to start at the very top and be echoed at every level, again and again,” she says.

“Too often, we hear leaders talking about flagship branches and mission branches. But they all are mission branches,” McDermott says. “Our culture, how we talk about these things, truly matters. If the discussion at the board meeting

20 AYP magazine August/September 2017

PEOPLE OF THE Y The YMCA of Southern Arizona collects stories about the meaning members have found at the Y. These stories help to show the world what it means to be a part of the community. Here are a few examples: Trejan’s Story When he was two years old, Trejan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. At the time, his blood sugars were so elevated that he required a week of hospitalization.

Pamela, his grandmother and guardian, had to learn how to help regulate Trejan’s blood sugars and find child care for both him and his older brother Dante so she could continue to work.

After searching for private daycares, Pamela continued to run into a similar response: “We are not licensed to care for a diabetic child.” Almost out of options, Pamela turned to the Y, where she was told that the Y would be happy to work with her and Trejan. The staff at the Y maintains open communication with both Pamela and Trejan’s school so they can work together to assist in his diabetes management. As a result, Trejan has not had any problems with his diabetes. Trejan loves the Y and is enrolled in multiple child-centered programs including swimming, out-of-school days, and beforeschool and after-school programs.

“The staff has done everything for Trejan. They potty trained him, they do everything,” Pamela says. “More people need to turn to the Y. The Y offers way more to children and families than just a daycare.”

Rayne’s Story At 13, Rayne has big dreams for her future and a clear path for how to achieve them. A Y member with her mother from the time she was five, Rayne sees the Y as a second home, a support system that she can turn to in times of trouble. When her mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2011, Rayne was only 10 and had to face her fears of what might happen without the support of her mother. During this time, Rayne found adults at the Y she could trust and rely on for support. These adults continue to be there for Rayne.

Now Rayne is striving to excel in school so that she can attend college.

She is committed to earning scholarships, as she is acutely aware of the financial hardships faced by her single mother. On the path to her dreams, Rayne participates in all youth leadership programs the Y offers, including Junior Y Leaders and Youth in Government.

Rayne has grown up at the Y, both literally and figuratively. While she moved from the Y child care to the Angel Youth Center and the Y leadership programs, Rayne has grown to appreciate the differences in people.

“Being at the Y has opened my mind to people I might not have befriended somewhere else,” she says.

Marcia’s Story Marcia was born and raised in Chile.

Through a special bilingual program at her YMCA there, Marcia was offered a chance to volunteer in the Unites States.

The volunteering opportunity was working with children at the Y. Marcia taught the children how to speak Spanish and about different cultures. Through this work, Marcia learned how to build connections, improve the lives of others, and teach children about goals and values.

“By volunteering with the Y, I gained a better understanding of how the world works,” Marcia says. “Through these new experiences, I learned a new culture.

No matter where I live, the Y feels like family.”

August/September 2017 AYP magazine 21

WE MUST DO A BETTER job articulating what it means to be a member of the Y. The term ‘member’ is much more expansive than someone who has access to our facilities.

CIndy McDermott Vice President of Membership and Social Responsibility YMCA of the USA

22 AYP magazine August/September 2017

is, ‘How many memberships did we sell?’ that sends the wrong message to staff about what’s important to leadership. They will think that is all that matters.”

Lovell adds that the belief that the facility membership is a Y’s major source of revenue is not always accurate. “Membership revenue is attractive, but it’s importance is often overblown. Historically, housing was the largest part of our revenue.

Even now, for many Ys, childcare revenue is much larger than membership revenue. When we emphasize membership as a cause, not commerce, we establish a solid foundation for membership growth.”

Aside from retraining and refocusing staff, Lovell says the conversation with staff should start before they are even hired. “It should start with the job descriptions. Are you looking for someone who can teach group exercise or someone who is a community organizer? Does the job posting say, ‘If you take this job, you’ll be able to develop and enrich your community?’” Lovell says. “Where are you reaching out to get staff? Are you seeking staff from vulnerable communities?”

New and existing staff need a refocused approach to training, McDermott says.

Revamped training materials that McDermott and her team are rolling out to branches show staff how to introduce the concept of giving back through the Y the very first time someone steps into their facility.

CHANGING INTERNAL COMMUNITIES As Ys adapt to deeper engagement of membership as a cause, they have many examples in the organization’s long history of reaching out to the underserved, addressing unmet needs in their communities, and in current work within the movement.

McDermott points to organizations such as the YMCA of Snohomish County as an example of a Y identifying a need and adapting to it. After realizing they were underserving the Latino population in the area, the branch made a change. “The Latino population was up to 25 percent of the community, but the branch only had a few families as members,” she says. “So they set out to reach out and build trust. They partnered with outside organizations and hired staff to reflect the population. Now they have hundreds of Latino families involved.”

Lovell says each branch should be a microcosm of its community. “If we are not mirroring the community, then the community probably isn’t seeing the Y as an important community asset,” she says. The demographics of the zip codes a Y serves should be reflected in the building, the membership, and the staff. “That means reaching out to vulnerable populations. Let them know, if you can’t afford to be here, we will provide financial assistance because we want you here. Reach, access, and affordability are Y touchstones.”

Mission and available resources will always be part of the equation for determining what a Y can do in its community. But Lovell says too many branches are leaving incredibly important resources out of their math — members.

“When you go into a church, you don’t think twice about people asking for help.

But in a Y, we don’t think to ask our members to help each other or the community at large,” Lovell says. “We don’t say, ‘We have some needs we are trying to address ... can you help?’ We have a consumer relationship instead of a member relationship.”

CHANGING NATIONAL APPROACH Shilling notes that the Y’s rebranding, the efforts to redefine member, and national reciprocity are all part of the same strengthening of the cause.

“Membership at a Y will always remain a local proposition at its heart. Reasons to join will be based on unique local features,” Shilling says. “But the idea and the importance of belonging to something larger than just a gym is certainly strengthened by national reciprocity.”

Thomas sees great promise in national membership thanks to the success of statewide reciprocity that already existed in Arizona. She says Southern Arizona sees a lot of visitors, and so there are many Y members from all over the state who stop in and are eager to share their stories.

“They have a real sense of pride. It’s like they are saying, ‘I love my Y, and I’m excited to try out your Y,’” Thomas says. “It’s something they carry with them wherever they go.”

Lovell says capturing that deeper meaning of membership and finding new ways to communicate it effectively will be key to the Y’s future relevancy. “We have plenty of membership goals for what we want to provide for them,” Lovell says. “But how often we do talk about what we want from them? Being part of the Y means being part of the cause. So what are your expectations for members?

When was the last time your board talked about that? When was the last time you talked to a member about that? Do they even know what being part of the cause means?”

These are important questions at an important time — and there’s nothing more important to the future of the Y and it’s cause than telling the Y’s story as a purpose-based organization.

Thomas Marcetti is associate editor of AYP.

BEING PART OF THE Y means being part of the cause. So what are your expectations for members?

Carla Kalogeridis is AYP managing editor.

August/September 2017 AYP magazine 23

TAKING UP THE CAUSE OF

HEALTH EQUITY Ys push beyond fitness goals for healthier mind, body, and spirit for all.

By Kathryn Deen

I

t’s a beautiful Friday afternoon in June. A large, colorful delivery truck rolls onto Division Avenue. It comes to a halt at Herkimer Apartments, the site of about 120 lowincome homes in Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The side of the truck reads “Healthy Happens Here,” and it’s wrapped with giant photos of whole fruits and vegetables.

Veggie Van has arrived.

This mobile access to fresh produce is just one example of the ways Ys are moving beyond the pool and basketball court to pursue one of its most critical social issues — health equity. Ys are boldly taking on environmental and policy-change strategies to bring healthy living within reach of everyone.

On this particular Friday, the Veggie Van makes the first of its scheduled 45 stops in the region this month.

It’s West Michigan’s first and only mobile farmers market. Two trucks run year round, making daily stops in urban neighborhoods throughout Grand Rapids and Muskegon to sell locally grown fruits and vegetables at reduced prices to those who otherwise have limited access to fresh produce.

“All people should be given the gift of having the ability to achieve their greatest level of health,” says Julie Sielawa, vice president of community engagement for the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids in Michigan.

Thanks to donors and partners like the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Veggie Van keeps running, making a tremendous impact on those communities. During a recent stop, one single mother says the Veggie Van meant she didn’t have to choose between buying formula for her infant or produce to feed her older children anymore. She could now afford both.

And that’s the heart of the Y’s mission. So they and many other Ys across the nation continue to break down the membership barrier, the transportation hurdle, and other hurdles to bring free programs into the community.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER The Y’s focus has always been to strengthen communities. Its 20,000-plus staff members reach way beyond the walls of its gyms, out into the depths of 10,000 U.S. neighborhoods and more than 120 countries worldwide.

“We are really creating a movement to support health access for all with an emphasis on those in greatest need,” says Cassie Rood, vice president of healthy living for the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “We’re hoping the Y will be seen as a leader in community health work.”

For Rood, the effort started with creating a community health task force involving key local players in government, healthcare, and profit and nonprofit organizations. The taskforce is implementing the Y’s national Community Health Living Index for the next two years to help assess the Greater Twin Cities communities’ mortality rates, access to transportation, healthy food, green space, and health care. One of Rood’s Ys also helped form a partnership with a local hospital to focus on diabetes prevention. Her Y also supports safe biking and walking routes to school, as well as bringing cooking programs to the community and teaching kids healthy eating habits through its Healthy Eating Physical Activity Standards program, part of the national Y’s Pioneering Healthier Communities initiative.

Rood says the work reflects a bigger picture: The Y’s programs and facilities welcome everyone to the table to learn and grow in their health journeys, regardless of age, income, or background. The Y works daily to help people break out of the cycle of poverty, providing safe spaces, mentorships, healthy food, and education..

“We are soldiers for good, and regardless of your socioeconomic status or ability to pay, we come up with creative ways to help,” says Anthony Walters, chief strategy officer for the YMCA of South Hampton Roads in Virginia. “We have consumer confidence unlike any other place on the planet. With that great reputation comes great power and responsibility. The community looks at us and says, ‘You’re supposed to be leading the way,’ and we take that seriously.”

That’s why Walters, in his former role as district vice president of Norfolk-Portsmouth in 2013, helped set up the Y on Granby, which sits in between a wealthy neighborhood and an impoverished one. He then worked with the White House

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HE Y BRAND HAS T been elevated...to that of a convener, to bring great minds together, solve a problem, and work on a cause.

Julie Sielawa VP of Community Engagement, YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids

WE’RE HOPING THE Y will be seen as a leader in community health work.

Cassie Rood Vice President of Healthy Living YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities

26 AYP magazine August/September 2017

and several large agencies in 2015 to launch a healthy produce initiative including a concert with former First Lady Michelle Obama as the keynote speaker. Partnering with local food markets, Walters’ team started a weekly mobile pantry for the summer to provide convenient, healthy options for kids.

“Parents were very impressed that there was a mobile option that introduced their kids to ways healthier foods could be cool,” Walters says. Next on the horizon are talks with the local food bank and other local organizations to transition to healthier snacks for before- and after-school programs starting this Fall for the 1,400 children their Ys serve in the area’s Title 1 schools. That means replacing chips, crackers, and fruit snacks with fresh fruits and vegetables.

Walters is proud of the Y’s involvement with the Livestrong program, offering free resources to those with cancer, including exercise and nutrition recommendations, and a support system of counselors and coaches..“Treating cancer is very expensive,” Walters says. “For us to offer this for free removes the obstacle for participation. It’s an opportunity for us to strengthen our message of serving the community and not allow financial needs to get in the way of health needs.”

SAY WHAT? Listening to their community has been embedded in the Y’s DNA for nearly 160 years. After all, you can’t address a need until you’ve discovered what it is. And you can’t discover what it is until you’ve created the right environment to connect with people. Sielawa’s Ys positioned themselves all over the community at various times of the day and week to meet people where they were. And then they asked what their barriers were to things like eating better and exercising more.

“You have to build trust within your community,” Sielawa says. “When you really sit down across the table and break bread and ask questions in a safe, nonthreatening manner, you can earn their trust.”

That’s how it all started for Greater Grand Rapids back in 2002. A staff member came back from a local equity conference upset about the prevalence of childhood obesity. About one in five children age 6-19 is obese, more than triple that in the 1970s. It increases their risk for having chronic health conditions and diseases, such as asthma, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We realized we needed to reach the parents to teach the kids how to fuel their bodies efficiently and effectively,” Sielawa says. “We tied it into core curriculum, brought in healthy snacks, and started engaging the parents.”

Last year alone, those Ys reached about 3,000 parents. Staff even taught them how to shop healthy on a budget. They helped parents put recipes together and sent them home with the necessary groceries to make those recipes.

“We started there and realized that access to food was the next barrier,” Sielawa says. “We listened a lot to our community, and we heard that a lot of our neighborhoods, newcomer populations, and immigrants lacked fresh produce. People were upset that their zip code, where they lived, dictated their health.”

Millions of Americans in hundreds of neighborhoods struggle to find nutritious, affordable food — especially those with low-income residents, minorities, and in rural areas. Grocery stores and farmers’ markets aren’t within reach, while cheap, processed foods are easy to get because of the abundance of convenience

stores and fast-food restaurants. That greatly contributes to health disparities like chronic diseases, according to The Food Trust’s report on 132 studies.

GO TIME Once you learn your community’s needs, develop a plan to reduce barriers. That means developing programs to build a bridge to residents, like the Veggie Van. The van was a direct, immediate solution to the problem of pricey, inaccessible produce. It was the low-hanging fruit, a promise they knew they could deliver on.

And that’s important when you’re just getting established in a community.

“What’s your low-hanging fruit?” Sielawa asks. “You can start with an achievable outcome and define it for all the partners and community members and then say ‘here’s what we’ll tackle first and here’s our timeline.’

Next, it was time to supplement the van program with a more permanent — albeit more complex — way to address the need for produce in the community.

So Sielawa’s team met with community partners and approached corner stores to retrofit coolers, develop point-of-sale systems, help with marketing, and teach store owners what it means to be change agents of health.

“When we don’t have the resources or ability to help, we engage partners to help,” Sielawa says. “We really believe in the collective impact model.”

The Y of Greater Grand Rapids helps seven stores stock and sell fresh produce with plans to help more stores next year. The ultimate goal? “Our dream is to pull out,” Sielawa says — because sustainability is the most promising success story.

THE COMMUNITY looks at us and says, ‘You’re supposed to be leading the way,’ and we take that seriously.

Anthony Walters Chief Strategy Officer YMCA of South Hampton Roads

August/September 2017 AYP magazine 27

THE LONG HAUL

Food Class: Staff at YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities in Minneapolis, Minnesota, teach food preparation programs to show children healthier alternatives to snacks and overly processed foods.

While you’re out there addressing the community’s immediate needs, it’s important to also establish a long-term plan to sustain your equity programs. Greater Grand Rapids has committed more than 100 staff members to support its efforts at least part-time. They have grant writers, data and evaluation specialists, financial specialists, and those out in the community, like the van drivers and cashiers.

“It’s slow and steady,” Sielawa says. “We’re making great strides.”

The van isn’t the only program driving success for the Greater Grand Rapids area. Other programs include free Zumba at the parks, where the Y is working with the county health department and city commissioners to make them a smoke-free, graffiti-free environment, and a Texting for Health program with the United Way for people to use a mobile app to find resources in their language.

Teaching children and teachers in schools about healthy snacks and brain breaks, such as stretches, helps improve focus and intentionality.

SPEED BUMPS AHEAD

Veggie Van: The Veggie Van makes stops in various neighborhoods in West Michigan to provide people with access to affordable fresh produce. YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids began the program in response to a need expressed by many

in the community.

Of course, when you’re engaging a new need or community, don’t expect it to be like Superman swooping in to save the day. It’s complicated. It’s messy. It’s delicate, because you’re dealing with vulnerable people.

“We thought in the early stages we had the trust of the community,” Sielawa says, “But we had to step back and listen well. Every day, we listen harder, smarter, and better. Trust ebbs and flows. It’s hard work, but it’s the right work.”

Another challenge? There are more nonprofits than you can count, and they all want to be that hero.

“There are a lot of great people doing similar work,” Sielawa says. “You need to bring people together around a collective impact so everyone sees it as a win-win instead of a competition. That has not always been easy, because people are fighting for their own dollars to support their own work.”

It is important to always be looking for opportunities to reach out and involve other community stakeholders, because you never know where help might come from. Sielawa says they found more support than expected.

“Some of the more affluent zip codes started to see us as partners with them, not outsiders,” Sielawa says. “They see us as their neighbor now. That was an unintended but welcome outcome. We walk hand-in-hand with them.”

“The Y brand has been elevated within our community to that of convener, and that’s a powerful thing for us,” Sielawa says. “They don’t see us simply as a nonprofit looking for more resources, but as a convener to bring great minds together to solve a problem and work on a cause.”

Kathryn Deen is a contrbuting writer to AYP magazine.

28 AYP magazine August/September 2017

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Building a Better Y, One Plan at a Time

Move past last-minute scrambles and mediocre outcomes with your own map of the road to success.

By Thomas Marcetti

30 AYP magazine August/September 2017

B

uilding a house or trying to put together Ikea furniture without a plan is a pretty sure recipe for disaster.

In fact, building just about anything without a plan is a good way to get stuck with a subpar outcome. Yet many Y professionals go about their yearly programming without a good plan.

“Putting together a program — whether fundraising, training, a fitness class, etc.

— is like building a house,” says Mark Hennessy, resource director, Midwest region/ CEO search specialist for YMCA of the USA. “Yes, technically, you can start building a house without waiting for an architect’s plan, but boy, is that a bad idea.”

Best-case scenario, with a lot of scrambling and extra work, you pull off a passable, mostly livable house. But wouldn’t you rather save yourself the extra hassle and end up with a far better house? Of course you would. Which house do you want for your members? Of course, you want the good one.

So how do you get a plan for a year of programs, membership drives, annual campaigns, and more? You’re going to have to make a plan, or at least make sure the one you have is the best it can be. Either way, it’s going to take some work. AYP talked with Hennessy about how to create a planning calendar.

AYP: Planning a year out sounds like a lot. How in-depth is a good calendar?

Hennessy: The more detail you have, the more helpful it will be — not that you have to have everything completely mapped out. At the least, having all the dates or all the events is important. Not only is it helpful for managing a team — of any size — but, the more detail you have, the more it will help individuals on the team.

It will help them be able to anticipate and get ready for what’s coming next. If you can eliminate the crunch of trying to get everything done at the last second before an event, you will save you and your team a lot of work, headaches, and time.

Map out the coming year tie it into the organization’s strategic plan.for each item on the calendar. You know who’s responsible, the date, important dates leading up to the event, and staff and volunteer involved.

Some Ys do a really good job of planning. The ones who don’t do as good a job, or don’t do it at all, are constantly putting out fires and feeling like they are behind and overwhelmed. The Ys that do this well are focused on it. Some will have a planning retreat . It really pays off for them both day-to-day and long-term.

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AYP: How far out should a plan go?

Hennessy: It used to be a five-year plan but not anymore. One year is about as far as you can go. Circumstances change so quickly, it’s difficult to have a detailed plan beyond that. You end up changing it to keep up with what’s happening.

It’s good to plan a full year out, but then begin to narrow things down right away. What specifically would you like to — or need to — accomplish in the next month? Write that down and tape it to your desk so you are always looking at what is coming in the next 30 days.

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August/September 2017 AYP magazine 31

AYP: When is the best time to make a yearly plan?

Hennessy: There is not a right or wrong answer as long as you’re actually doing

GETTING A WELL laid-out plan takes time up front, but it will help you execute things much more efficiently. It will save you time in the long run, if nothing else, because you won’t be just running around putting out fires. Life is not getting less busy.

You have to plan to plan.

Mark Hennessy Resource Director Midwest Region/CEO Search Specialist, YMCA of the USA

it. There is always a short-term reason that seems to preclude you from doing it.

Every moment of the year is too busy. This goes back to the importance of carving out time for planning. Getting a well laid-out plan takes time up front, but it will help you execute things much more efficiently. It will save you time in the long run, if nothing else, because you won’t be just running around putting out fires.

Life is not getting less busy. You have to plan to plan. Take uninterrupted time — maybe a staff retreat, even for a day or an afternoon — get away from phones, email, whatever else is happening. If you don’t, if you’re trying to squeeze it into a to-do list, it will get shorted.

When I was a CEO of a Y, we always had a full-day planning session in the summer so by Fall, we could hit the ground running. Once summer programs are off and going, there is usually time to catch an extra breath or two before you have to start running again. A lot of people think in terms of the school year, so use that.

AYP: What’s a good first step to creating a plan?

Hennessy: This isn’t a do-it-once-and-you’re-done kind of thing. Every time you sit down with your plan or calendar, it should start with evaluation. A lot of planning is based on past experience. Each Y is so different, you have to rely on institutional knowledge to know what needs to happen when.

Start with evaluating what has happened in the past. What worked? What didn’t? What can you do better? It is crucial to ask a lot of questions, especially if you’re making a new plan. Don’t think you have all the answers. Learn as much as you can from everyone involved — past staff, past participants.

This is a good opportunity to include members, to evaluate member experience.

This can either be the start of an evaluation or it can be included in existing evaluations. Whether it’s a survey, focus group, talking to members one-on-one, it’s important to constantly be getting feedback to continually improve what we’re doing.

When a project is complete, take some time with the staff who worked on it. Ask three questions: What worked? What didn’t work? What do we need to change to make it better? Planning is not something that needs to be tackled all at once. Once the plan is in place, you can constantly refine it for next time.

AYP: You mentioned more detail is better. Once you have the framework for the year, how do you go about filling in details?

Hennessy: Go project by project. It’s best to start with the end date for the project, and then work your way backward from that through the critical events. When does the brochure have to go out? When does staff have to be hired? When does the staff need to be trained? Each project should have a series of steps or milestones with its own deadlines.

In my experience, people don’t allow enough time to correctly do the necessary pre-work. For example, if day camp is starting June 1 and they are waiting until May 1 to put a brochure out, they are surprised turnout isn’t as high as they’d like.

The best guide for how much time you need is history. What happened last year?

What did you run out of time to do? What could you improve if you had more time?

But this calendar is not just about execution. Every day, there are times when

32 AYP magazine August/September 2017

PLANNING FOR SUCCESS Planning ahead allows you to: Efficiently allocate time Take advantage of seasonal events Identify lulls in fundraising, programs, and membership drives Create more effective promotional material Communicate more effectively with staff, members, and supporters Why this is important: It’s tempting to work program-by-program or even week-by-week, but this creates two very serious problems. First, ad hoc programing doesn’t leave much room to learn about what is working for your organization. Second, this shortsightedness makes it difficult to create a consistent, infectious message, voice, and brand identity.

What you should look for: Make a list of all of your key events, programs, campaigns, communications, and other important dates throughout the year. When you map out all the important events and milestones for the year, you’ll be better prepared to build upon previous goals, run last-minute activities for those urgent situations, and generally set yourself up for growth.

Don’t go it alone: While it’s great to simply write everything down and keep yourself organized, building cross-functional teams is imperative to running successful campaigns. Create a year-round calendar to keep everyone on the same page and strengthen communication between teams. When your organization’s teams are in sync, you’ll execute smarter and more effectively.

staff knowing what is coming up can be helpful. Front desk staff answer questions all the time about events. If they know when the annual campaign is going to kick off, that is really helpful.

The level of detail you can provide is critical. The more everyone is moving in the same direction, the better the outcome.. I’m always surprised that some people will go through the effort of creating a calendar and then leave off crucial details. Lay out as much as possible so leadership and staff are on the same page.

It can help identify holes before they become problems.

Thomas Marcetti is associate editor of AYP.

August/September 2017 AYP magazine 33

marketplace

Let Our Payroll Software Do The Heavy Lifting.

Computerized Maintenance Management Can Reduce Facility Costs

nnYERDI Integration nnY Payroll Features ssTax and ACA eFiling

Between aging infrastructure and the potential reduction in your workforce, it’s more important than ever to proactively take control of your maintenance costs.

The average age of buildings in the United States is 41 years old, and within the next 10 years, 50 percent of all maintenance personnel are expected to retire.

Even with all the planning and upkeep that teams do, they could be facing an uphill battle.

Keeping facilities in top condition for members while staying mindful of budgets is an important initiative for all YMCAs, and a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) complements those objectives. Operations management software helps take charge of day-to-day work orders, preventive maintenance, and capital planning tasks, ensuring they all work together to make operations more strategic and cost effective.

For YMCAs, there are a few key ways that a CMMS can cut your facility costs and arm your workforce with the right tool to increase efficiency and make their work lives easier. Read Dude Solutions’ whitepaper “4 Ways to Cut Maintenance Costs” for more information. https://resources.dudesolutions.com/whitepapers/4ways-to-cut-maintenance-costs

Entertainment Console Can Completely Change Workout Experience ®

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34 AYP magazine August/September 2017

YMCAs can connect members to entertainment, social media favorites, brandbuilding communication, and more with the fitness-specific 7xi console. In addition to allowing members to watch TV, cheer on friends through social media feeds, race through mountain trails, and connect via Bluetooth to access personal playlists that keep them engaged, the console also allows access to personal fitness data.

Y staff can also customize the 7xi home screen to reflect the brand, deliver messages, and engage members with your social media community. A facility calendar can be added to promote classes, challenges, special events, and more.

spirituality

The Fruits of Listening First Our YMCA in Indianapolis uses a training for staff .called “Listen First.”

This training helps our membership staff learn what goals potential members are pursuing so we can align those goals with our programs and services.

Listening first is a very effective tool to help our members know that we exist to help them. This is servant leadership, which is deference toward others and service on behalf of another.

So how can listening first become an important part of our spiritual lives?

How can we listen first to strengthen our connection with God and with other people?

Recently, my friend Keith called at mid-day and asked how I was doing. It so happened that this was a particularly tough day with a serious illness in my family and work filled with pressure. I said that I was struggling with a couple of things and would appreciate his prayers. Keith shared that he was trying to do a better job of listening to the “still small voice of God” (I Kings 19:12) and that he was contacting people as they were brought to mind.

This made me think of all the times I have thought of someone, but was too busy to reach out to them.

In Psalms 46:10, God says to us, “Be still and know that I am God.” I believe that through this verse, God asks us to be slow to speak. If we will find the stillness, God will reveal many treasures and truths. If I will listen for His voice, whether it is in prayer or just sitting

Eric J. Ellsworth President and CEO YMCA of Greater Indianapolis

quietly, He will give me little assignments during the day. These will come in many forms, sometimes take courage to perform, and need a willing heart.

To help spread God’s kingdom in our city, we have been allowing our YMCA facilities to be used by local churche.

Several months ago, I attended a church service at one of our YMCAs. At the end of the service, a tall man in the back stood out to me. I felt compelled to introduce myself to him. I asked his name, and he said he was Gad (pronounced God) Eteu and that he was from Uganda. He asked my name, and when I shared it, he smiled widely and said he had hoped to connect with me. He was trying to emigrate to the U.S. from Uganda, and he had been coach of the Uganda National Basketball Team. He fled Uganda fearing for the life of his family, as he opposed the current political structure.

I was immediately drawn to his

humble spirit and his smile. He seemed to carry with him the Spirit of the Lord, and it was evident in all that he said. We agreed we would meet and talk again.

At our next meeting, I learned he had been trying without success to get work papers for more than two years.I shared that our association office building had a Legal Aid office that might help. We walked downstairs and set an appointment. They were later able to help him achieve his goal.

I asked if he would like to join an early-morning Bible Study group that met each week with two other Y staff — Marion Fowler and Matt Larson. He met with us a few times and immediately hit it off with our group. After several months, Gad was recruited to be the associate sports director at our largest YMCA center.

Gad is now doing a wonderful job of serving children and families in the YMCA and is excited to have the opportunity with our YMCA. Now, this was one time when I listened first. I am not always so vigilant, but God understands my weaknesses and He forgives. I hope to do a better job of listening for God’s gentle whisper so that His will may be done through my activities.

With the right amount of intentional listening, we can be used mightily

by God, and our lives will become a greater, more fruitful adventure..

I am still learning this lesson, so “Lord, find me faithful.”

WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF INTENTIONAL LISTING, WE CAN BE USED mightily by God, and our lives will become a greater, more fruitful adventure.

August/September 2017 AYP magazine 35

body, mind, spirit.

SPIRIT

“ HONOR YOUR CREATOR BY DOING WHAT YOU CAN TO MAKE GRACE HAPPEN ... RIGHT NOW, RIGHT DOWN HERE ON EARTH.“ — Bradley Whitford, American actor and political activist

BODY

MIND

If you weigh yourself on the moon, it is less than your weight on Earth.

What is something that weighs more on the moon?

If you aren’t healthy, you can’t get anything done and you won’t be there for your colleagues, friends, family, and members when they need you — especially if you are affected by chronic health issues. A global survey of business executives conducted by the World Economic Forum and the Harvard School of Public Health from 2009 to 2011 identified non-communicable diseases as one of the leading threats to global economic growth.

Make your health a priority. Start by building time in your calendar to work out, to relax or do something that gives you energy and sparks your personal passion.

Healthy workers are more productive. Companies that invest in employee health and well-being see increases in creativity, engagement, productivity, and business growth. Being our emotional, physical, and mental best is foundational to doing our best work. It’s time to get our priorities straight, and make worker health and well-being a foundation for good business, not a luxury.

36 AYP magazine August/September 2017

Answer: A helium filled balloon or a balloon filled with any gas lighter than air. Earth’s atmosphere causes a helium balloon to float, making it impossible to weigh. On the moon, the lack of atmosphere causes the balloon to sink, allowing it to be weighed. It will only weigh a little bit, but will still be heavier than on earth.

New Study says Don’t Put Work Before Your Health

Sources: www.braingle.com

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