Foreword

SECTION 2

Message from the President and the Secretary-General

The global COVID-19 pandemic made it clear that our greatest challenges highlight our greatest strengths.

When the pandemic forced the suspension of activities from all economic sectors in most countries of the world, at the YMCA we knew that the foundations of our success would be the same and embodied them in our first Regional Declaration: Eight Commitments to Our Communities.

Within days, the YMCAs of the region moved dozens of programs to virtuality, they generated initiatives to meet the basic needs of the population and promoted the transformative responses the world required.

Thousands of volunteers and staff throughout the region adapted quickly to improve people's quality of life in an unprecedented situation.

While COVID-19 impacted our year, it did not define it. In 2020, we established a new partnership collaboration with the Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc. to adapt and validate tools to measure character virtues and socio-emotional growth of children, adolescents and young people participating in our programs.

The Alliance also created regional standards on biosafety, initiated the design of a regional youth mental health program, and brought together hundreds of young people to participate in an unprecedented virtual event. While 2020 was a painful year, these experiences show that it has also been a revitalizing year.

As we sail in 2021, we know there will be more challenges to overcome, and our philosophy is to look forward.

As the needs of our community’s change, as a regional network we will continue to support the YMCAs of the region creating collaborative opportunities to develop new program and business services to lead in their communities.

We are confident that we will persevere and move forward and, therefore, we led a review of the service portfolio of the Alliance.

This assessment is a collective investment in the success of the movement. In the new reality, we must work even closer to inspire our volunteers, staff, and partners and mobilize the resources, tools, strategies, and knowledge necessary to stay releant and meet the changing needs of our communities.

The Alliance is the Network where we can inspire, connect, share, and increase our successes and learnings. We thank our members, partners, volunteers, staff, donors, and friends for their trust and support over such a complex year and invite all of you to read our 2020 annual report.

Finally, we encourage each one of us to continue caring for each other and the communities that have been the most impacted by this pandemic.

Scan the QR code and watch the 2020 Annual Report on video or go to: https://youtu.be/pxOlpB3GwiY

Felipe Jurado

President

Antonio Merino

Secretary-General