YMCA of Metropolitan Washington D.C.

It's Volunteer Week - Meet Kathy, Y Volunteer

Happy National Volunteer Week everybody!  This is the perfect time to recognize the people who do great things through service: our volunteers, who give their time and energy to serve others!

First up: Kathy Martin, board chair and one of the recipients of our Volunteer of the Year (2012) award. She took some time to share with us a little bit about the essence of volunteerism. 

Why do you volunteer your time at the Y? The mission of the Y encompasses so much of what is important for taking care of our youth- physical fitness, confidence, social interaction, and responsible behavior to name just a few. I believe in the idea that it takes a village to raise our children well and this idea of community caring is what makes the Y and their approach to youth and families so special.

 

Why is volunteering important for the community in which we live? To have an idea about what could make our community a better place is great but it's nothing without the necessary people to execute that vision. Volunteers are the heart and soul of any good community project!

Tell us a little bit about your professional career, aside from being a board member. Professionally, I am a stylist and personal shopper. I feel really lucky to have a job that I'm passionate about and I get a lot of satisfaction from helping someone gain confidence through feeling good about their personal style. As great as that is, however, my biggest satisfaction comes from my other full time job- raising my kids. They have a lot of energy so I love that there is a Y right down the street where they can burn some of that off.

 

 

5 Green Ways to Celebrate Earth Day Today!

 

3. Change the way you get around

• If you are in a city where you can cut down the costs of driving, change your transportation for a few days to start. You can even walk to work a few extra blocks than normal and/or bike to help give yourself a healthy workout and save on the cost of gas. 
• Another thought - if you must drive, try and streamline your ventures out. For instance, combine you errands for the week into one day so that you aren't going back and forth between destinations.

4. Be conscience about your use of electricity.

• This ones just takes a little reaching. Reach for that light switch to turn it off as you walk out the door. Reach for that button to shut down your laptop/computer after using it. Just be mindful to turn off all electricity when it is not being used.

5. Visit your local YMCA!

• The YMCA of Metropolitan Washington has looked at ways to go green in our branches. Like our use of cleaning products, lighting, chemicals, recycling, alternative energy sources for pools and facilities, as well as modifying our HVAC systems to be more efficient. Just know that at the Y - you would be in great company of this green initiative.

Free YMCA Family Fun today - at Tots2Teens Expo!

Join the Y at the Tots2Teens Expo for a free and fun family day, today from 9am to 6pm, at the Washington Convention Center.

Today, the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington will participate in its first Tots2Teens expo, set to be a powerful resource for you and your family to gather information and services that caters to the advancement of children and teens. 

We talked to our Vice President of Youth Development, Toni Chebou-Webb, on the importance of the Y's involvement in today's expo.

“The YMCA of Metropolitan Washington is participating in the Tots2Teens Expo to maximize the Association’s outreach efforts to families," she said. "We are passionate about the development of youth and families in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. If they are seeking camp, preschool and school age programming, we've got just what they need."

Bring your family along to get a hands-on peek of all that greatness and maybe even sign up for camp!

Our great programming team will be on hand at the expo with PHD programs, Arts and Crafts, STEM and much more to stimulate youth and family attendants. And the expo will present workshops on cyber-bullying prevention, healthy tips and a host of other goodies for the entire family.

At the Y, we've got something that interests every age and walk of life - come join us today to see the great programs and services we have to offer one of our many prized jewels: our youth!

The YMCA Alexandria encourages you to Spring2Action today - help send a kid to camp!

Every year the YMCA Alexandria participates in Spring2Action, a giving opportunity to help send a kid to camp and change lives' at the Y.

Last year, 702 kids went to camp and the Y provided over $23,000 in camp scholarships alone. If we pull together, we can make a difference because $200 is all it takes to send a child-in-need to camp for a week.

Spring2Action helps to provide a fun and active summer camp experience.  Join us in this giving effort today by clicking here to make a donation. Today's goal is $9,000 - so we need your help!!!  

**In wake of the recent Boston tragedy, 5% of funds raised to the YMCA Boston to support those affected.

YMCA Offers FREE Training Classes to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse. Register Today!

Y FACT: 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.

Here at the Y we realized this daunting truth and are offering training classes through our Darkness to Light Stewards of Children program, to prevent child abuse, from now until May 20, 2013.

This past Tuesday, April 9, we held our first training session at the Prince George's County Sports & Learning Complex, where we had about 30 attendants who attended to learn the ins and outs of protecting our youth.

Each session covers topics like the signs of sexual abuse, the importance of talking about prevention with children and other adults, effective strategies for protecting children from sexual abuse and much more!

Take a moment today that will impact a child's life forever. Here are  our UPCOMING TRAININGS:
 

• Thursday, April 25th from 5:30pm-8:30pm (Location: YMCA Prince George's County-Bowie)
• Tuesday, May 14th from 5:30pm-8:30pm (Location: Prince George’s County, Kentland Community Center)
• Monday, May 20th from 10am-2pm (Location: Prince George’s County, Bladensburg Community Center)
• Monday, May 20th from 5:30pm-8:30pm (Location: Prince George's County Sports & Learning Complex)

"We want people to take advantage of these free courses and we hope people see the value in fighting this epidemic," said John DeGout, VP of Leadership Development and lead coordinator of the program. These sessions are to spark interests that might encourage others to bring these types of trainings to their organizations and/or PTA meetings," he said.

To register for an impactful training session click here today.