Tag Archives: Metro Youth YMCA

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13 Reasons to Support the Y in 2013

Most people know the Y as a place for “gym and swim,” and fostering healthy living is a core part of the Y’s mission. But the Y does much more than that in the community and for the community. Over the last year we’ve shared some of those stories of how the people at the Y — members and staff — go above and beyond to do everything from ensuring everyone has a place at the Y to fostering future Olympians to raising student performance in school. Here’s a look at some of those stories….and we look forward to bringing you even more in 2013!

1. Everyone belongs at the Y. If there’s one thing that defines the Y more than anything else, that’s it. From people with disabilities to seniors to single parents and everyone in between, the Y, through the Strong Kids Campaign, ensures everyone who could benefit can be a part of the Y. More than that, though, the welcoming atmosphere and friendly staff make people feel like valued members of the Y family.

2. The Y provides access to the arts to people who might not otherwise have a path discover their creative spark. The Detroit Creativity Project, supported by a group of successful Detroit-expatriate actors and comedians now mostly living in Los Angeles, has provided more than 100 high school students with improvisation classes taught by local professionals. Y-Arts instructors are prominent in their fields in addition to teaching kids the fundamentals of visual arts, hip-hop, acting and more. And the lobby gallery of the Boll Family YMCA provides a space for the community to see the work of well-respected artists in all media.

3. The Metro Youth YMCA, or MY-Y, encourages youth to achieve their dreams — and beyond. From showing them a path to college to actually driving them to out-of-state scholarship interviews, MY-Y impacts at-risk young people’s lives for the better.

4. More than 700 Detroit school kids learned to swim for free through the Detroit Swims program. African-American and Hispanic youth are at much higher risk of drowning than Caucasian children; teaching them to swim will reverse that tragic toll. The eventual goal is to have every child in the city of Detroit able to use basic survival skills in the water.

5. More than 800 girls learn life lessons through running with the Girls on The Run program. Not only do they develop themselves as runners — a physical activity they can enjoy for a lifetime — they learn lessons about self-esteem, peer pressure, and stress management, among other themes. One group even got a visit from the reigning Miss Michigan, Angela Venditti. The Girls on the Run philosophy is to teach girls to Honor Their Bodies, Celebrate their Voices, Embrace their Gifts and Activate Their Power.

6. Y staff believe in the mission; their work goes far beyond just a paycheck. Lifeguard Chelsea Cheek, a college student working two jobs, donates a substantial percent of her paycheck from lifeguard duty at the Macomb YMCA to the Strong Kids Campaign and has raised money through community events. Staff at South Oakland have donated time to teach classes, help with a Mom-To-Mom sale, and more to raise money for Strong Kids scholarships. And even the youngest members step up with creative ways to fundraise.

7. The Y encourages fathers to bond with their kids. The Adventure Guides program, which will be expanding to more branches in 2013, sends fathers and daughters off on adventures from ice skating to camping, creating bonds that last a lifetime.

8. The Y rallies behind its staff and members in tough times. Health worries, job losses, sudden disability, even unimaginable tragedy — the Y steps up.

9. Even people who never fit the fitness-enthusiast mold learn to enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle at the Y. Alexis Sumner went from weighing 400 pounds to doing sprint triathlons, and new mom Dani Keith-Marchment finished her first 5K when she never thought that was possible thanks to the help of her trainer.

10. Providing quality education and improving skills is a key part of the Y’s impact. The Y runs two schools locally, Detroit Leadership Academy and Detroit Innovation Academy, both of which have received gorgeous playgrounds through the hard work of volunteers. And the Y’s summer program for at-risk students, Camp Phoenix, serves students’ entire families and has a measurable impact on academic performance.

11. Day camp at all branches provides children, from toddlers through teens, with a high-quality and fun experience, and parents with peace of mind that their children are in a safe, caring environment.

12. Middle-school age youth throughout the Detroit Metro Area learn about the importance of making smart decisions about sexual activity — and that staying abstinent is the healthiest choice for them — through the Y SWIFT (Sexual Wellness Information for Teens) program.

13. The Y launches future Olympians. Three-time Olympic medalist Peter Vanderkaay began swimming at the Y at age 7, and continues to give back through helping raise awareness of the Detroit Swims program.

 

 

 

 

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Eat Out, Help a Family Have a Christmas

Who wants to pause in all the preparations for Thanksgiving to make a meal? Keep your kitchen clean for the big feast and save yourself some time — and benefit the Metro Youth YMCA’s Adopt-A-Family program.

Olga’s Kitchen downtown location, inside the Compuware Building,  is contributing a portion of each person’s bill from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 21. Customers need to present a flyer for the Y to receive the donation. Click the image below, or visit Olga’s Kitchen Facebook page at facebook.com/olgaskitchen to get a copy. You can also have food delivered if you are within the delivery zone and present the flyer to donate.

The restaurant is located at 1040 Woodward. The phone number is 313-965-3740.

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Pizza Day To Raise Funds for Family

The YMCA I CAN ACHEIVE  program serves youth who are trying to better themselves and create a brighter future. And those same youth are giving back by raising money to adopt a needy family this holiday season.

On Thursday, Nov. 15th, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., anyone who would like to help can use the attached flyer at Shield’s Pizza on 25101 Telegraph Road in Southfield. A percentage of food purchases will be donated to the Adopt-a-Family fund.

You can meet the I CAN ACHIEVE students and staff for a night of food, fun, and karaoke starting at 7 p.m., and learn more about the program. Flyer (click “Shields Flyer” link below) must be presented for the Y to receive the donation.
For more information, contact the I CAN ACHIEVE program at 313-223-2841 or via email at myy@ymcadetroit.org.

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Fresh Eyes Program Gives a Hand Up

Job training programs very often address useful jobs that will lead participants to quick employment. What they don’t do is show people how to achieve jobs that are more creative and perhaps less mainstream.

The Y’s Fresh Eyes program does just that. It’s an employment training and enrichment program for young people who are looking for work. More that 50 youth ages 18-21 have served in the program. It uses arts skills to show youth how to change their approach to finding a job, how to shine in an interview setting and how to craft an attention getting resume.

They worked with Y-Arts director Margaret Edwartowski to in weekly improve classes,w hile her husband taught them about media creation, digital music composition, and resume writing. Students also worked with the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit to beautify their spaces, and will work for CAID producing video segments about their work. The eventual goal of the program is to get them into a “forever” job with what they have learned.

“They  really enjoy the arts arts programming in general, ” Margaret says. “For many of them, the world was as big as their block. It’s been a  broadening of horizons across the board.”

Previous sessions have focused on performance poetry and video production. Not only have student gained job skills, they have improved literacy, creativity, and their self-image. The program ended with a showcase June 28.

 

 

 

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Teens Discover Path to Success

Sometimes, young people need a little help to maximize their potential; they can be successful if someone helps them see the way there. That’s the mission of much of what the Metro Youth YMCA does, including last weekend by sponsoring the MYCAN Teen Success Fest held at the Wayne County Community College District – Taylor Campus. MYCAN stands for Metro Youth College Access Network, and the focus of the event was showing teens college opportunities that exist for them and the career paths they might think about pursuing.

Participants toured programs offered by  WCCCD for auto and aviation mechanics and law enforcement careers. The school offers relatively low-cost programs that can prepare a student for those jobs in considerably less time than they might spend on a bachelor’s degree program. Y-Arts instructor and local entertainer Stevie Soul led a workshop on music industry careers.

For those interested in a four-year degree program, colleges and universities participated in a mini college fair. Eastern Michigan, University of Michigan, Western Michigan, Marygrove, Ferris State, University of Detroit Mercy, and Central Michigan all participated, as did host school WCCCD.

Of course, there’s a lot more to a successful college experience than simply choosing a program and getting in. Students need family support, financial guidance, and problem solving skills to make the most of their academic efforts. To that end, Y staff led a problem solving and team building exercise and Inga Wilson, Y-Arts Instructor, led an improv workshop to help kids learn to work together and think on their feet.

A parent panel talked about supporting their kids on the home front, and a representative from the Wayne County Sheriff’s office talked about internet and cell phone safety. Jennifer Wallace discussed the real costs and economic benefits of college and the various financial aid options that are available.

College graduates can expect to earn thousands of dollars more over a lifetime than their peers with only a high school diploma. Because of that, it’s important that teens understand college is within their reach if they work hard in high school. The MYCAN event shows them how to make all the puzzle pieces of a college plan fit, as well as helping parents — many of whom may not have attended college themselves — learn how to support their child as they make a better life.

 

 

 

 

 

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Y Achievers Alum Sets Shining Example

When you’re a kid in inner-city Detroit, it can be hard to see the path between where you are and the life you would like to live. Demetrious Broughton has walked that path with the help of the Metro Youth Y, and now he’s reaching back to help kids just like him find their own way. He was recently profiled on Fox 2 News’ Redefining Detroit series.

Demetrious found the Y Minority Achievers program (now called the Future Professionals Program) at a church in his east-side Detroit neighborhood. He had dreams of college and a career, but was  not sure exactly how he was going to achieve them. Finding his leadership skills at the Y helped him determine his path.

“What kind of changed my mindset around was that we did a lot of volunteering,” he says. “That really touched me, seeing the product from it and uplifting the community.”

He also did lots of workshops there that allowed him a glimpse into the world of professional work, and grew to know and look up to the staff. “My community there was kind of like a family,” he says. He was especially influenced by Jocelyn Boyd, whose own path to success was one he could relate to. “She was one who really believed in me,” he says. “If I didn’t meet her I’m not sure I’d have the the opportunities I had. She shared with us her life, and she provided me with opportunities to be able to shine and excel.”

After his freshman year at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, he got a call from his friends at the Y. Harman International, a maker of sound and entertainment systems for cars, wanted to offer internships to inner-city youth and asked the Y for help. Demetrious was asked to be the first one. “I knew I was in a  fish bowl …I had to keep moving forward, and I had to show up on time.” To that end, he caught the bus at 5 a..m. for his commute, which was two hours each way by bus.

“I knew the YMCA had trusted me to do this right, so then other kids were able to come and I was going to be a role model,” he says. “The other thing that fueled me was that I had to represent my home and my family well …mainly the people that drove me were my YMCA family, and being a new representation for a new generation.”

Harman was impressed, and eventually hired Demetrious as a software engineer. He is now married to his college sweetheart, who is a math teacher, and they have a baby on the way. He volunteers with the students in Future Professionals, where his example shows them how a kid just like them grew up to be a successful young man. But he doesn’t want them to be just like him; instead he wants them to define themselves, not be defined by what others think of their neighborhood, their city or their school.

“I want to give kids hope,” he says. “I tell them, ‘I don’t want you to be Demetrious, I want you to pass and surpass me,” he says.

 

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Future Professionals Program Lets Girl Shine

(This post was contributed by Latitia McCree, vice president of arts, youth development, and community initiatives for the YMCA of Metro Detroit).

In the 9th grade  Sparkle barely went to school. She skipped classes so she could hang out with her friends who just wanted to have fun. She needed an escape from her urban soap opera, and thought parties and socializing would bring her joy.  Her home life was completely unmoored, moving from one family member or friend’s house to the next.  As she describes herself, “I was truly immature and irresponsible…I had major family issues.”

Like many urban teens, she was not getting along with her mother and was living in an environment surrounded by sex, drugs and alcohol.  In short, she was surrounded by a generation who were intoxicating themselves to mask their pain and feelings of hopelessness.

One day while hanging out with her friends, she really took a look at their lives and realized she wanted more. “I did not feel comfortable with myself anymore.  I was seeing people whose lives were much worse than mine; I knew I wanted to go to school and to make something of myself.”

Sparkle really did not know how to even begin her life again.  But as the old adage goes, when the student is ready the teacher will come.

The YMCA sent out a mass mailing inviting Detroit teens to join the YMCA Future Professionals.  Sparkle got the letter and immediately called the Y.  Over the past  nearly three years Sparkle has truly sparkled at the Y.  She has attended numerous college tours, conducted a host of community service projects, attended dozens of career and college prep workshops and built relationships with caring adults.  She secured her first job with YMCA assistance. Today Sparkle  is a senior at the Detroit International Academy for Young Women. She has a cumulative GPA of 3.5.  She aspires to  be a clinical psychologist, has been accepted into several universities and has been awarded the Bowling Green Success Scholarship.

The YMCA Future Professionals program is  a part of a 30 year old YMCA movement commonly called Minority Achievers. The primary focus is to connect urban youth with working professionals to challenge and support their matriculation and graduation from high school and pursuit of  post-secondary degree attainment, in the hope that these young people become working professionals and productive citizens in their communities.

On May 22 at noon, at the Boll Family YMCA, the Y will be celebrating high school seniors who, like Sparkle have overcome an array of obstacles but will be going to college in the fall of 2012.  In addition, we will be inducting new Adult Achievers or volunteers to challenge and coach other youth involved with the YMCA to ensure their success.

The YMCA would like 30 or more companies to support Y Achiever’s work by making a commitment to nominate an employee to volunteer and nurture our youth and by making a financial gift of $2012, in commemoration of 2012 being the 32 Achiever’s Celebration.

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MY-Y Starts Path to a Bright Future

Imagine the biggest interview of your life — a make it or break it moment — and you don’t have a way to get there. That’s what faced Brittany Morris, a leader in several programs at the Metro Youth YMCA (MY-Y) and a senior at the Detroit International Academy for Young Women in Detroit.

Brittany was always determined to go to college, but wasn’t sure exactly how to pay for it or what school might be the best option. She got great guidance from several people at the Y, but Terry Mial, director of outreach at the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit, really took Brittany under her wing. “She had smarts going for her, so I started working with her and put her in our leadership program,” she says.

Terri’s daughter attends Bowling Green State University in Ohio, so when Brittany started thinking about where to apply Terri encouraged her to go there because of their excellent scholarship programs and their mentoring for students from less affluent backgrounds.

Brittany was selected for an interview for their President’s Scholarship, but had no way to make the four-hour drive to campus. Terri asked her daughter, Tara, to come home for the weekend and take Brittany back with her in time for the interview.

That was in February 2011….and February in Michigan means unpredictable weather. Sure enough, on the night before her interview it started to snow, and did not let up. Brittany despaired of missing her interview and her chance at the scholarship, but Terri swung into action. “I called the school and told them everything,” she says. “I pleaded with them to let her interview by phone.” They agreed, and Brittany nailed the interview and got the scholarship. She’s now in her freshman year at Bowling Green.

When Tara Mial, Terri’s daughter finally did make her way back to school after that snowstorm, she got in an accident on the way back that totaled her car. She was unhurt, but the highway patrolman told her if someone had been sitting in the passenger seat — where Brittany would have been sitting had she gone with Tera — they would have been killed.

In yet another coincidence, because of the transportation problem the two young women never actually met. Last semester, Brittany wanted some writing help with an assignment so she signed up for a tutor at the campus writing center. She saw a Tara Mial on the list of instructors, and hoping it was Terri’s daughter, chose her as her tutor.

It was indeed, and Tara, a senior, has become a mentor for Brittany, showing her around the campus and introducing her to organizations she might want to join.

Brittany sums up her relationship with her Y mentors this way: “I was like their little daughter.” Terri still checks up on her every few weeks and sends her encouraging texts. Before leaving for school, she had the opportunity to speak to Y donors who had funded a scholarship she received. She promised she would not let them down — and she’s already made them proud.