Tag Archives: youth

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New Neighbor Helps Girls On The Run

Sometimes an interaction can have wide-ranging impact, not only on the people involved but on the community around them. That was the case with Jeff Lambert, president and managing partner of Lambert, Edwards and Associates. The public relations firm recently moved their offices from Troy to the block of Broadway in Downtown Detroit that also is the location of the Boll Family YMCA. That move was catalyzed in part, Lambert says, by a visit to the Boll.

Lambert, a longtime board member of the Y in West Michigan, wanted to make a donation to provide swim lessons to needy children. He connected with the team running Detroit Swims, which has the goal of providing swim lessons to every child in Detroit, and gave a $10,000 donation. The Boll staff held an event to thank him, and Lambert was taken with the activity and energy in the neighborhood surrounding the Boll.

“That was my first introduction to that area,” Lambert says. “Fast forward a year and half or so, and now we’re neighbors.”

Lambert, Edwards and Associates moved into an abandoned office suite that is now a vibrant, open plan office that’s drawn notice for its sports theme.

The firm wanted to mark their new space in a special way, so they crafted a creative donation to Girls On the Run. At Christmastime, they gave each of their clients a gift certificate for a pair of shoes from Wolverine Worldwide, which makes Saucony running shoes as well as iconic brands such as Hush Puppies, Merrell and Stride Rite. When clients redeemed the certificate, Lambert, Edwards and Associates donated a pair of shoes to Girls on the Run. “We celebrated our new offices by paying it forward,”Lambert says.

All told, Lambert, Edwards and Associates donated 100 pairs of shoes. Many of the young women who participate in Girls On the Run can’t afford quality running shoes, so the donation will allow a lot more girls access to the program. It teaches girls about resisting peer pressure, raising self-esteem and making healthy choices wile also training for a 5K race.

As a longtime Y member and board member, Lambert believes in the Y’s commitment to all forms of healthy living and to a diverse community.

“The Y is a great example of a public/private partnership,” Lambert says. “It’s evolved from the traditional gym and swim to being a community advocate for everyone from the youngest to the oldest members of the community. It touches all aspects of a person’s wellness, and that’s something we really believe in.”

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Healthy Kids Day Encourages Activity

The Metro Detroit YMCA is joining more than 1,900 Ys across the country on Saturday to celebrate Healthy Kids Day. The event, which is free and open to the public as well as Y members, is designed to combat childhood obesity and summertime learning loss by encouraging healthy habits in children and their families.

The event is not just fun for kids, although it is something “Y kids” look forward to every year; it’s also enjoyable for parents. Children and their families can enjoy free exercise classes, food, giveaways and other fun events at their local Y.

Through Healthy Kids Day, the Y addresses critical gaps in health and education that cause kids to be at-risk for childhood obesity and suffer summer learning loss. Research shows that without access to activities that stimulate the mind and body, kids are more prone to gain weight and fall behind academically over the summer months. The Y can help with that, with everything from day camps to classes to friendships made at Childwatch.

Times and activities will vary by branch; visit www.ymcadetroit.org  to find contact information for local branches and contact them for specific times and activities. Most branches are also on Facebook. Come join the fun and learn how to keep your family healthy and strong in body, mind and spirit.

 

 

 

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New School Carries Out Y Mission

The YMCA’s mission is youth development, social responsibility and healthy living. That takes many forms, from the familiar such as youth swim lessons and senior exercise, to programs many people are not even aware the Y offers but that serve a need in their community. Here in Detroit, that means the Y’s mission includes opening charter schools to provide an alternative for families who are not served by the city’s traditional public schools. Two schools, Detroit Leadership Academy and Detroit Innovation Academy, serve kindergarten through 8th grade, and beginning this fall, Detroit Leadership Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a high school, will open its doors to its first class.

Enrollment is underway for the high school currently. It will welcome its first class of 125 ninth graders this fall and add a grade every year until this first class reaches 12th grade. The curriculum is based around the Covey Seven Habits for Highly Effective Teens. Class sizes will be small, between 20 and 25 students per class. Each student will have adult role models and and mentors. The school has established a relationship with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and adults within the school will form relationships with the students as well. Research has shown that if a teen has a relationship with at least one caring adult at school — and it could be anyone from the principal to the lunchroom aide  — they are much more likely to succeed.

In addition to fostering academic success, the school’s core beliefs include developing a sense of what it means to be part of a community, and personal power, which means to develop a clear sense of self and one’s purpose and passion.

Entrepreneurship is a big part of the curriculum, as the school’s name indicates. Students will learn to write business plans as well as learn skills necessary to excel in the work world, either on their own or as employees. “The idea is to get them thinking as businesspersons,” says Anita Tucker, business office manager for the school. They plan to offer international travel opportunities and innovative technology as well. Y programing will be a big part of their offerings; the Y I-CAN Achieve curriculum that blends work, service, positive decision making and physical activity will be available to all students.

The school is located near U-M Dearborn and Henry Ford Community College. Dual enrollment will be available at both schools, which could allow students to graduate with a year or two of college credit as well as a high school diploma.

The school is a charter school, which means they do not charge tuition. Enrollment will continue until the class is full.

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Students Experience Work at the Y

The Y is the first job for lots of young people, whether it’s working as a day camp counselor, a lifeguard, or in child watch. At the Macomb YMCA, students from the Pankow Center in L’Anse Creuse  Public Schools have been coming to the Y to get some of their first work experiences for nine years now.
This year’s crop of students,  Marina, Victoria and Elvi, come to the Y four days a week for a little less than an hour a day as part of their regular school day.  They help out with everything from washing, drying and folding towels to cleaning the fitness equipment to assembling mailings. Sometimes they help with events, or work outdoors on the Y’s beautiful, volunteer-maintained gardens.
Betty Peretiatko, who works with them through the school and supervises them at the Y, says that it’s a great way for these young people to get some work experience, and everyone a the Y is very accepting and welcoming of them. They’ve made a great deal of progress through their time at the Y. It’s a good thing for the Y staff, as well, because with the students to help them with more routine tasks they can focus more on serving members. “We have such a great partnership with the Y,” says Betty. “They are observing people at work and out in public, and the Y staff serves as role models for them.”
The students are required to call in if they are sick, and have assigned tasks they are expected to accomplish with minimal direction. It’s clear from observing them they have a strong sense of pride in their work and want to do well. Steve Krankota, membership cordonator for the Macomb Y, says they have become a part of the Y family. As for the students, they wear their Y shirts with pride and look forward to coming there, Betty says.

 

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New Class Gives Kids a Spin

Parents of preschoolers are always looking for ways to channel their boundless energy, especially during the winter months when going to the park isn’t as much of an option.

At the South Oakland Y, Mike Wilcoxon launched a “Rinse and Spin” class for preschoolers. Anyone who’s been to South Oakland more than once knows Mike; he’s been a part of the Y for 15 years, done about every job possible short of running the place, and is especially popular with kids in Childwatch.

Each class begins with playtime, where Mike will teach them a new sports skill. On a recent morning it was bowling; other times it’s been soccer or basketball. Then the kids have a snack, and then it’s off to the pool for a brief swim lesson. Once they’re all dried off and changed, it’s time for more play until the class is over.

The class draws about four or five kids every session. Parents like it because it allows their children to burn off some energy while they work out; children like it because they can try a bunch of different activities. And Mike likes it, he says, because of “the things that come out of their mouths,” he says with a laugh.

Sarah Tereau,whose daughter Irelyn is in the class, says “It’s good to get them physically active, acclimated to different sports and in the water — and I love Mike, I think he does a great job.”

The class runs Mondays and Thursday mornings from 9-11, and registration is required.

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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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Y Gives Three Families a Christmas

One of the greatest ways to honor our loved ones is to continue the good that they did after they are gone. That’s what the family of Sarah Tolbert did this holiday season, after she passed away unexpectedly earlier this year.

Mrs. Tolbert was a tireless volunteer for the Detroit Leadership Academy; principal Julian Roper was like an adopted son to her, and daughter Terri Mial leads programs for the Metropolitan Youth Y. Starting in 2010, Mrs. Tolbert asked Julian to choose a family or two that her family could adopt, instead of over-buying for the children in their own family. This year, as a way to honor their mother, the Tolbert-Mial family adopted one family on their own, and the teens from the MY-Y program adopted two others.

“I don’t know if people have some sort of inkling that there is a last thing they need to do before they aren’t here anymore,” Terri says, “This is something she wanted us to do and we wouldn’t have it another way.”

The teens raised money from a Christmas store at the school where students could buy gifts for their parents, and also through restaurant fundraisers and other activities. Members of Mial’s family also donated goods to the Christmas store to help raise money — her aunt created 10 holiday centerpieces, for example.

The Tolbert-Mial family adopted the Darden family. Not only is their mother working to overcome financial hard times, but she has taken other children into her home who were not being properly cared for. The other families that were adopted were the Anderson family, whose mother is a dedicated volunteer at DLA and very engaged in her children’s education, and the Johnson family, who lost their mother tragically this year and were taken in by their grandmother.

All three families were presented with their gifts at the MY-Y’s Holiday Harvest party, where  the teens and the Tolbert-Mial family could meet the families they helped.

Being able to carry on her mother’s work has been comforting to Terri during her first holiday season without her mother, who she describes as her best friend and the person who taught her about the importance of giving gracefully. “It means a lot to me — if nothing else she taught me to be a giver. She was really, really big on the idea that people who were less fortunate felt important too.”

Giving to others helps her feel connected to her mother, even though she’s no longer here, Terri says. “She was one of matriarchs of my family, and whatever she says pretty much goes,” she says. “I still know what the expectation is, if she’s there or not.  I just know she sees.”

 

 

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Miss Michigan Pays a Visit to Girls on The Run

Girls on the Run are reaching the height of their fall season with their run at Kensington Metropark at 9 a.m. Sunday. About 550 girls in grades 3 through 8 at various school and YMCA-based sites have been training since September to reach their goal of running a 5K, and learning some important lessons along the way.

Girls On The Run’s mission is to educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self respect and healthy living. Girls not only develop the strength to run three miles, but they develop emotional and mental strength as well, and the pride that comes with reaching a goal.

The team at the Lakeshore Family YMCA had a special visitor to one of their final practices before the big run: Miss Michigan Angela Venditti. Her platform is keeping kids off drugs, which fits well with the Girls On The Run mission, so she visited  to talk to the girls about goals, peer pressure and what it’s really like to be Miss Michigan.

She’s a friend of volunteer coach Elizabeth Alloush, who asked her to come and speak to the girls. Angela, who was as glamorous as a pageant winner could be, wore her crown and sash while she chatted with the team. Despite the glitter, she was as warm and friendly to the girls as a big sister. She even let each girl (and a few of the adult coaches!) try on her crown.

One topic she addressed was the importance of setting goals like they did in Girls On The Run. In her case, she said, she really wanted to win Miss Michigan, and entered about 14 local pageants before she made it to the statewide one. Then, she did the Miss Michigan pageant three times before she finally won on her fourth try. She’ll be competing in the Miss America pageant in January.

She also talked about resisting peer pressure, something Girls on the Run talks a lot about as well. “Girls are strong,” she says. “You have to remember how strong you are and that you don’t have to do those things” that friends might pressure them to do. She even ran through a few role-plays with the girls about what they would do if a friend pressured them to do something they knew they shouldn’t.

Another message of Girls on the Run is the importance of positive self image– they talk about unplugging the cord that feeds them messages that tell them they aren’t good enough and plugging in the Girls on The Run cord that does. That’s something Angela endorses as well, and told the girls that setting goals like they did in Girls On The Run can help them believe in themselves. “Sometimes we doubt ourselves and don’t think we can, but when we do the hard work, we know we can,” she told the girls.

Girls On The Run director Jackie Kippen said she was just thrilled to have Miss Michigan visit. “She spent so much time with them, and I think they really liked it,” she said.

Girls On The Run provides positive role models in many ways, and the visit from Miss Michigan was a particularly exciting one for the girls who’ve trained so hard. Mary Jennings, 9, has been a veteran of three Girls on The Run seasons and says she likes the program because it lets her hang out with her friends that she’s made, and it’s made her a better runner. “I like it because we group up and talk with our friends,” she says.

The Girls On The Run spring season starts in March. Stay tuned for more information about the spring run and how to join or coach a team.

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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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Volunteers Build Playground for Y School

We know the Y can do amazing things in the community…and sometimes the community makes the magic. That’s what happened at the YMCA Detroit Innovation Academy, a Y-run charter school for students in kindergarten through 5th grade. Hundreds of volunteers from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services  joined members of the school  community and Y staff to build a playground for the school on a gorgeous fall day last month.

Even more amazing, the colorful, expansive playground was a parking lot at the beginning of the day. It was built with the help of Kaboom!, a nonprofit which partners with community groups to make playgrounds happen in a day’s time.

Once a site for a new playground is chosen and funds are raised, Kaboom works with kids to create a design for their new play space, and they work from their wish list in the final plans.

“It’s not just about the project, it’s the process,” says Josh Carlson of Kaboom! “People who would have never met each other come together to do these things.”

Kaboom! brought the volunteers from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, which encourages its employees to serve the community. Hundreds of them painted  hopscotch and four-square outlines on the pavement, spread woodchips, erected play structures, built benches, and affixed squares to the wall that had been painted by each child at the school to create a beautiful mural.

The school opened this fall in a former KMart, which means they have plenty of space but not a suitable playground until Kaboom! and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services helped make it happen. Principal Lawrence Hood says the new playground will help his students engage their brains for learning while keeping their bodies active. Even more, it will become a gathering spot for the community. “The biggest impact is on the community, to be able to beautify it and have a place where people can not look towards blight, but look toward the bright spots.”

Amazingly, $15,500 for the playground was raised in just 30 days from 150  Y donors.Thanks to their generosity and that of Kaboom! and the Mercedes-Benz volunteers, what once was a dreary stretch of asphalt will be a place to play and make memories for students at the school today and for generations to come.