YMCA Blast by the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati

YMCA Of Greater Cincinnati Is Fostering Resiliency In Students Through New Mentoring Program

The YMCA of Greater Cincinnati has a long history of fostering resiliency, life skills and character values in young people. Now we are taking engagement a step further with our all new YMCA Mentoring Program different in how it supports volunteers, involves parents, and empowers youth. The Program makes Hamilton County one of six regions nationwide chosen to replicate the successful Building Futures program developed by the San Francisco YMCA.

With adult role models committed to teaching good decision making in young people, our site-based YMCA Mentoring Program will nurture students ages 6 to 18 and will focus on outcomes such as improving academic performance, an improved relationship with his/her primary caregiver, and more positive behavior. YMCA mentors will meet with their mentees weekly for a year either at their local YMCA branch (they will have free use of the branches during their visits together) or at the student’s school.

A key feature of the program is the inclusion of parents from involvement in the youth application process to communication with the adult volunteer. Unique to YMCA Mentoring, youth will be empowered by developing with assistance a ‘goal plan’ that includes age appropriate career exploration and giving back by participating with their mentor in service learning projects.

Important to the success of our Program is support for mentors. We will provide 15 hours of training over four weeks in understanding cultural/social development, youth culture, risk factors, and more; ongoing support by a YMCA mentoring coordinator and the YMCA Mentoring Resource Center; and optional monthly mentor support meetings.
 
Students served in our YMCA Mentoring Program attend a CincyAfterSchool site managed by the YMCA (for Westwood Elementary, Mt. Airy Elementary, Riverview East or the Skyline Community Center) or participate in our YMCA Black & Latino Achievers college readiness program at Hughes High School, Academy of Multilingual Immersion Studies or Withrow International.

Upcoming orientations on learning more about becoming a YMCA mentor will be at the Melrose YMCA (2840 Melrose Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45206) on:

Wednesdays – Sept. 1, 8 or 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Or
Saturdays – Sept. 11 or 18 from 9:30 a.m. until Noon

To register or to learn more, please call 513-246-3230.

YMCA Mentoring is funded by a federal grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Other regions also selected include Oakland, Phoenix, Nashville and Baltimore.

It's A BRAND New Day At The YMCA Of Greater Cincinnati

It’s a BRAND new day for the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati and its 16 branches. For the first time in 43 years the area’s largest nonprofit that engages more than 125,000 people in youth development, healthy living and social responsibility has an all new brand strategy aimed clarifying its benefits and furthering its capacity to impact.

The strategy includes a new bold, active and welcoming logo that more accurately reflects who the YMCA has always been:  a vibrant, caring association of diverse people who are passionate about strengthening the foundations of the community. The graphic emphasizes the ‘Y’ in the organization’s name just as the YMCA embraces friendships and mentoring in its relationships between staff, volunteers, members, participants and community partners.

Included in the strategy is an emphasis on the YMCA’s three key areas of focus –

1.    Youth Development – because children and teens need caring adults to provide support, guidance and encouragement as they grow

2.    Healthy Living – because wellness in spirit, mind and body strengthens our very being and enhances our interactions with others

3.    Social Responsibility – because we truly are in this together and together we can harness our individual strengths and bring about positive change around us

“The Y is and always will be dedicated to building healthy, confident, connected and secure children, adults, families and communities,” said Sandy Walker, YMCA of Greater Cincinnati president and CEO.  “Our new brand strategy helps us more clearly share our story, and ultimately enhance our ability to inspire positive change in our kids, our communities’ health and our neighborhoods.”

The new YMCA brand is a national change that is the result of more than two years of analysis and research by the YMCA of the USA. Locally, all of the branches will begin to incorporate the changes now with the transition completed by the end of 2011.

Cincinnati Kids With Autism Have Camp Fun At Clippard Family YMCA

The Clippard Family YMCA is offering a summer of fun enrichment for all kids – including kids who have autism.

The Colerain Township based branch offers two types of camp options for children aimed at helping them to succeed and have fun.

Option 1:  This is a specialized camp where children receive 2:1 child to staff ratio, receive 1:1 instruction, sensory breaks and fun summer activities. In this camp, campers with autism are included with the other campers once a week for an activity.

Option 2: The second option is Clippard’s inclusion camp. This camp is mixed directly into the regular summer camp. Children on the autism spectrum participate with a trained therapist and do everything that their peers do. They are also working on social skills, classroom skills and academics.

Children who have autism receive ABA (applied behavior analysis) and sensory integration. The Clippard Family YMCA also offers optional speech therapy and occupational therapy on-site.

As with all YMCA of Greater Cincinnati branch day camps, weekly sessions continue through August. For information on the programs for kids with autism at the Clippard Family YMCA, please contact them at 513-923-4466. To find a YMCA branch camp near you, please click on one of the links in the right column.

Cincinnati's Local12 ran a story on the Clippard Family YMCA camp for kids with autism

YMCA Healthy Kids Day ... A Fun Day For Families

On April 17, YMCAs across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky - in partnership with community resources - hosted free wellness fairs for families to play and learn about living healthy. Below are just a few photos from the Blue Ash YMCA.