Growing Good Kids at the Y

We know from experience that programs designed to support the development of the whole child (body, mind, and spirit) keep kids engaged. Every day, thousands of Y kids receive academic support and enjoy choosing from a multitude of activities designed to support their development as artists, writers, dancers, chess players, legislators, scientists... contributing and valuable citizens of this amazing world we live in. Young people vote with their feet. If they don't like or value an Out-of-School-Time (OST) program, they won't attend. Even in our most at-risk communities, the Y's programs consistently maintain a 90% attendance rate.

The places, opportunities, and relationships that young people experience in their families, schools, communities, youth programs and religious congregations provide the foundation on which youth develop.

If these settings support and stimulate development, as well as provide appropriate boundaries and limits, children and youth will most likely grow into healthy and productive adults. When youth don't experience positive, supportive relationships, places, and opportunities, the chances increase that they will get involved with unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol and other drug use, school problems, and violence. The Y, in partnership with the Search Institute, believes that purposeful and intentional OST programs build assets in young people.

Traditionally, policy-makers, funders, and program planners have considered the role and impact of youth programs from a problem-focused perspective (ie.delinquency, teen pregnancy, etc.) The asset-building approach is grounded in the literature on "risk and resiliency". The Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development reports that participation in comprehensive youth development programs can lead to reduction in high-risk behaviors and promotion of pro-social behaviors.

The framework of developmental assets is grounded in extensive research on child and adolescent development, resiliency, health promotion, disease prevention and public health. Numerous researchers have found that assets provide strength for children and youth. In addition, through surveys of almost 2 million young people from all types of communities and cultures, Search Institute has found consistently that the more assets young people have the better.

For instance, the more assets young people have, the more likely they will grow up to be caring, competent, responsible adults. The more assets young people have, the better their chances for contributing to society and finding a meaningful purpose in life. On average, young people with more assets:

· Engage in fewer negative, high-risk behaviors, such as using drugs and alcohol or having premarital sex
· Exhibit more positive behaviors, such as succeeding in school, assuming leadership roles and valuing diversity
· Demonstrate resilience in the face of challenges, stresses and difficult situations

The challenge that the Y and communities face is that, according to the most current Search Institute research, the average young person has about 19 of the 40 assets in his or her life. Our job is to continually refine what has been proven to work and continually look for ways to build upon successes to give these young people the support they need.
OST programs are an effective means of delivering this support.

Given our leadership in this effort and clear successes, the Y of Central Maryland is committed to deepening our investment in after school programming. In fact, increased after school programming is a centerpiece of our long term plan.

You too can be an asset builder! Each of us has the opportunity and responsibility to “grow” the next generation. Consider the many ways that you can intentionally reach out to young people. It can be as simple as addressing a young person by their name and engaging in conversation. Or go deeper…and volunteer in the Y’s Building Future’s mentoring program. For more information, call Michelle Cuebas at 410-728-0945.

Posted by Chris Ader-Soto, Senior Vice President of Family and Youth Asset Development, Y of Central Maryland

The Third Place

You may have heard the term “third place” bandied about in this or other Y blogs, and you may be a bit confused or befuddled by it. Allow me to provide some context and an explanation, if I might.

According to this generation’s encyclopedia – Wikipedia – the “third place”…

… is a term used in the concept of community building to refer to social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home and the workplace. In his influential book The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg (1989, 1991) argues that third places are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place.

Oldenburg calls one's "first place" the home and those that one lives with. The "second place" is the workplace — where people may actually spend most of their time. Third places, then, are "anchors" of community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction. All societies already have informal meeting places; what is new in modern times is the intentionality of seeking them out as vital to current societal needs. Oldenburg suggests these hallmarks of a true "third place": free or inexpensive; food and drink, while not essential, are important; highly accessible: proximate for many (walking distance); involve regulars – those who habitually congregate there; welcoming and comfortable; both new friends and old should be found there.

Well, that idea of an “anchor of community life” is the very definition of what we work to make your family center Y be. I often tell people that a Y is really a community center providing healthy, active and positive opportunities for all. That’s why we have spent so much time in the past few years rethinking our programming and spaces – and why we’ve made and continue to make significant changes to our design and programs.

Consider this. All of our new and renovated Ys have and will have family rooms. They have teen and senior spaces. They are designed to foster interaction – not the walling off – of people. We want families to be able to come to the Y together and participate in activities together while they’re there. Of course, if they want, we want family members to have the option of choosing different activities based on individual interests and ages, but to be able to do so at the same time. We want people of all shapes, sizes, ages, races, interests, beliefs, orientations, etc. to see the Y as a comfortable, inviting, friendly place where those differences don’t really matter.

On a visceral level, a Y membership is about belonging in a time when people have fewer and fewer places where they feel they truly belong. The feeling of belonging is something that you just feel in your gut. “I fit here. I am welcomed and accepted.” It’s also a fluid and dynamic thing. In the beginning it might be about losing weight or staying in shape. As time goes on, it will hopefully come to mean more:

· connecting with other members and being a more engaged part of your community
· knowing your neighbors
· learning new things and challenging yourself
· reinforcing who you are as a human being
· feeling a part of something bigger and more important than just you
· being rewarded for giving back
· demonstrating your values to your children, friends and neighbors
· improving in spirit, mind and body
· strengthening your family unit
· volunteering and giving back to the community at large

As a result of an on-going, long term commitment to one’s health and well-being (in the broadest sense of that term), an opportunity for on-going relationships (with other Y members, staff and volunteers) occurs. While for most, the initial motive for becoming a member is self-focused; as members’ lives are impacted (in spirit, mind and body), they become far more focused on giving back and investing in their community. Because membership in the Y of Central Maryland is available to all, regardless of age, race, religion, gender, income or any other difference that may divide us, Y membership is a crucial asset that keeps one connected with the larger community.

As such, we are working to move our programming beyond the “body” (what is currently most commonly understood to be part of a Y membership – fitness, aquatics, group exercise, basketball, etc.) to include programming aimed at developing the “mind” (book, chess and travel clubs) and “spirit”(parenting classes, meditation, etc.). It seeks to accomplish all of that within the context of a community-enhancing model – i.e. bringing people together around common interests who may have never known each other if it wasn’t for the Y. In the end, the member’s experience becomes fuller and more meaningful.

Join us.

Yours in Community,
John

Posted by John K. Hoey, President & CEO, Y of Central Maryland

Way to Go Michelle!

Upon the release of The Whitehouse Taskforce on Childhood Obesity’s report, First Lady Michelle Obama stated, “For the first time, the nation will have goals, benchmarks and measureable outcomes that will help us tackle the childhood obesity epidemic one child, one family and one community at a time.”

Given the fact that over the past quarter century the obesity rate for children has doubled (and tripled for adolescents), it’s critical to treat this issue as the serious epidemic it has become. The long term risks to our youth are significant given that obese young people are more likely than children of normal weight to become overweight or obese adults, and therefore more at risk for associated adult health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer and osteoarthritis. Additionally, obese children are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.

So why has youth obesity become a major epidemic? While we can debate the influence of a multitude of contributing factors, we can clearly isolate two key issues:

· Poor Nutritional Choices: This is the “supersize” generation, consuming large portion sizes of high fat, high sugar foods and beverages.

· Limited Physical Activity: Kids today simply aren’t using their bodies like children of previous generations. Video games, technology and general conveniences of modern day life make spontaneous physical activity less likely for our current (and future) generation of youth. In his book, Getting Physical, Art Turock writes, “If when we were born, our bodies came with an owners manual, its basic message would be three words long, and that message would be, ‘use it regularly.’” In other words our bodies are made to be used—the more we use it, the better it functions, the less we use it, the more likely it will malfunction.

To blame our children for these habits would be to side-step our own responsibility. We know that environmental factors are key to the habits (good and bad) that we develop. As a society we’ve essentially said its okay for companies to target kids with their high fat, high sugar products. We’ve created urban environments with little or no green space and sidewalks. We’ve allowed our schools to limit or totally cut physical education while serving high fat foods in the school cafeteria.

In order to right some of these wrongs, the Task Force, under First Lady Obama’s leadership, has made important recommendations that if adopted, will help to reverse this alarming trend. The ultimate goal of the plan is to reduce the incidence of childhood obesity from the current 32 percent to a rate of 5 percent within one generation (for more information, visit letsmove.gov)

The Y of Central Maryland will continue to provide a wide variety of ways to help children and their families enjoy the benefits of a healthy active lifestyle: from parent/child programs to specially designed youth fitness classes; from swim lessons and sports programming to fun, traditional camping activities. Visit our website or ask one of staff for more detail on the dozens of opportunities to help Central Maryland accomplish the First Lady’s goals—Today!

Posted by Bob Brosmer, Chief Operating Officer, Y of Central Maryland