“In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness.” – Titus 2:7
Commitment To One Another
I really enjoyed listening to the fun banter between staff prior to the start of our Staying Connected call last Friday. I couldn’t help but reflect on the very early days of the pandemic when our community centers were closed and we came together virtually for the first time. It felt so good to see each other, even though it was just on a computer screen. Staff shouted out to one another, and it was comforting to know we were in this together. Being in this together has drawn our organization closer and carried us through the tumult we have faced. Every single comment staff made on the Friday call was to acknowledge the great work of a peer; this has become the norm in our way of work. Yes, we are in this together; our biggest strength is our commitment to one another. It is also our way forward.
Working With School Districts To Serve Students Better
For the past few months, our Y has been engaged with the Tacoma, Clover Park, and Franklin Pierce school districts to solidify a more expansive contractual relationship that would address the needs of the student body and provide us with an additional source of revenue. In addition, as we perfect this model, it could attract more of the school districts we serve. For years, our relationship with schools was solely through the services delivered by YMCA Child Care, YMCA Camp Seymour, and YMCA Center for Community Impact. These three branches were essentially operating independently because they were serving different groups of students – Child Care serving elementary schools, CCI serving middle schools, and Camp Seymour serving across all ages. The school districts saw the different programs all as the YMCA, but we often saw ourselves as separate. It was only when Right At Schools became a serious threat to our organization that we began to truly present ourselves as One Y. When the Franklin Pierce and Peninsula school districts were considering shifting away from our childcare services, it was the totality of our services that prevented them from going with Right At Schools. In Franklin Pierce, it was the presence of CCI in their district. In Peninsula, it was the third grade swim program and the Jamboree offered at the Tom Taylor Y that ultimately dissuaded the administrators from making the change. They were unwilling to let go of all we had to offer. In the case of the Puyallup and Bethel school districts, though, we did not have nearly the presence and impact organizationally, and in both cases, the districts made the change to Right At Schools.
During the current crisis, Tacoma, Clover Park, and Franklin Pierce have reached out to us to help address the needs of their student bodies. This past summer, Child Care and CCI worked closely together to provide programs to Clover Park and Franklin Pierce. Moving into the fall, we are integrating Outdoor Environmental Education and the arts into the menu of program services we are offering to the schools. We have needed to adapt quickly, as the timeline given to us has been short, but the opportunities are significant. Jose Gorospe, Chris Spivey, and Tara Bywater are working closely with Child Care, CCI, and our center teams to integrate our various programs into a more cohesive and uniform delivery of services. This past summer, Kyle Eggenberger and Jake Irish (both from our Mel Korum Y) teamed up with Jessie Banning and the Child Care team to provide the Power Scholars program to a group of Puyallup students. This is another example of a vital service in conjunction with school districts that is part of the collaborative impact, which will be an integral part of this new model.
Finding New Opportunities To Serve The Community
The current crisis has forced us to explore new opportunities and forced us to operate in a different way. We have amazing staff and programs in our organization; packaging them in a way that makes them more accessible to our communities only makes us better. For the past 20 years, Scott and Becca Gjertson have provided a world-class Outdoor Environmental Education program to school districts across Western Washington. Over 11,000 students in 132 different schools have visited Camp Seymour annually to experience this program. Due to the current circumstances, Scott and Becca adapted the OEE program to be included in this new and evolving school relationship. As part of the contract, schools will still plan to have their students visit Camp Seymour to be part of their OEE experience. Working across departments and centers allows us to present ourselves in a more powerful way to the community, making our product more attractive; it also creates new opportunities. As Jose and the team continue to work together, we may discover new efficiencies with staff and other resources, as well as new opportunities such as integrating our virtual platform as a means to expand the reach of the Y.
It is an understatement to say that we are facing violently disruptive forces, but it has been our mindset, from the outset of this crisis, that within this upheaval lies tremendous opportunity. I firmly believe we will come out of this in a stronger position to thrive as an organization. Last week, Brian Flattum described how the virtual platform has evolved over the past 18 months – from delivering exercise classes from someone’s garage to having a first-rate studio inside the Tacoma Center Y, with the ability to livestream from YMCAs all over the country. He added that the concept did not just grow in a linear fashion, but rather it changed over time with contributions from many different people. He concluded that what it is today is not the final product. The same will hold true with our school partnerships; they will evolve and improve as we better understand how to work together as an organization and with our partners. Our mentality is, and has been, that we will press the boundaries and explore all possibilities. When I see Annie Doyle, Michael Marquez, Kenny Aye, and Bruce Caudill working together with marketing and the centers, I know we are on the right track. Our team is committed to breaking the barriers and working together in a way that anything is possible. Our greatest strength is our commitment to each other; our core belief is that we are stronger as One Y. You are the hope for this Y. Thank you.
#StayStrong #StayWithUs