Get Involved as a YMCA Volunteer
At the YMCA, your time and talent go a long way. Every hour you spend as a YMCA volunteer
translates into the caring attention a child or teen needs to grow up healthy and resilient. It translates into support for
families so they can be successful and strong. Into healthier lives for people of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and incomes.
Into a safer, more viable community that's a good place to live and work.
YMCAs are first and foremost
volunteer organizations. To put it in perspective, not every YMCA has a building, but every YMCA has volunteers. All 2,617
YMCAs are volunteer-founded, volunteer-based, and volunteer-led. Local volunteers establish YMCAs-not the YMCA of the USA-and
local volunteers run YMCAs, continually ensuring that YMCAs are meeting the unique needs of their communities. Volunteers
are at the heart of every YMCA and that is why YMCAs are at the heart of community life in more than 10,000 communities nationwide.
From helping Civil War troops more than a century ago to international disaster relief efforts today, YMCAs are one of the
nation's leading volunteer organizations.
As a YMCA volunteer, you can lead an exercise class, read to a preschool class, coach
a basketball team, cook for a bake sale, design a program brochure, greet people at the front desk, find items for an auction,
serve as a role model for young people, help out in the office or at a special event, or be part of a group or committee working
on a neighborhood problem. No matter how you help, you'll make a big difference as you work with others to create a feeling
of connectedness in your community.
The basic definition of a YMCA volunteer is "anyone who willingly gives time to
help the YMCA accomplish its mission without getting paid by the YMCA." In the Y movement.
Please note that young people can
serve in all of the above capacities as long as, like adults, they have the proper skills, training and supervision.
To
solve the problems closest to home-or better yet-prevent them-the YMCA needs more people like you. Do something good. Volunteer
at the YMCA.
Become a YMCA Member
Looking to get involved with our
local YMCA? Why not call the Y to get a personal tour?
Once you become a YMCA member, you're setting
yourself on a lifelong
journey of healthy spirit, mind and body. You're becoming part of an association that does everything from child
care to health and fitness to youth development to the arts and humanities, and much, much, more. As a YMCA member, you have
many benefits but you have some responsibilities, too. You will be asked to get involved and be a champion for the YMCA values
of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. You may be asked to volunteer or contribute to the Y's annual support campaign
that underwrites membership assistance for those who cannot afford the full fees. The YMCA involves members in offering their
time, talent and treasure, for the greater good. Become more involved!
