Monday Mission Update: 2018 in Review

December 31, 2018

As we close out 2018, it seems fitting to look back over the past twelve months with pride and provide our “Best of the Y” list for your reading pleasure.  In no particular order, and with the obvious caveat that I’m leaving out a ridiculous number of great things, here we go!

• We formally launched the Y’s “Invest in Baltimore’s Future” Capital Campaign, designed to expand and enrich our already deep commitment to the city’s children, youth, families and seniors.  We’ve already raised over $14 million in capital and operating support for three important projects: in partnership with St. Agnes Hospital, a new Y in Southwest Baltimore on the former Cardinal Gibbons site; a significant investment in and upgrade to the historic Druid Hill Y in West Baltimore; and a major upgrade to the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Y in the Waverly neighborhood of East Baltimore.  We currently have around $ 8 million in “asks” outstanding (and understanding that we all but certainly won’t secure all of that amount), and enter 2019 with a great deal of momentum and enthusiasm, fueled by the dynamic duo, our Capital Campaign co-chairs, Bonnie Phipps and Tom Brandt!
   
• Given the early progress of our capital campaign, we were able to start making significant improvements to the Weinberg Y in Waverly.  As we close out the year, we’re proud to have completely transformed the main floor of the building, adding two multi-purpose rooms, with one specifically focused on teens and seniors; relocating and expanding Stay & Play; building a beautiful new family room; relocating the steps down to the lower floor; and moving the associate offices.  Stay tuned for coming attractions in 2019, as work continues down in the locker room area and, hopefully, beyond!
   
• Speaking of improvements, you should check out the great new entrance we just completed at the Greater Annapolis Y in Arnold! It provides much easier access (no going up and down stairways to enter the building and walk to the fitness floor), a new elevator right up front (to help navigate a three story building), and a relocated Stay & Play. Work will continue in the new year, with the addition of a fireplace, the construction of another multi-purpose room, a new family room, and relocated associate offices. 
   
• In an effort to provide more and better outdoor environments for our camp program, we struck up partnerships with both the Boy Scouts (at Camp Spencer in Harford County) and Camp Puh’tok (in Northern Baltimore County) in 2018.  With these partnerships, we are now able to offer expanded residential camping opportunities for young people, as well as unique day camp opportunities in beautiful outdoor settings, replete with horses, canoes, hiking paths, and much, much more!
   
• We continued to grow our youth development programming, focusing our impact on our core strategies of closing the achievement gap, improving well-being, strengthening family engagement and whole child development. To name just a few of our myriad youth development programs, we ended the year with 14 Community Schools programs and over 900 mentoring relationships.  Our work in early childhood development (Head Start and preschool), before and after school enrichment, summer enrichment and camp, Youth and Government, Leaders Club, youth sports, swim lessons, etc. allowed us to positively impact the lives of over 130,000 young people across central Maryland.  We consider that both a gift and a significant responsibility.   
   
• Over the summer, we opened the new Y Training Center, providing badly needed training space for all Y associates and a consolidated office space for 50+ youth development associates working primarily in Baltimore City.  In space built out from the former Seton Keough high school on South Caton Avenue, we now have the ability to bring together much larger groups of associates and volunteers to learn, interact and continuously improve.  We also finally have a single space for those associates who support those working across the city in Head Start, School Partnerships, and Big Brothers Big Sister at the Y.  Lots of people deserve credit for making this happen, but the lion’s share of the credit goes to the Y’s Chief Financial & Administrative Officer Sherrie Rovnan, who not only negotiated the lease, but oversaw all of the improvements with her usual diligence, high standards and sense of urgency. 
   
• We greatly accelerated our volunteer and civic engagement work, under the able and incredible leadership of Eric Somerville, reaching over 6,500 people across the region for whom the Y is an essential platform for them to serve their community.
   
• Once again, had a record turnout at the Y’s Turkey Trot Charity 5K, with over 15,000 runners, walker, dogs and volunteers turning out on a very cold (I prefer to use the word “crisp”) Thanksgiving morning and helping us raise over $850,000 to do this work.

And, most importantly, we’re positively impacting the well-being of more people, families and communities than ever before.  Over 300,000 people, in fact.  That’s what it’s really all about.  So, a big THANK YOU to the over 3,100 associates, 6,500 volunteers, thousands of donors and our whole community for making 2018 a great year in the Y!

All the best,

John

John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland