Acknowledging that education is a key component in the development of our youth, the YMCA of Central Massachusetts’ Minority Achievers Program, in collaboration with various corporations, foundations and individual contributors, opens its doors to students throughout Worcester to support them through their high school years. To highlight the achievements of the academic year, we gather to celebrate and pay tribute to the graduating students whose hard work continues the tradition of learning that has involved over 600 students in the city, more than 150 Adult Achievers and over 30 corporations.

2012 Keynote Speaker
Mark Bilotta

Mark P. Bilotta, chief executive officer of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, Inc. since 2006, has 23 years of progressive higher education administration experience, 12 of those years at the senior management level. Since his appointment as CEO, Bilotta has led a strategic and aggressive campaign to position Greater Worcester as a premier destination for undergraduate and graduate students as well as for college and university faculty and staff.

His work supporting teaching and learning has included:

• the expansion of faculty development opportunities through workshops, conferences and a growing Certificate in College Teaching program;
• the launch of an online internship database now used by more than 2,000 Consortium students and almost 400 employers; and
• the coordination of student engagement in Greater Worcester.

The celebration will showcase the work of our Minority Achievers and recognize this year’s program partners.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Program 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Dinner 6:30 pm
$25 per person
(Black Tie Optional)

For Tickets: Contact Amie Cox at
508-755-6101 ext 240

We believe that lasting and personal change can only come

about when we all work together to invest in our kids,

our health and our neighbors.

That’s why, at the Y, strengthening community is our cause.

 Bring anything with a battery or plug to help preserve our environment and help your neighbors at the same time free of charge.

 *There is a $5 disposal fee per item for all computers and crt tv’s and monitors.  All other items are free!

For more information and a list of accepted items visit www.ergrecyclying.com or email nolson@ymcaofcm.org or call (508) 870-1320 X233.

Electronics that we do accept:

• Desktops / Laptop Computers
• Printers / Copiers / Modems
• Servers / Mainframes
• Wires / Cables / Toner / Ink
• Computer Components / Parts / Peripherals
• Telephone Systems / Video Game Systems
• UPS / Video Equipment
• Stereos / Speakers
• Flat Screen Monitors and TV’s
• *CRT Monitors and Tube TV’s* we must charge a $5 environmental surcharge
• Steel Scrap / Ferrous & Non-Ferrous Metals
• Household Appliances

Items that we do not accept:

• Alkaline Batteries
• Button Batteries
• Fluorescent Light Bulbs
• Furniture
• Smoke Detectors
• Microwaves
• Air Conditioners

Healthy Kids Day is the nation’s largest health day for children and families and is capable of bringing more than 700,000 kids and families to more than 1,900 YMCAs across the country this year.

A leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, the Y holds Healthy Kids Day to teach healthy habits and inspire a lifetime love of physical activity through active play.

As part of the initiative, the Y—along with hundreds of thousands of parents and children nationwide—will take on summer by addressing critical gaps in health and education, which cause children to be at risk for childhood obesity and suffer summer learning loss.

The Central Community Branch YMCA will celebrate Healthy Kids Day April 28, with a free community event for children and families ofCentral Massachusetts.

From 11a.m. to 2 p.m., the Y will focus on nutrition, physical activity, safety, and fun! Children along with family members attend the event each year and enjoy craft activities, games, healthy snacks, and visits from local organizations and vendors. There will also be a moon bounce, temporary tattoos, face painting and more.

For more information about Healthy Kids Day at the Central Community Branch call School’s Out Site Directors: Emely Ojeda at 508-655-6101 ext. 263 or Sarah Levy at 508-655-6101 ext.229

The Central Community Branch YMCA is located at766 Main Street,Worcester,MA.

Healthy Kids Day will be celebrated at the Greendale Family Branch YMCA on Friday, May 4, 5:30p.m.- 8:00p.m, and  at Boroughs Family Branch on Saturday, May 5, 11:00a.m.- 2:00p.m.

Read more about the Boroughs Family Branch  Free Computer & Electronic Waste Fundraising Recycling Event. Click Here

The YMCA and the Lance Armstrong Foundation are natural partners.

Read More

The YMCA of Central Massachusetts School Vacation Camp offers affordable and quality vacation time for children during the public school summer break. Kids will enjoy daily recreational and educational activities including swimming, arts & crafts, and fun theme days!

All branches of the Central Massachusetts YMCA will be closed on Easter Sunday April 8th, 2012. All branches will operate on their regular schedule Monday April 9th, 2012

Enjoy the holiday!

12:30-2p

With Jean and Linda

Tickets on sale now at the Welcome Center

$10 members

$15 non-members

Funds raised to support our Annual Fund

In recent years, the Central Community Branch has experienced increased diversity and density within the branch’s 3 mile service radius. In fact, one third of the city’s population lives within a five mile radius of this downtown urban branch.  The immediate service area is more than 60% percent Hispanic/Latino.

This demographic change created a greater opportunity for the branch to engage an emerging population, particularly teens”. The YMCA had made deliberate efforts to embrace all teens with a friendly membership policy, however, it was critical that the branch created specific tactics to recruit, enroll, engage and retain this emerging population.

The Central Community Branch implemented a plan that focused on their Minority Achievers, Y-FIT, and Youth-At- Risk Spartacus programs. The next steps focused on creating the appropriate engagement strategies to meet expected outcomes.  The Y did the following:

• Created partnership with local Hispanic/Latino leadership within our community, particularly the local pastors of churches.
• Collaborated with local Health Care providers who interacted directly with the HL community.
• Created focus group with staff and teens to better understand their needs.
• Implemented “All Staff” meetings, where the branch was closed for an evening, for Diversity & Inclusion training and shared with membership that we were involved in this type of work.
• Reworked staffing and hiring pattern to mirror the community and required at least one person to be bilingual on a membership shift.
• Created bi-lingual welcome extension to support member calling the branch.
• Created a newTeenWellnessCenterto foster building smaller communities within the branch.
• Modified programs to ensure that they had specific culturally appropriate classes for the teen population.
• Created celebratory events to foster dialogue among staff and the teens and family members.
• Created signage in Spanish to improve communication.

While the Y has more work to do, they are encouraged that by providing an atmosphere that is inviting, engaging and inclusive, they will enhance their efforts to strengthen our community.

For more information on the great work of engaging the Latino community in Central MA, contact David Connell at dconnell@ymcaofcm.org or 508-755-6101 ext 223

From:  Youth/Teen “sparks”, March 2012 – ymca.net

Region – Dylan Zickus, 5, volunteers to handle a live Florida king snake during a Jan. 26 presentation by Animal Adventures at the Together We Can Family Network (TWCFN). Children also got a close-up look at an alligator, a chinchilla, and rabbits. Located on Route 85 in Marlborough, TWCFN provides free education and support to area families with young children. The program is administered by the Boroughs Family Branch YMCA in Westborough with funding from the Department of Early Education and Care. For information, call 774-463-0214 or visit www.twcfn.org.

Photo/Ed Karvoski Jr.

READ MORE: http://www.communityadvocate.com/2012/02/23/the-c-a-picture-of-the-day-105/

Rand, whose friends know him as Hank, has lived in North Grafton nearly his entire life, and he has never let life get in the way of what he believes is his true purpose: giving back to children and the community.

“You know, you can’t let grass grow under your feet. If you’re going to be there, you might as well do something,” said Rand at his home in North Grafton.

His awards, medals, certificates and honors for dedication, service and loyalty are too many to count, and the stories that accompany them are too long and numerous for this space.

As we spoke, his awards were spread out over his dining room table in the house in which he lives alone. His son, Wesley, was killed at 15 in an auto accident on Brigham Hill Road. Six years ago, Rand lost his wife, Alice, of 48 years after a long battle with emphysema. She had already overcome pancreatic and ovarian cancer, with her husband by her side every step of the way.

Rand speaks as a man who has come to terms with mortality, having been confronted with it a number of times in his life. It’s not something he dwells on, however, and that is because he’s a man who is truly content with how he has spend his hours, his days, and his years. Instead, Rand focuses his energies on turning every bump in the road into a positive for someone else.

“You either live or you die,” he said. “You either crawl under a bush or something, or you continue to give back to the community. I figured I might as well be productive. It helps me a lot to stay active.”

Back in December, Rand received the Scottish Rite Sovereign Grand Commander’s Distinguished Service Medal, presented to him by John William McNaughton, 33rd-degree Sovereign Grand Commander for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States of America at a ceremony held at the Masonic Center in Worcester.

The award is given at the discretion of the Sovereign Grand Commander and is bestowed upon a deserving Masonic or Scottish Rite brother whom he considers to have rendered “outstanding, distinguished and exemplary service to the Masonic fraternity at large.” Rand is only the third person from Massachusetts to receive the medal.

Rand’s affection for the Masonic Organization began when he joined DeMolay in 1944, when he was just 14 years old. His older brother and cousin were already members of DeMolay, and his parents thought it would be good for him as well.

Almost 68 years later, Rand has never stopped serving others. Over the years he has been actively involved in the Scottish Rite, Melha Temple Shrine and Worcester Country Shrine Club.

He is also very active now with the YMCA of Central Mass, where he has been named volunteer of the year, and also does aerobics and free weights to stay in shape, something he’s managed rather well at his advanced age.

A former expert rifleman in the United States Marine Corps, Rand even completed the Marine Corps Marathon at the age of 63, his first ever marathon.

The Scottish Rite Masons devote a substantial amount of time and resources toward helping and supporting children with dyslexia, a cause that Rand has been at the head of for more than a decade in his efforts to aid children with different disabilities.

In 2000 Rand helped establish the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Central Massachusetts. He served on their board of governors from 2001 through 2011 and held the role of chairman of the board from 2007 through 2011. Throughout the years the center has honored 126 children for their accomplishments.

Those children are the reason Rand stays involved. He’s happy to show off his medals and share the stories behind them, but it’s because he knows the real reward has already been given in bettering to many kids’ lives.

“These are all nice,” Rand said, waving his hand over the awards that commemorate so much of his life. “But the man I want to please is upstairs. That’s where I hope to go some day. “It’s nice to be recognized, but I don’t do it for the medals and the honors and everything. I just do it because I enjoy it. It’s part of my blood.”

And that blood is still pumping with the energy of someone one quarter Rand’s age. His zeal for life is something someone even this writer’s age could envy.

Rand is still active with both the Masons and the YMCA. He’s also got a girlfiend in Walpole who he takes out for dinner every Friday. At nearly 82, he’s never regretted what’s gone wrong in his life. He simply looks ahead and wonders what else he can do to make the lives of those around him better.

“Sometimes it’s a good thing that we don’t know what’s in front of us,” he said. “When it’s all done, and they plant me out in Oxford next to my wife and son, at least I will know that I did the best I could. I think it keeps you young.”

READ MORE: http://www.thedailygrafton.com/neighbors/81-graftons-henry-rand-never-stops-giving