YMCA of CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS

Did you know that some of our Board Members and staff are also talented musicians? We are excited to have musician, Steve Schuster, on our Board of Directors, as well as vocalist, Sharon Henderson, as our Marketing and Communications Director. Please enjoy reading the full Worcester Magazine article featuring Steve Schuster’s new album, “Unassembled Man”, with backing vocals by Sharon Henderson. (An excerpt is below)

Learn more about Steve Schuster on his website HERE.

‘Unassembled Man’ assembled: Steve Schuster gets all Beatlely and personal on new disc.

Article in the Worcester Magazine
By Craig S. Semon
Telegram & Gazette Staff

“…Schuster, who is the YMCA of Central Massachusetts’ board of directors, asked Sharon Henderson, director of marketing and communications at the YMCA of Central Massachusetts, to sing soulful background vocals.”

Read more

In a virtual oversight hearing of the State Legislature’s Joint Committee on Education, speakers painted a picture of anxiety and financial strife among providers and parents alike as the state reopens after a tumultuous few months. Social distancing precautions, concerns over safety, staffing and capacity, and severe levels of COVID-19-related layoffs and furloughs across the state have left many facilities facing insurmountable revenue losses and families with fewer child care options.

“Things are going to look different now,” said Dottie Williams, whose Ms. Dottie’s NeighborSchool in Dorchester serves children between five months and 4 years old. “Ms. Dottie’s going to have a mask on, a shield on. But children are very, very creative when you’re creative with them, and they will adjust.”

Williams told lawmakers she’s asking parents to send children with teddy bears; the kids hug their bears and she hugs hers — creating a bond that helps blunt the “social and emotional impact” of a pandemic that’s seen safety precautions limit physical touch.

Several leaders of nonprofits — many of them shuttered by Gov. Charlie Baker in March aside from those offering emergency services to the children of essential workers and first responders — told lawmakers that an expansion of subsidies through the Department of Early Education and Care would help more families cover tuitions, improve access and keep facilities afloat. Nearly every speaker said child care professionals and advocates should have a seat at the table as policies on early childhood education and child care are formed.

“I’ve heard fear anger, confusion and alienation, but the most important thing I heard was resilience,” Sarah Sian, executive director of the Open Center for Children in Somerville and president-elect of the Massachusetts Association for the Education of Younger Children, testified. “The people working in the classroom and educating the children have incredible wisdom. We need to continue to be heard.”

Sian said the Open Center faces a “devastating financial future” due to coronavirus.

After considering a host of options including layoffs, furloughs, reduced hours and tuition cuts, the two-classroom nonprofit re-opened on June 29 at half capacity and slightly reduced hours, while maintaining all seven full-time teachers, several assistants and other staff. But they’re still on an unsustainable path and expect to lose about $20,000 to $25,000 monthly.

Many child care facilities are reopening with signifiant uncertainty about capacity and needs because “the way things are shifting in the way people are working. We may not know what this is going to look like,” Sian added.

She said a “huge infusion of public relief dollars dedicated to the child care industry” was vital, and “in the long term, the child care industry needs to be reimagined and restructured,” and “available to everyone without undue financial burden.”

Jynai McDonald, the family child care coordinator for the Service Employees International Union 509, said some providers are considering remaining closed due to increased operating expenses and an inability to maintain a steady income amid concerns of exposure or a potential surge in COVID-19 cases.

While many facilities have received grants and funding through coronavirus relief packages approved by Congress and the state, McDonald said the “current business model for family child care providers still needs to be re-examined.”

McDonald called for the state to offer providers $30,000 in annual income to cover basic operating costs. She noted that 90% of family child care providers are women-owned, and more than half are women of color.

“It’s a matter of equity. We have to invest more in early education and recruit and retrain, especially family child care educators,” she said. “Families who work in low-wage jobs are almost always employed in industries where they can’t work remotely. Child care needs to work for families who have to return to work.”

Companies that can offer remote working are seeing 30% to 40% of employees planning to stay home amid the pandemic, according to J.D. Chesloff, executive director of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable.

“You’re going to see competition amongst employees around benefits like you do now, but focused on remote working,” said Chesloff, who also pushed for a public, high-quality early education system.

The pandemic has inspired a “greater realization by a broader sector of the population how critical and important high quality child care is, whether you have a child or not, it has an impact on society’s ability to function,” Peisch said. “We hope that gives us momentum to make changes that we’ve known for some time have to be made.”

School districts in the K-12 public education system have access to state contracts for personal protective equipment, something that may also benefit child care providers, Peisch noted.

We missed you! It’s been hard to be away from the people we care about but thank you for persevering and doing your part to stay safe and stop the spread of coronavirus.

Our doors may have been closed, but the Y hasn’t stopped serving the community. We’ve been hard at work providing emergency child care services to children of essential workers, preparing and distributing food and checking in on our neighbors.

We’ve been carefully planning to resume membership operations and reactivate key programs in the safest manner possible so you can access the services and support you miss and need the most. We’re following guidance from health experts and local officials to determine the best way to serve everyone in our community as your safety and well-being is our top priority.

The way we’ll interact with each other will be different, but at the Y, you’ll always be able to connect with people, improve your health and wellness, nurture your children’s potential and help strengthen our community.

Please find more reopening information and details HERE

We had BIG plans for our 30th Annual YMCA Golf Classic; after all, it’s the Diamond Anniversary. This year is certainly not what anyone expected, but our YMCA community is strong and resilient. As a mark of our strength and the opportunity to re-connect with our Executive Leaders and Annual Campaign Chair, we invite you to join us on July 27th at Pleasant Valley Country Club – we’ll deliver a one-of-a-kind experience in support of our important community work.

Learn more about the 30th Annual YMCA Golf Classic HERE

A note from our President and CEO, David Connell:

Good Evening:

As we come to the close of another month, I wanted to share my perspective on some of the “Responders” during COVID-19. However, a few minutes ago, I received this email from Paula Perrier, Director of Child Development Services at The Sarah and Richard Hardy YMCA Child Development Center in Southbridge. I believe that Paula’s words amplifies the outstanding work that will continue in the days and weeks ahead.  Thank you Paula and Team.

Paula wrote:

(Please share with anyone I might have missed!)

It’s nearly closing time on June 30, 2020.  A cloudy and rainy, but warm afternoon here in Southbridge and we can all finally take a deep breath and exhale, knowing that today is Day #69 for us here at the Sarah and Richard Hardy YMCA Child Development Center.  Sixty nine days providing emergency childcare to the children of parents who had to go to work at essential positions during the COVID-19 pandemic; 14 long weeks!  It was a much sadder good bye than I had predicted.  Many of our children had climbed into our hearts and will be greatly missed as they too, return to their new normal.  The best thing about today is knowing so many of our “old” friends will return to our care next week.  Zooming with our families and seeing so many of our children certainly made us long for their return. But, we will miss our new “emergency” friends and their families.

We remained healthy.  We remained safe.  We were apprehensive at first, forging unchartered waters.  There were so many things that we did not know about this virus; but we learned together and we also learned our own strength to be resilient and creative. We stretched ourselves in order to be able to do what we do best; provide quality education and care to children. I can delightedly report that we all  did it!  This period will always remain with me as one of the greatest successes in my many years.  Children were safely cared for while their parents went to work each day knowing their children were in a good place.  We played, we learned, and we got to know new friends. We smiled, we laughed, and we practiced “physical” distancing, while never allowing ourselves to  become “socially” distant.   I cannot thank the educators ( and administrators) who stepped up and answered this call.  Thank you to our TCY emergency staff and thank you to our brothers and sisters from the other YMCA of Central  branches who did the same in their communities. Thank you to our supervisors and the continued support they readily offered us all. Truly, this was a YMCA team effort.

I am very proud to work alongside all of you!

Good luck on your reopening! We all should be experts by now!

– Paula

Paula A. Perrier

Director of Child Development Services

The Sarah and Richard Hardy YMCA Child Development Center

115 Marcy Street

Summer Meals Home Delivery for Worcester Residents!

Monday – Friday
11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Beginning Monday, July 6th, 2020

July 6 – August 28
2 meals per child per day
(Meals for Saturday & Sunday delivered on Fridays)

The YMCA is delivering meals to your doorstep this summer!
Contact us and we’ll add you to the list! 

Email [email protected]
or call 774- 530- 1647

When you call or email please include:
– Your Last Name
– Your Address
– Number of children 17 years & under in your house

download summer meals pdf flyer