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April 2015Newsletter
The MAP
Early-Ed Advocacy Day
Y-Mass News
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Child Protection
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List of Contents
 Youth Drug Abuse Prevention Series
 Early Education Advocacy Day
 Y-Mass News
 YMCA Advocates Action Network
 Child Protection
 Olympic Day
 Massachusetts Veterans' Services
 Boston Regional Training Event April/May
 Department of Public Health Town Hall
Meetings
Olympic Day
MA Veterans' Services
Regional Training Event
DPH Town Halls
Stay Connected
Join Our Mailing List
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The Massachusetts Project
Youth Drug
Abuse
Prevention
Speaker
Series
As you know,
the Alliance
teamed up
with The Herren Project to provide the Athol,
Greater Boston, Pittsfield, and Springfield YMCAs
with the opportunity to offer a speaking series to
prevent youth drug abuse.
The results are phenomenal and we're proud to
have been the catalyst for engaging communities
and youth around such an important topic.
Please visit our Twitter page for wide coverage on
the series' impact and locations. We look forward
to providing Ys with more opportunities to engage
communities and discuss topics everyone should
be talking about.
Early Education Day at the State
House
On April 8th the Alliance of Massachusetts YMCAs,
Methuen YMCA, Massachusetts Association of Early
Education and Care, MA Cares for Kids, sponsored
Early Education Day at the State House. Over
500 early education and after-school providers
attended, and advocated to their legislators on the
importance of quality care, workforce
development, and access.
Luisa Perez Jimenez, a child care teacher from
Methuen YMCA, closed the rally with a wonderful
testimony.
Y-Mass News!
South Shore
YMCA Safe
Kids
The South Shore
YMCA has
launched its
Safe Kids Website to promote its commitment to
child safety! There's a calendar showcasing 30 ways
to promote Child Well Being during April, which is
Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Resources are available and ideas for other Ys to
create similar sites are plenty, so check it out!
Boston Marathon
Are you or your members running the Boston
Marathon? Invite them to the YMCA of Greater
Boston's Finish Line Party celebrating the 2015
marathon team!
Monday April 20, 2015
2:30-6:30 PM
Huntington Ave YMCA
316 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115
YMCA members will have access to facilities and
celebratory reception for their friends and families
who can meet them at the Huntington Ave Y.
Runners and guests do not need to belong to the
YMCA of Greater Boston but must be a Y member
and must register by
emailing [email protected]
All reception guests must pre-register.
Contact the Greater Boston Y for more
information.
YMCA Housing
If your Y has Housing programs or facilities, please
contact us!
We're putting together a network to connect Housing
personnel in Massachusetts YMCAs.
MA House Budget
The Massachusetts House of Representatives' Budget
will be released this Wednesday. Please be on the
lookout for emails from the new Massachusetts
Advocates Action Network asking you to call
legislators in support of amendments to the budget
next week.
Join the YMCA Advocates Action
Network
National Advocacy Days may have ended, but that
doesn't mean our advocacy work is over! The YMCA
Advocates Action Network website includes the
latest news and updates, Twitter posts, action alerts,
photo streams and stories related to advocacy.
If you haven't done so already, join the Action
Network here!
Child Protection
Child Protection Task Force
During the last legislative session, the YMCA lead
the issue of creating a Child Sexual Abuse
Prevention Task Force. We are pleased to let you
know the legislation passed and the task force has
been formalized. Peter R. Doliber has been invited
by the Governor to serve on the task force.
Overview of Youth Protecting Legislation
As part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month the
Alliance would like you to be aware of the legislation
that has been filed to protect children. Click here to
view the list.
If you have any questions please contact Kate-Marie
[email protected] or 978-2372021.
Massachusetts Citizens for Children' SafeChild Standards (MassKids)
MassKids has asked us to share the following
information with youMasskids announced the release of "Sexual Abuse
Safe-Child Standards," its latest resource to help
youth-serving organizations strengthen their capacity
to protect the children and youth they serve from
sexual abuse. The 24-page document identifies six
core standards with accompanying action steps to
help organizations meet each standard.
Research shows that to truly confront the problem of
sexual abuse and implement lasting changes,
organizations need both to educate their personnel,
participants and parents about child sexual abuse
prevention, and also implement policies and codes of
conduct that work to support prevention. Download
the "Safe-Child Standards" that builds on MassKids'
previous work.
Olympic Day at Your Y!
Commemorating the birth of the modern Olympic
Games, Olympic Day is not only a celebration, but an
international effort to promote fitness and well-being
in addition to the Olympic ideals of Fair Play,
Perseverance, Respect and Sportsmanship.
This year, organizations can host an Olympic Day
celebration between May 31-July 1, 2015.
Communities across the U.S. will celebrate Olympic
Day through educational programming and other
activities and may also include Olympic Day as part
of a pre-existing event.
We encourage your Ys to host an event in your
community in the month of June. Tag Olympic Day
onto the event to make it bigger!
Resources such as physical tool kits and virtual
seminars headed by the United States Olympic
Committee are available. In addition, the US Olympic
Committee will work with 10,000 Olympians and
Paralympians to find an athlete to potentially attend
your event!
 Some event ideas to host:
o Fun Run
o 5k Run
o Mini-Olympics
o Sport Clinics
o Day Camp Theme/Events
o Olympic Art
o Olympic Trivia
o Torch Relay
o Obstacle Courses
To register an event for Olympic Day,
visitwww.TeamUSA.org/OlympicDay, click on "Host
Registration" and follow the on-screen prompts and
questionnaire.
Once completed, you are registered to host an
Olympic Day celebration in your community!
Massachusetts Veterans' Services
Please share this information about Veterans'
Services with all Y staff, members and family
members!
Veterans seeking support in a crisis or general
resource and benefits navigation, should contact the
Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services
Statewide Advocacy for Veterans Empowerment
(SAVE) Program. SAVE helps veterans and their
families navigate federal, state and local resources to
ensure successful outcomes at home. SAVE can be
reached at 617-2105743 or [email protected].
For more general information regarding benefits and
resources for veterans and their families in
Massachusetts please go
to www.massvetsadvisor.org.
Regional Training Event
Located at the Constitution Inn, Boston's Spring
Regional Training Event will begin April 27
 Become a Trainer!
o Do you have a passion for a specific Y
Training or topic?- Become a trainer
and help others learn and grow!
 Click here for more info or email
Dave Morrone
 Leadership Competency
o Intro to Listen First
o Facilitation Skills & Trainer Course
o Leading & Coaching others!
 Multi-Team/Branch Leader
o Project Management & Trainer Course
 Team Leader
o Intro to Fiscal Management
o Intro to Leading Others
o Intro to Volunteerism
 Aquatics
o YSL & Trainer Course
 Healthy Living
o Healthy Living Principals
o Foundations of Group Ex & Trainer
Course
 Membership
o Creating the Member Experience
o Keys to Member Engagement
 And More!
Department of Public Health Town
Hall Meetings
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health
wants to hear from you about how it can improve
services to families, women, children and youth,
including children and youth with special needs.
Friday, May 1
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Moakley Center Auditorium
Bridgewater State University
100 Burill Ave. Bridgewater, MA
Webinar link
Tuesday, May 5
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Kittredge Center (KC 301/303)
Holyoke Community College
303 Homestead Ave. Holyoke, MA
Webinar link
If you can't attend the meetings and choose to
attend via the webinar a survey is provided to record
opinions and needs.
Sincerely,
Your Alliance
Alliance of Massachusetts YMCAs | | [email protected]
| http://www.maymca.com |
14 Beacon St
Suite 803
Boston, MA 02180