Going Beyond Our Four Walls

Early in life

In Y Head Start classrooms in Baltimore City and County, over 900 young children, whose family income falls at or below the Federal Poverty line, are daily receiving the kind of high quality education proven to give them a head start in school and break the cycle of poverty in life. Indeed, Y of Central Maryland Head Start children consistently achieve the highest school readiness scores —exceeding that of all other large Head Start programs in the state. Equally as impressive is the fact that many of the teachers who help influence these bright, beautiful, young children were once Head Start parents themselves.

Head Start

One in four

During the summer, the Y runs camps all throughout Central Maryland for children and teens of all ages—helping to keep them safe, challenging them, introducing them to new friends and new skills, building character and helping to reduce learning loss that happens when school is out. One in four of these young people can only attend due to our generous community of caring givers who donate to our Send a Kid to Camp campaign. They recognize, as we do, the important role camp plays in a child’s development and the very real risks associated with being left alone during the summer.

Y Journeys in Camping Fun

For homeless teens

Some of our campers are homeless teens. Most often they live with their parents in shelters at night and, during the school year they’re safely in school. But what happens during the summer when school’s out and the shelters are closed during the day? The Y’s camp New Horizons is there for these young people. They spend their mornings in a productive and fun program of art, exercise, academic support and life skills such as resume writing and learning how to apply to college. Afternoons are spent at job sites where they earn a stipend and are exposed to real world work environments—all intended to provide the positive modeling, support and opportunities to interrupt the life patterns that likely caused their parents’ homelessness in the first place.

Fit N fun

Childhood obesity has become such a serious public health
crisis that the CDC now predicts that without dramatic interventions, the next generation could become the first in history to live shorter lives than their parents. Fit 'n Fun, a partnership between the Y of Central Maryland and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield is a research -based, fun exercise, education and nutrition program intended to impact this alarming trend in Central Maryland. Enrolled children are pre- and post- tested for various indicators of physical fitness and are given homework which engages the whole family in thinking about diet and food choices. Our results are exciting indications that appropriate interventions work:

See Results

Youth Sports and Exercise

The Y is known for pioneering many of the youth sports and exercise practices commonly in use today across recreation leagues and physical education programs in the U.S. In Central Maryland we are keeping thousands of kids active and off the couch every day as they participate in any one of our youth exercise programs including aquatics, team sports like soccer and basketball and group exercise classes like martial arts and tumbling. Our youth program opportunities occur year-round and take place across all Y youth programs from Head Start to Y Journeys in Camping Fun and Enrichment Before & After School.

Y Youth Sports
Y Aquatics
Y Health & Well-being

Out-of-School Programs

Out-of-school hours that are unsupervised are well-known
to be the period of time when children and teens are most at-risk for engaging in risk behavior or being exposed to crime. In fact, this is when they're:

• More likely to participate in anti-social behaviors
• More likely to use drugs
• More likely to become teen parents

The Y is there for them across Central Maryland in schools, camps and Y sites providing fun, enriching, properly supportive and challenging activities that help build character and confidence for life. We are there for the child whose parents, like many of us, are working hard to manage busy, demanding lives amidst the normal stresses of everyday life. We are there too for children and teens who are struggling to overcome life circumstances which present even bigger challenges.

Learn more

Our impact is broad and deep. In fact, no other organization
in the state offers both the broad scope and meaningful
depth of programming, reaching as wide a range of people, ages and all walks of life as the Y. We are the largest provider of health & well-being programs and services as well as the largest provider of out-of-school time programs for children and youth in the state (inclusive of pre-school, Head Start, camp and before & after school enrichment).

Yet, as impressive as this may be, our size is only relevant because of the opportunity it presents to truly impact the overall health and well-being of our community.

If the idea of having a meaningful and lasting impact appeals to you, whether as a volunteer, member or program participant, we invite your active involvement.

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