This past Saturday, teams of volunteers from across the region gave up some of their well-earned down time to help others. This weekend, there were food distribution events at the Weinberg and Druid Hill Ys in Baltimore City as well as the Walter and Betty Ward Y in Abingdon. The truth is, it could have been at any Y site in central Maryland on any given day, because this kind of event has become a daily Y ritual.
What it is not, however, is new.
People often tell me they are amazed by how quickly the Y pivoted from operating traditional services and programs to crisis community work, but I’m not at all surprised. It’s what the Y community does. It's what we are wired for and it's what draws people to work and volunteer for the Y. So it's not surprising at all that we could so quickly turn up the volume on our community building work. We didn't have to spend time creating an infrastructure for it, developing a new set of relationships or any other processes which would normally accompany moving into a new area, because it's not new.
We just had to see the need and say "go!"
Not surprisingly, our members are joining in the crisis response as well. Indeed, just this past weekend, Y member families from the Walter and Betty Ward Y in Abingdon and the Greater Annapolis Y in Arnold made the long drives to our Druid Hill and Weinberg Ys in Baltimore City to help distribute food at those locations. These Y member families are not anomalies, however. People have choices and we have long known that those who are drawn to become members of the Y do so not just because of our great facilities, services and programs, but also because of their belief in and commitment to their community. That’s probably why over 80% of all Y members have stuck with us since we closed the doors of our Y family centers in mid-March due to COVID-19. Clearly, Y members very much miss being in our buildings, but they are continuing to invest in the Y because they are thoroughly invested in their communities.
If this pandemic has taught us anything at all, it is that our futures are all inescapably connected.
The challenges and hardships that have been unleashed in the past few months will inevitably linger and change us in fundamental ways. However, what has also been unleashed is a powerful well of generosity and kindness which, if we remain united as a community, can become a more lasting outcome long after this virus is eradicated.
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland