Collaboration with community partners is at the foundation of our work and critical to our ability to both extend our mission beyond our four walls and strengthen it as a result. I am delighted to share the results of one such collaboration which came from our partnership with Morgan State University. A little over a year ago, Eric Somerville, our Executive Director of Volunteerism and Community Engagement and I met with Dr. Kevin Banks, the relatively new Vice President of Student Affairs at Morgan, to discuss ways in which we could more meaningfully collaborate to create positive experiences and impact in the community. Only two short miles separate the Weinberg Y and Morgan, so the relationship is a natural.
Kevin was introduced to us by Tim Hogan, our Chief Human Resources Officer, who went to high school with Kevin in Newark, NJ. There has been a long and positive history of the Weinberg Y in Waverly and Morgan working together, but the hope was that the partnership might become even more meaningful to both of us.
A few weeks ago, that discussion bore fruit as 100 neighborhood youth (grades K-8) streamed onto the Weinberg Y in Waverly campus to play with and learn from 28 Morgan student athletes (with a special guest appearance from Morgan mascot Benny the Bear). They ran drills and participated in a panel discussion for parents and youth, sharing among other things their experiences and thoughts regarding balancing the twin demands of being a student working towards a degree and a competitive athlete. In addition to good advice and lots of fun, every child received a ticket to a Morgan home football game along with some other goodies to take home and enjoy!
There’s one other postscript to that meeting with Dr. Banks that’s worth noting. Kevin agreed to join the Y’s association board, which should not only deepen our ties to Morgan, but benefit the Y by having yet another great leader to help guide the Y’s work into the future.
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland