Frequently Asked Questions

All normally operating Y services and programs (Y Family Centers, Head Start, Preschools, Before & After School Enrichment, Community Schools, Mentoring, etc.) have been temporarily halted and will reopen when it is permitted and safe to do so.

We are focusing our resources and energy on those who need us most during this  time. This includes:

• Opening our Y family centers and preschools to provide emergency childcare for the children of essential workers, including health professionals and first responders (with capacity of 890 in central Maryland);
• Working with Baltimore City Schools and the Maryland Food Bank to collect, bag and distribute food and meals to students and families at the Y’s Community Schools, the Druid Hill Y and the Y’s Elgin Head Start Center (over 4,000 students and families served weekly);
• Contacting the Y’s Community Schools' families in Baltimore City to check in and provide hard copies of educational packets for families who do not have access to internet and virtual resources (an anticipated 7,421 Baltimore City families served);
• Providing regular contact through phone, email, FaceTime, and video chat with the Y’s 1,600 Head Start families to provide critical access to food, health resources and at-home learning practices;
• Partnering with the Red Cross to operate blood drives;
• Conducting food drives and drives for other donated necessary goods;
• Keeping in daily touch with isolated senior members to assure them they are not alone and to connect them to vital resources (over 2,500 called to date);
• Providing ongoing support and case management for the Y’s 540 community-based mentoring relationships;
• Developing and broadly sharing an online library of tools and resources to help people of all ages stay active and healthy in spirit, mind and body. 

The Y is providing care for children of essential workers at its 11 Y family centers and six preschools from 7am - 6pm. Y centers serve children ages 4-12 and preschools serve children ages 2-5 or 2-12.

All locations follow the guidance of fact-based sources including the CDC, World Health Organization and the State of Maryland for how to clean, disinfect and manage children safely in our spaces. These include:

• Maintaining groups of no more than 10, including the teacher
• Limiting one group per space
• Propping doors open where appropriate and reducing the need to touch or open/close doors
• Hand washing by Y associates and children every 45 minutes and between activities
• Taking each child’s temperature before admittance
• Requiring all Y associates in the building to wear Personal Protective Equipment

Additionally, our centers are continuously spot cleaned throughout the day using CDC approved disinfectant, cleaning supplies and practices. We also use an EPA approved disinfectant for all bathrooms and floors and use a bleach water mixture for all solid surfaces and toys. The centers are also thoroughly cleaned between each shift.

Those eligible for this service have been determined by the State of Maryland and are listed below. 

• Providers of healthcare, long term or acute patient care, emergency medical or pharmaceutical services
• Public Health Employees
• Law enforcement personnel
• Correctional Services employees
• Firefighters and other first responders
• Government workers required to work in a State of Emergency
• Employees and representatives of insurance carriers
• National Guard called to active duty
• Staff or providers of child care or education services, including custodial and food service worker
• Food distributors and suppliers
• Transportation and delivery services personnel
• Gasoline service station operators and auto mechanics
• Critical Infrastructure employees, such as emergency and support personnel for gas and electric utility operations, public works, water treatment and waste management
• Personnel of other institutions ORDERED to remain open during a State of Emergency
• Other persons the State Superintendent deems necessary

To Register: ymaryland.org/emergencypersonnelservices

For more information, please email customerservice@ymaryland.org.

The temporary closure of our operations has forced us to furlough over 2,000 people. The longer this goes on, the more people we will have to furlough. These great people include the Y fitness and group exercise instructors, front desk greeters, Stay & Play associates, after school directors and many more our members and participants know and love. Every measure is being taken to preserve resources including pay cuts and reduction in expenses anywhere we can.

We have narrowed our focus to the most urgent community need during this crisis because it’s what the Y does, but we simply can’t do this work, hang on and be there for you when this is over without your help now. 

• We need our members to maintain their memberships; we need our volunteers, donors and funders to help us stay vital so we continue our community building work during and after this crisis. 
• Membership dues are make it or break it for us right now. The level of membership revenue we can retain during this unprecedented period will ultimately determine whether our Y will be on solid or very shaky ground in the future. 
• Your membership helps us help those in need, it helps give work to some of our furloughed associates and it helps us stay intact and stable for when we get beyond this crisis.
• During this period, all Y members will be considered Y Community Impact Members, and those dues will be considered charitable donations to support our community crisis response work and help us remain viable for you when this is over. You will receive a letter at year end acknowledging your contribution for tax purposes.

Our leadership team is working around the clock to regroup and preserve the guts of our operation for the long term. Our intent is to bring back as many of our furloughed associates as possible, as soon as possible, but our ability to do that depends on our members’, participants’, funders’ and donors’ ability and willingness to continue to support us.

Since this crisis started, the community’s support of our Y has been remarkable. The letters and emails have been deeply gratifying reminders of what a wonderful, caring and generous community we are a part of.

All of us here at the Y are deeply grateful for your support and for sticking with us and with those most in need.  Thank you.

The Y is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit organization, so it is entirely appropriate to financially support a community organization like ours during a time like this.

The Y in Central Maryland is a completely independent, locally run and governed non-profit organization (we pay significant dues to the national Y organization for use of the brand name; they don’t fund or direct us in any way).

The Y is funded primarily through membership and program fees. As those disappear, the Y will be significantly imperiled.

We fully hope and are planning for Y Camp to run this summer. Not only is it expected to be outside the current period of social distancing and the closure of most businesses, it is also an important opportunity to get children out of the house, active and returning to a sense of normalcy after a stressful period. If enhanced health guidelines are in place, the Y will absolutely follow them strictly as we always do. 

We encourage parents to hold their child’s space now as we already see that demand is up.  More information and registration may be found at YMARYLANDCAMP.ORG.

Updates are regularly provided on this website, via email, Facebook, Y emails, and text alerts for those who have signed up for them. CLICK TO OPT-IN FOR TEXT ALERTS.

We are in regular contact with enrolled families by email and will continue this practice throughout this period to assure parents are up to date and well-informed.

For any report of possible COVID-19 exposure, we will follow CDC guidance in consultation with our local and state health departments. Our response will be guided by a commitment to the health and safety of all involved and may include deep cleaning, a temporary suspension of operations, or other actions as determined by the specific circumstances of the exposure.

We will communicate with families and associates in accordance with recommendations from licensing agencies and the health department.

Please email customerservice@ymaryland.org. They will be able to respond within 48 hours. Please be patient. They are working as hard and fast as they can to help everyone who needs it.

Thank you.