In this edition of Us!...
- Tell a Friend
- Get Boosted
- Earn a Bonus
- Career Opportunities
- Feel Good Vibes
- Y Associate Engagement Center
- Deliveries Go Here
- Payroll Information
- Bigger, Better Rewards
- A Note from John Hoey
Y ASSOCIATE OPPORTUNITIES
Recruitment Open Houses
Every Wednesday during July and August, the Head Start and Recruitment teams will host open house events at the Y Associate Engagement Center (1506 Joh Avenue) and the Merritt Park Y Head Start Center (1782 Merritt Boulevard). Open houses will start at 6pm. If you or someone you know is looking for a career in Early Childhood Education, please stop by!
The Recruitment team will also continue to visit Y family centers this month:
July 11 @ The Orokawa Y in Towson, 4pm-7pm
July 13 @ The Hill Y in Westminster, 9:30am-11:30am
July 18 @ The Greater Annapolis Y in Arnold, 5pm-7pm
July 19 @ The Y in Catonsville, 5pm-7pm
July 20 @ The Y in Druid Hill, 9am-12pm
Open interviews for numerous positions will be held. Tell a friend! If they are hired, you may be eligible for an associate referral bonus!
Covid Boosters
As our original Covid-19 vaccine immunity wanes, transmission continues to increase across Maryland. Covid booster shots help to safely restore and enhance your body's protection against severe disease.
We encourage all associates to get boosted if you have not already done so, especially as the fall season approaches and the potential for a new variant or subvariant remains a growing concern.
Click below to find a booster clinic location.
Referral = Reward
If you know someone who would be a qualified candidate for our Y Head Start, Y Family Centers, or Youth Development teams, please refer them to the Y and potentially earn a referral bonus of up to $500 if they are hired. Over $3,500 has been awarded to Y associates so far this year!
Click below for participation details and to make an associate referral.
Learn More and Make a Referral
Y Career Opportunities
Browse the open positions in Dayforce to see available career growth opportunities.
1. Log into Dayforce (open web browser > Managed Bookmarks > Dayforce)
2. Click the menu icon in the upper left corner and select Careers
3. Scroll through the list or search by job title, keyword, location, or req ID#
Current openings include:
Teachers, multiple Youth Development teams (search for "teachers")
Fitness Director, The Greater Annapolis Y in Arnold (search for Req ID #2151)
Bus Drivers, multiple programs (search for "bus driver")
GOOD VIBES
Y Associate Shout Outs
We have so many wonderful Y Associate Shout Outs yet again. Thanks for all of the great individual and team Shout Outs and to all of our great Y associates!
Click the blue "Shout Out" icon to read about Nicole Buchman, Tonya Hull, Betty Squire, Robyn Vance, Emily Pendleton, Michele Howe, Victor Freeman, Zalanka Jones, Shannon Clifton, Chauncy McGhee, Michael Lewis, Tina Antkowiak, Karen Farley, Kristina Mitzelfelt, Kelly Walker, Renee Wilhide, Bill Brittingham, Kim Capone, Fredy Glease, Donnell Glover, Frank Holden, Celeste Holthaus, Gary Williams, Patty Cullop, Arnetta Jones, Jenn Umphlett, Jeremy Kirkpatrick, Jessica Kozera, Julie Burall, Michael Elloff, Christie Ryan, and Dawn Edwards-Smith.
Your outstanding teammates deserve recognition! Please take a moment to nominate one of your colleagues so we can give them a Shout Out in the next Us! associate enewsletter.
COMMUNITY COMMENTS
The good work you do doesn't go unnoticed. Enjoy reading these real comments from our Y community and soak in the praise!
Kaleb, Y Camp at the Ward Y in Abingdon
"My son is having so much fun at Y camp! He loves the activities and has fallen in love with archery."
Terrell, Y Head Start in Baltimore City, Kirk Site
“The program is very good and helpful. My son has progressed so much. The teachers are excellent. I love it!"
Wanda, Water Exercise at the Y in Catonsville
"The facility is always clean and the water fitness classes are fantastic. The instructors are excellent and come up with fun ways to exercise so it doesn't feel like your exercising at all and it is not the same thing every session so you will not get bored."
Aaliyah, Y School Partnerships, Waverly Elementary/Middle
“The teachers are wonderful, caring people who my child has bonded with over her years in this program. She truly enjoys being a part of the after school program and looks forward to participating each year. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to these children. You are greatly appreciated!"
WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU!
The Us! associate enewsletter is published every other Thursday or Friday and we need to hear from you! Share your stories, what’s new in your Y world, and what you are proud of. We want to know and we want to share your news! The submission deadline is Fridays at 5pm.
RESOURCES, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Our Y Associate Engagement Center
We hope that everyone has had a chance to visit our new Y Associate Engagement Center, which opened earlier in the year at 1506 Joh Avenue. It is a wonderful space open to all Y associates that combines both meeting/training space as well as shared office space. It also serves as the centralized office location for our Head Start operational leadership. If you have not been by the space, you should stop in and see it!
Below please find some additional information regarding the space.
- To ensure that the space is being used to its fullest potential, effective immediately, Amy Taylor, VP of Head Start Operations, will be taking on the operational oversight of the building. Thank you Amy for taking this on!
- Access to the building is available both in the front and back of the building via a pincode. If you do not yet have access, please feel free to email IT support and they will get it set up for you.
- As we have neighbors on each side of us, we are asking all associates to park in the rear of the building for meetings and training, reserving the front of the building for external guests and our neighbors.
- If you’d like to use any of the meeting/conference rooms, you will need to book that space in advance using the Google calendar tool.
- If you use a meeting/conference room, please return all furniture to where you found it so that it will be ready for the next group to come use it.
- If you have any ideas to improve the space, please let either Amy Taylor or Sherrie Rovnan know.
We hope you enjoy this much-needed space!
The New Y Distribution Center
Since the start of the pandemic as well as the closing of the old Y Training Center, all deliveries of supplies and packages have been coming to the association office, where we have no storage room. As such, the reception area has taken on the look of a warehouse, which obviously isn’t its intended use.
We are excited to announce the opening of the Y Distribution Center, effective this Monday, July 11. It will be located in the same office park as the Y Associate Engagement Center.
Moving forward, all packages and bulk purchases must be shipped to the Y Distribution Center, and not to the association office. Small items can continue to be sent directly to the Y sites at which they will be utilized.
We welcome Lenny Cheatham, who previously worked on our Y Engagement Team, as the new Y Distribution Center Administrative Coordinator.
Below is key information that will help us get started with this new service.
- All deliveries should be sent to:
The Y Distribution Center
1502 Joh Avenue
Suite 180
Baltimore, MD 21227
- It is imperative that you update shipping information with each of your current vendors as soon as possible.
Here's how it will work:
- Once you place an order to be shipped, please forward the order confirmation to Distributioncenter_group@ymaryland.org.
- You will receive an email acknowledgement that the order confirmation has been received.
- When your order arrives at the distribution center, you will receive an email notification.
- All packages will be assigned a QR code for easy tracking.
- Packages may be picked up from the Y Distribution Center between 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday - Friday (except holidays)
- All communication will go through the email system to allow for the team to be able to work more efficiently. In an emergency, you may reach out to Lenny at 443-756-5222.
We’re very happy and excited to provide this new service.
Get Paid!
Pay Period: 7/3/22 to 7/16/22
Pay Date: 7/26/22
Payroll Adjustments Due: July 15, 2022, 5pm
Timesheets Locked: July 18, 2022, 5pm
Direct Deposits/Tax Changes Due: July 19, 2022, 5pm
Click the button for more information and to make sure you get paid.
Bigger, Better Banking Rewards
First Financial Federal Credit Union is part of your Y benefits package and earning bigger rewards just got easier!
• 2% APY on checking balances up to $3,000
• A debit card rebate on qualifying transactions
• No monthly maintenance fees, no minimum account balance, overdraft protection options, and eAlerts to monitor your account activity
Click below to learn more.
OUR WORK TOGETHER
Dear Colleagues,
As Y associates, our work allows us to see on a day to day basis how important community is to living a fulfilling life. As we work to refine our new strategic plan, we have recently completed a series of market research studies to better understand what people care most about and how the past several years has impacted their own and their family’s priorities. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of the more than 500 people we both surveyed and spoke to in focus groups told us that finding a greater sense of community is a very high priority for them, particularly given what has occurred the past several years. This was true even amongst those who feel they currently are a part of a community and across all age groups, races, income levels and educational attainment.
Social scientists tell us that everyone seeks and needs to feel personally connected to other people, and our current culture (for all kinds of reasons) has made that ever more challenging. While “virtual communities” have proliferated, they do not remotely replace actual communities, where people have recurring, face to face interactions in familiar spaces and where there is an almost organic process of everyone feeling seen, welcomed and appreciated.
In our research we heard stories about people feeling uplifted and seen when they walk into a Y family center or youth development site, with Y associates greeting them and their children by name. This came up again and again as both a plus and an opportunity to improve upon where it’s currently not happening consistently. For example, there was an expressed desire for something as simple as introducing parents to one another at the start of a class or program for their kids. In this way, a Y associate can play a role in facilitating connections for adults who may otherwise feel awkward doing that on their own.
There’s so much more we’ve learned in this research that points to wonderful and exciting opportunities for all of us to be even greater agents of change, well-being and happiness in people’s lives. I’m excited to share all of that soon as we begin to roll out our new strategic plan in the coming months.
All the best,
John Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland