In this edition of Us!...
- Announcing a new Associate Resource Group
- Associate Referral Program
- Career Opportunities
- Shout Outs
- Community Kudos
- Payroll Information
- Why Risk It?
- A Note from John Hoey
- Organization Announcement
Y ASSOCIATE OPPORTUNITIES
¡HOLA AMIGOS E OLÁ AMIGOS!
We are thrilled to announce the formation of our newest Associate Resource Group (ARG): the Hispanic and Latino Associate Resource Group! This vibrant community is for everyone who identifies with, cares about, or wants to learn more about Hispanic and Latino cultures.
Click the button below to learn more about the why you should consider joining this ARG. To indicate your interest in joining, PLEASE CLICK HERE and stay tuned for upcoming kickoff meeting details.
TELL A FRIEND!
We are growing our Y associate community and need your help. If you know someone who may be a qualified candidate for an in-demand position such as educators and lifeguards, please encourage them to apply. If your referred person is hired, you can potentially earn a $150 - $500 referral bonus!
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, select Careers, select Search Jobs
3. Scroll through the list or search by job title, keyword, location, or req ID#
Current openings include:
Y Head Start Bilingual Teacher-Spanish (Req #3213)
Various Camp Positions (search "Camp")
Swim Instructors (search "Swim")
Sports Instructors - View the flyer
GOOD VIBES
Y ASSOCIATE SHOUT OUTS
We have several great Y Associate Shout Outs today. These are stories about pitching in, reaching out, showing initiative, being a great colleague, and going the extra mile: all of which are hallmarks of Y associates and our organizational culture.
Click the blue "Shout Out" icon above to read about Ryan Barnhart, Kalie Borries, Tony Cuffia, Christian Lopez, and Harry Seideman.
If you have a colleague you'd like to "Shout Out", simply click below to fill out the nomination form.
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!
Royal, Y Head Start in Anne Arundel County
"My experience has been phenomenal. My child is improving and learning every day. She loves her teachers."
Harvey, The Hill Y in Westminster
"The Y is a mainstay of the community serving early education, before and after school activities for children, teens, adults, and seniors. It provides a great place to not only exercise but to socialize. The Y is an asset to our community. I am happy to be a long time member."
Abigail, Y Before & After School Enrichment at Sunset Elementary
"My daughter looks forward to going to the aftercare and really enjoys it! The associates are friendly and keeps the kids safety a priority."
Ezinne, Y Preschool at UMBC
"My family and I have really enjoyed our experience at the Y Preschool at UMBC. The school does a wonderful job of preparing students for Kindergarten and socialization."
WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU!
The Us! associate enewsletter is published monthly 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! The next regular Us! enewsletter will be published on July 11. The submission deadline is Friday, July 5. (Us! DEI Quarterly will be published on June 13).
RESOURCES, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
GET PAID!
| PAY PERIOD | PAY DATE |
|---|---|
| May 5 - 18, 2024 | May 28, 2024 |
| May 19 - June 1, 2024 | June 11, 2024 |
| June 1 - 15, 2024 | June 25, 2024 |
WHY RISK IT?
The Y's Risk Management Team has created a monthly newsletter to highlight key risk reduction practices, reviews and reminders. This serves as an excellent quick reference for high priority risk awareness in our Y programs, centers and sites.
OUR WORK TOGETHER
Dear Colleagues,
As we do periodically, we recently conducted a series of associate focus groups (led by an outside researcher) to better understand some of the daily challenges Y associates face in our work. The insights gained in those discussions, combined with the data from our now annual Gallup survey, are enormously helpful in helping us determine what is working and what is not in terms of our organizational culture. One of the major themes that emerged from the recent focus groups was that with so many priorities, it can be challenging for associates to know where to focus. Given the complexities, depth and scope of our organization and the wide range of needs being served, this comes as no surprise. Yet it was a useful reminder that all of us need to understand what is expected of us and how to prioritize our inherently limited time and energy.
In my view, we need not look far to figure it out. For quite a long period, we have had a set of core operating principles that infuse all of our operating manuals and protocols across all of our program areas. I think it is fair to say that, when COVID hit in 2020, much of our operating environment was scrambled. Since then, we have integrated many new leaders, associates, programs and procedures into our operations, and perhaps some of those core principles have not been highlighted or emphasized as much as they should have. I have asked our training and operations teams to focus on getting back to these basics.
So, let me spell out our four core operating principles here:
- Safety (Safety for all is the first priority for every activity in every space.)
- Cleanliness (Everyone deserves a clean environment, and everyone is responsible for ensuring that to be the case.)
- Engagement (Intentional and authentic engagement, and developing genuine relationships, is essential to building community.)
- Inclusion (Actively creating spaces of belonging, respect, comfort and empathy for all.)
Certainly, there are a lot of specific operating protocols and procedures across our various program areas and sites, but they all trace back to these four principles. While memorizing everything in an operations manual can be difficult, and can only be fully understood over time, we can all remember these four principles. If we all stick to them, we have an excellent chance of both doing the right thing and doing things right.
No matter what your role is here at the Y, these four operating principles should guide your day-to-day work. You do not have to be a lifeguard to be aware of the need for a safe environment. Only a small handful of us are on the property team, but assuring our spaces are clean (which shows respect for those we serve) is everyone’s duty (you will absolutely see me picking up trash in our parking lots and sites). No matter your role, everyone representing the Y is expected to be friendly, helpful, engaging and welcoming. And, of course, we are all responsible for ensuring that the Y is an inclusive place, and always for all.
Thank you for all you do now and always to build a safe, clean, engaging and inclusive community!
All the best,
John Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland
ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCEMENT
Unfortunately, we have sad news to share. Our colleague Judith Donnelly, the Before & After School Enrichment Site Manager at Overlook Elementary School in Anne Arundel County, passed away on April 5th. Judith started with the Y in Central Maryland in October of 2021 and is remembered by her co-workers as having shown love and passion in every interaction she had with the children and families she served; along with many other endearing qualities including being extremely proud of her Irish heritage, and a committed Notre Dame and Steelers fan.
We are deeply saddened by Judith’s passing as we know you are as well. We were able to reach out to her family to see how we could help. Should you feel the need for support, we encourage you to reach out to our assistance line at 1-888-881-5462 for a confidential conversation with a counselor.
Loss of life is always hard. Please take care of yourself and one another.
May you rest in peace, Judith.