Last week's edition of Us was delayed, but the news is right on time! Enjoy!
In this edition of Us!...
- Y Retirement Learning Center
- Give Us Your Honest Feedback
- We Need More Associates Like You
- Grow Your Y Career from Within
- Celebrating Talented Y Associates
- Payroll Information
- Verification Made Easy
- A Note from John Hoey
Y ASSOCIATE OPPORTUNITIES
Understanding Your Y Retirement Fund Benefits
April virtual training classes for Understanding Your Y Retirement Fund Benefit and Retirement Strategies: Creating Your Plan, are now open for registration. These highly sought-after virtual training classes are instructor-led, interactive, and will provide valuable information about how you can achieve lifetime income in retirement with the Y Retirement Fund.
Sign up now to learn more about how you can make the most of your retirement benefit!
Please Note: Sessions fill quickly. New dates and times are released on the second Monday of each month for the following month.
Check for Dates & Register
Did you know Y associates can open the Fund's 403(b) Smart Account at any time to start saving for retirement? Simply complete the 403(b) SMART ACCOUNT ENROLLMENT FORM and a BENEFICIARY FORM and return it to HRIS@ymaryland.org.
Y Associate Survey
On March 28 you received an email from "Gallup <support@mail.gallup.com" (SEE EXAMPLE) with a link to complete our second Y associate survey. The purpose of this survey is to measure associate engagement: happiness, satisfaction and how you feel about working for the Y, and then put what we learn into action for you.
Please complete the survey by April 11. It is 100% confidential.
Thank you in advance for your participation, ideas and honest feedback. We appreciate you and all that you do for the Y and the communities we serve.
The Y Associate Referral Program
Do you know someone who would be a qualified candidate for our Y Head Start, Health & Wellness, or our Youth Development teams? If so, refer them to the Y and potentially earn a referral bonus of up to $500 if they are hired!
Click below for participation details and to make an associate referral.
Learn More and Make a Referral
Career Opportunities at the Y
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:
Membership Communications Coordinator, The Dancel Y (Req ID #1762)
Associate Executive Director, School Partnerships (Req ID #2098)
Swim Instructors (search for "Swim Instructor")
GOOD VIBES
Celebrating Your Success!
Please join us in congratulating our colleagues on their new leadership roles and promotions!
Amy Vendt, promoted to Executive Director, the Ward Y in Abingdon
Jovan Custis, Executive Director of the Y in Parkville
Suzanne Green, promoted to Senior Executive Director of Community Development
Tiffany Reinhardt, Executive Director of the Y in Druid Hill
Donald Eaddy, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Civic Engagement
Read organization announcement
Y Associate Shout Outs
We have several wonderful Associate Shout Outs today, all expressing deep gratitude for a colleague who shines so bright. I hope you enjoy reading them!
Click the blue "Shout Out" icon to read about Jennifer Apalara, Rachel Martin and Rebecca Williams.
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!
Lucia, The Greater Annapolis Y in Arnold
"My body pump class with Tiffany rocks! In my 47 years of life no one has ever had the ability to make me wake up 4:30am to work out. She is incredible. Her energy is contagious… even at 5:30am."
Rynn, Baltimore City Y Head Start - Fayette Site
“Very good communication. Nice and friendly teachers. Covid-19 precautions are well in place. My child feels safe here."
Jwyanza, Before & After School Enrichment - Abingdon Elementary
“The associates at the Abingdon school are great. Ms. Autumn and her team do a great job with the children. The site is run very well. It's efficient and organized."
2022 Read Across America Wrap-Up
Thank you to everyone who was involved in making 2022 Read Across America a wonderful success!
- 19 volunteers virtually read to 19 different classrooms across our Head Start and Preschool locations (one (1) John Hoey read in-person!)
- 136 books purchased from our Amazon Wishlist (valued at $1,394.50)
- 11 Y Centers gathered donated books from members; over 500 collected
- 858 books donated from Random House (valued at $10,015.42)
- 18 volunteer pre-recorded reading videos from Under Armour and Morgan State University; see the playlist HERE
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
Get Paid!
Pay Period: 3/27/22 to 4/9/22
Pay Date: 4/19/22
Payroll Adjustments Due: April 8, 2022 5pm
Timesheets Locked: April 11, 2022 5pm
Direct Deposits/Tax Changes Due: April 12, 2022 5pm
Click the button for more information and to make sure you get paid.
Easier Employment and Income Verification
Have you ever needed to verify your employment to obtain a mortgage, a loan, lease an apartment, or any other instance where proof of income or employment are required? We're happy to share that the Y will be partnering with VeriSafeJobs for fast and secure employment and income verifications for all active and separated Y associates (up to 2 years).
VeriSafeJobs is a web-based service designed to protect the security of your confidential information. You are in control of authorizing the release of your data. All processes are in accordance with state and federal regulations.
For more information, please contact HRIS@ymaryland.org.
OUR WORK TOGETHER
Dear Colleagues,
As I’ve mentioned in this forum and others, we are working very hard on developing a new strategic plan for our Y, one that isn’t likely to take us in radical new directions but will certainly compel us to focus more definitively on a key set of strategic priorities (and, by definition, require us to set aside a few historical priorities). We are engaging a wide number of stakeholders, including our board, other community volunteers, Y associates and outside experts.
For example, soon hundreds of Y leaders representing all aspects of our work will gather to weigh in on several aspects of the strategy. Their input will help to further refine the work that has already been done the past several months, led by an interdisciplinary team of 18 associates. With no time for “navel gazing,” we’ve set an aggressive timeline which calls for completion of the strategic plan this June. Once our plan is approved by the board this July, we will be sharing it with all of you and working together to determine how best to implement the strategic objectives that are ultimately developed.
The strategic plan will be based on a set of guiding principles that were developed in collaboration with our board as we finished out last year and began to think about what a “post-pandemic” Y should look like. I can assure you that the input that Y associates have provided in the various surveys and town halls we’ve done over the past year played a major role in formulating those guiding principles. They are:
- We will continue to uphold and promote our core values in everything we do
- We will expand our and the community’s notion of what Y membership means; emphasizing its critical role in creating connected, inclusive, and healthy communities
- We will invest in and seek support for our core:
- Our existing youth development programming
- Our existing Y family centers
- The neighborhoods and communities we’re already serving
- Our associates - We will continue to rebuild our financial capacity and model to ensure that we are less susceptible to future unexpected economic and/or public health challenges
- We will be a better, more equitable, inclusive and nimble organization
As you can see, the investment in Y associates is a critical component to achieving whatever plan that ultimately emerges. We have many career and leadership development opportunities and experiences underway today, and will be adding to that list over the coming months. It has been my personal experience that it takes a wide range of developmental experiences (most of which, I would note, don’t involve classroom training) for any of us to be successful in our careers. Here at the Y, we know that achieving big things as an organization is only possible when that’s coupled with a firm commitment to continuous professional learning, development and growth.
All the best,
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland