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YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
NURTURING THE POTENTIAL OF EVERY CHILD AND TEEN
The Y believes that all children deserve the opportunity to discover who they are and what they can achieve. Our Youth Development programs are designed to nurture the potential of future generations by cultivating values, skills, and relationships. At the Y, our children have the chance to flourish in programs which provide opportunities for self- expression, socialization, and continuous learning - all leading to positive behaviors, better health and educational achievement. In 2016, we served more than 30,000 children and teens from across the state.
NARROWING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP
In an effort to combat the Achievement Gap, the YMCA of Delaware ensures all children, regardless of their ability to pay, have access to quality after school care and summer day camp programs. By hosting after school “school-based” programs and after school “center-based” programs at many of our facilities, the Y of Delaware is able to provide homework help and academic enrichment including daily literacy and math education as well as natural science exploration.
YMCA summer camps ensure educational opportunities are available to campers year round. Through the Y’s partnership with the Summer Learning Collaborative and Reading is Fundamental Program, we have seen significant gains in campers’ learning and reading retention at our Walnut Street YMCA. In addition, the Bear-Glasgow Y started a camp library in collaboration with their spring scholastic book fair. The Western Y hosted a Summer Learning Loss Prevention Camp, and the Sussex Y offered a Summer Reading Program to all campers which provided 135 minutes of assigned reading time each week.
SUMMER CAMP - A SAFE PLACE TO LEARN, GROW AND THRIVE
Overnight, day or specialty camps at the Y share one thing - they are about discovery. Kids have the opportunity to explore nature, find new talents, try new activities, gain independence, and make lasting friendships and memories. In 2016, our camps continued to bustle with different activities as we served more than 5,000 youth. Highlights included: installing “Wet Willie” - the 150 foot long water slide at Camp Tockwogh, implementing additional activities like a new archery program at our Dover branch, exposing more children to camp by allowing older campers to bring a “Friday Guest” to the Brandywine Y’s Hanby Outdoor Center, and providing 1 in 3 campers with financial assistance to attend Summer Camp.
BUILDING FUTURE LEADERS
Through various YMCA of Delaware youth initiatives including Black Achievers, Youth in Government, Teen Leaders Clubs, Counselors in Training, camp and summer leadership programs, thousands of youth were empowered to strive for greatness. For example, in 2016, we saw growth in our Youth and Government program; participation increased for our Model Legislative and Judicial Conference from 145 delegates in 2015 to 171 delegates in 2016 which marks the largest Delaware Youth in Government Conference to date. Additionally, our student delegates attended six separate national and local YMCA conferences in 2016. The Black Achievers Program continued its 28th year of helping teens graduate from high school and attend college. Students met weekly for various activities including SAT prep, mentoring opportunities and multi-state college tours.
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YMCA OF DELAWARE 2016 IMPACT REPORT • WWW.YMCADE.ORG