Conference Room – Downtown Branch | Download minutes
Present:
Members Present: Rick Gentil, Joe Johnston, Michael Lusk, Austin Hohlt, Mike Whaling, Tom Terveer, Brian Lawrence, Don Beckman, Michael Carroll, Jon Philbrick, Tim Gusler
Staff Present: Sue Darby, Amanda Owen, Bob Vanover, Shawn Gunnoe, Joel MacCaughey
Absent:
Jim Creps, Paul Davison, Felicity Hillmer, Francis Pompey, Marty Sweterlitsch, Dave Keenan, Matt McClellan, Mary Menkedick, John Rush, Kyle Sharp
Call to Order:
Tim Gusler called the meeting to order at 12:02.
Invocation:
Art Helldoerfer led the invocation.
Mission Impact Moment:
Joel shared a story about a member named Jess who approached the Y with a potential collaboration with the Urban League. The program is called Father to Father which focuses on single parent fathers. It assists the father in raising the child, court concerns and other aspects. The Urban League wanted to partner do a safe activity and affordable activity for the fathers and their children. This fall 50 fathers at Urban League will go through “Dad Boot Camp.” We will be providing 8 visits and a family day for the fathers and their children. It will be piloted this fall and expand on winter and spring. Tom Terveer brought up a connection with a program through United Way.
Minutes:
Mike indicated he was not present last month. May minutes were approved.
Bylaws:
Last month the proposed changes to the bylaws concerning committees and term limits were discussed. No further discussion. Don motioned for approval. Jon seconded. It is approved.
Committee Updates/Gala:
Attached to agenda are committees and committee chairs. One change is that Michael Carroll has agreed to be on the annual giving committee as a co-chair. Gala was talked about at executive committee meeting and will move forward with this event. Chairs of committees will be inviting to participate on planning. The event is targeted to be held in June. Chairs need to make sure they email committee meeting minutes.
Overflow Update:
The City of Columbus and Community Shelter Board (CSB) is reconfiguring the shelter system. More space is needed since homelessness is on the rise. CSB is looking to purchase and make operational a 12 month overflow shelter. This will contain the front door shelter and Rebecca’s place. Winter Overflow this year will not be at 511 this year and as a stop gap measure, the City of Columbus and CSB contracted with Lutheran Social Services to take 60 men and 30 women. The YMCA will take 15 women downtown in the resource room and 60 men at the Super 8 on Brice Road. As beds fill at LSS, individuals will become redirected to the hotel which will serve only men. There will be two men per room. It will cost CSB $144,000 for 30 rooms and it will be more effective for the YMCA to maintain the program.
Holiday Dinner:
Last year, Volunteers of America did not have enough donations to provide the number of meals requested for Downtown, Sunshine Terrace and Winter Overflow. As a result, funds were raised with help from the consulting board members. We were able to provide Hoggy’s at cost for the 403 men downtown and meals from the VOA at Sunshine Terrace in 2012. This year, Andrew has approved use of our merit funds from CSB to pay for the Thanksgiving meal downtown. The night before, we will need volunteers to help up set up the space for individuals to eat. The day of, we will need volunteers to decorate, work the food line (1 hr slots) and assist with clean up. A sign up sheet will be created and made available.
Monday Event:
Austin is our guest bar tender from 5-8pm at Hills Market on Monday September 30. $1 of every drink goes to the YMCA. Drinks are provided by Hills. The YMCA will also ask for $10 gifts to pay for a Thanksgiving dinner to give to the residents at Sunshine Terrace. If we raise $500-$600 we will be able to cover the cost.
Ridestrong/Livestrong:
Joel is riding the bike in the membership lobby today to spread the word about Ridestrong. Our branch will begin providing the program to cancer survivors in the fall. Team riding starts Monday! Participants can substitute other activities such as elliptical and running for mileage. Downtown branch is in the lead for obtaining riders.
Current Goals:
Social Responsibility — There are three themes: 1) Wrap around of Hope 2) Nutritional Support and 3) Physical Support. The Wrap Around of Hope focuses on the residential space and creating “My Y Home”. The goal is to have residents feel like this is a home. The first step began with Ohio Health and Ernest and Young painting the resident halls a warm color. We will soften the residential space with curtains and plants. The program put toilet paper back in the stalls to move away from institutional feel.
The second part is in regards to nutritional support. Residents do not have access to healthy food unless they go to North Market or Hills Market and spend a lot of money on food. One way we are working on this is through an aeroponic garden. The YMCA made it through the Letter of Intent process and was asked by the Columbus Foundation to submit a final proposal. We were one of the 15 out of 80 applicants asked to move forward. In the beginning of September, we had a walk through and meeting with the Columbus Foundation. The major idea is to convert a racquetball court into garden space. It will be year around with production every 6-8 weeks and result in 1,200-1,400 lbs of produce annually. It will help residents of the Y develop workforce skills and individuals in the doma program. The plan is for this to become a self-sustaining program. The rooftop plan was determined to not be cost effective due to requirements to put a garden. Additionally, the yield and season would have caused limitation. The other option if we receive partial funding is placing the garden in the men’s locker room that is not utilized. Some board members expressed positive feedback with use of this space and asked why we did not consider it. Basically, after discussions with metro, they wanted us to not cause additional disruptions based on feedback from the sauna and steam room. However, this will still be considered. Positive packaging and surveys may assist in gaining acceptance. Austin indicated that we should rearrange the space and find out how members react to give a baseline. Other nutritional support would be with crock pot classes. Finally, residents have been going to the Hoover Y Garden to work in our community garden which has proven to be effective and have a wait list.
Physical Support is the final piece of social responsibility. Our Fit Start program is doing well. This enrolls residents in a 7-week program with a trainer and upon completion they receive a $10 membership. Columbus Sole is the second program that is being piloted. Doug Del Vigna is a volunteer who has been conducting this program and has developed it. Front Runner outfitted the participants with shoes and this past Monday conducted a Good Form Running Clinic.
Youth Development — Themes include the 1) New U Program; 2) Father to Father and 3) Youth In Government. The New U is an extension of an existing program. Father to Father was described earlier by Joel. The Youth In Government program allows students from schools to write a bill over the course of the year and present it at the statehouse. The downtown Y has connected with some schools but will focus on South High School.
Healthy Living will have a focus on chronic disease with emphasis on 1) Diabetes Prevention and 2) Livestrong for cancer survivors. The Diabetes Prevention program classes are booked and have been effective. The Livestrong program is our newest endeavor and while it is an accredited program, there has been difficulty connecting with oncologists for referrals. There is a plan for a lunch with doctors to spread the word. The YMCA in Wisconsin is one of the first to implement Livestrong and it has been successful. The next chronic disease for the YMCA to focus on will be cardiac. Membership is still dealing with cancellations and new members and trinexum is providing data. It will be trial and error until we find our niche.
Mike Lusk asked about the flags on the building. Currently, we are waiting on building permits for awnings and flags. Two flag poles need repaired and the quote is for $9,000. Brian introduced us to Gay Street Collaboration and found out through the meetings that the mayor offers a grant for matching fund up to $5,000 for small businesses. They will consider us with the match. Amanda will assist in writing this grant.
Sue indicated that if there is someone you think we should connect with or a cancer survivor who can benefit from Livestrong to provide the information on the piece of paper on the tables.
Brian asked how the Moonlight Market going. Sue indicated while we are not selling memberships, we are getting to know our community. Joel went last month and did a wheel raffle. These will continue the second Saturday of the month as it has been successful.
Art spoke about the incident with police department on Tuesday night and the impact it had an impact our 40 W Long. When 911 occurred, we closed the building but allowed residents to come in. During this episode, the police closed building down and everything in a three block radius. No one was allowed to leave or come in which included members and residents. Joel was building supervisor on duty and did a great job keeping members calm.
Adjourn
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