YMCA 2018 AUSTRALIA AWARDS - We Believe in the Power of Inspired Young People - Margaret Mead

YMCA 2018
AUSTRALIA
AWARDS

We Believe in the Power of Inspired Young People

     “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
     committed citizens can change the world;
     indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”
     - Margaret Mead

YMCA AUSTRALIA
AWARDS, 2018
YMCA Australia would like to formally recognise our valued staff and volunteers for
their exceptional contribution to our National Movement. YMCA Australia would also
like to acknowledge the innovative and inspiring programs held across the country
throughout all 16 Associations. Our YMCA people across Australia are recognised
as the organisation’s greatest asset.

This year the YMCA Australia Awards categories include: Program of Excellence
award, Safeguarding Extended Guardian award, Volunteer of the Year award, I.C.
Howard/Y Service Clubs International scholarship, Staff Member of the Year award,
and Power of Inspired Young People Award.

YMCA Australia would like to thank all Associations for their contributions, and we
acknowledge the exceptionally high calibre of nominations received.

The 2018 Awards were presented at the YMCA National AGM, on Saturday,
24 November, 2018 at Pavilion, Melbourne Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Street,
Melbourne. The YMCA Australia Awards are held annually.

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YMCA AUSTRALIA
AWARDS, 2018

4    PROGRAM OF EXCELLENCE

6    SAFEGUARDING EXTENDED GUARDIAN

7    VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

8    IC HOWARD/ Y INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP

10   STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR

12   THE POWER OF INSPIRED YOUNG
     PEOPLE AWARD

14   ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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PROGRAM OF
EXCELLENCE
Cancer Survivor Program – YMCA Brisbane
The YMCA in Brisbane provides a safe exercise program
and environment for cancer survivors to gain and reclaim
their health and well-being. Just as important as the
physical aspect of the program, participants get the chance
to connect with likeminded people on a similar journey.
Survivors who have gone through the program describe the
support, empathy and understanding gained through being
part of a group as a priceless experience.
YMCA Cancer Survivor program focuses on the whole
person, not the disease, with exercise physiologists helping participants develop their own
physical fitness program so they can continue to practice a healthy lifestyle away from
the YMCA.

YMCA Canberra Space Squad - YMCA Canberra
YMCA Canberra Space Squad is a residential camp for high school children from Year
7-9. These children come and experience an interactive program focused on Canberra’s
significant space industry. The program is designed to increase awareness and build
passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) through the space
industry. Along with tours of the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex
(CDSCC), Mt Stromlo satellite plant, McNamara-Saunders Astronomical Teaching
Telescope (MSATT) and Questacon, the Space Squad program includes: robotics and
coding; aeronautics, drone workshops, DIY telescopes, spectroscopy and hands on
virtual reality.

GPS Adventures - YMCA Geelong
GPS Adventures is an innovative and exciting pilot project connecting young people from
regional Victoria with community, adventure and lifelong learning opportunities. Through a
range of adventure therapy, experiential and kinesthetic learning activities, this project aims
to build the resilience, confidence and wellbeing of young people enabling them to reach
their full potential.
GPS Adventures aims to address the following significant gaps identified by young people,
families and the community: social isolation; holistic wellbeing support; access and
opportunities and community connectedness.

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PROGRAM OF EXCELLENCE

StreetgYm – YMCA NSW
StreetgYm is an early-intervention program engaging at-risk youth in physical and
mental wellness activities. Running in Sturt Park, Telopea, NSW, it provides a safe
and inclusive environment for young people to connect through sports, games and
healthy food. The program also encourages local services, including mental health
organisations, youth workers and police to engage with participants.

Youth for Causes - YMCA Victoria
Youth for Causes is a six-month immersion into the world of social enterprise, where
teams of young people, aged 14-18 years, have the opportunity to get an enterprise
idea off the ground for a social or environmental cause they care about. Over 140
young people from diverse backgrounds have developed innovative products and
services, tackling community issues such as homelessness, mental wellbeing, refugees
and asylum seekers, environmental sustainability and domestic violence. Over 12,000
students have been engaged in social enterprise and community participation through
involvement with Youth for Causes enterprises.

Remote Schools Attendance Strategy (RSAS) - YMCA WA
The Remote Schools Attendance Strategy (RSAS) exists to increase the school
attendance of indigenous children in Newman and surrounding regions. It acts to
increase wellness, education outcomes and career opportunities for individuals involved
in the program. The program aims to empower disadvantaged youth and provide
them with an opportunity to re-engage with their education and their future. The ability
to positively impact on the lives of young people is at the very core of the program
purpose. The long term goals of the program involve increasing school attendance to
over 90%, to have aboriginal children acknowledge that attending school is important
and to increase the capacity of parents to support their children to achieve within the
school environment.

WRAP Basketball – YMCA Whittlesea
The WRAP Basketball program was developed for young people and adults with
various disabilities. Games are held at the Thomastown YMCA with up to 80
participants involved. YMCA Whittlesea strives to ensure that people with disabilities
are given the opportunity to participate in a variety of integrated recreation and leisure
activities of their choice. The program represents the values of the YMCA and is
committed to connecting and engaging each player, coach, volunteer and spectator.
The program successfully promotes community inclusion, enables our diverse range of
players, supporter and community spectators to develop resilience, increase confidence
and be an active member of their community.

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SAFEGUARDING
EXTENDED
GUARDIAN AWARD
Broken Hill staff team – YMCA NSW
The Broken Hill team has consistently demonstrated an
unwavering commitment to safeguarding children and young
people. Following the announcement of the re-development of
the YMCA Broken Hill facilities, the decision was made in early
2017 to ensure the design of the new facilities incorporated
child-safety elements as a priority. Architects and specialists with
child-safety expertise were engaged during the redevelopment
period from June 2017 to June 2018. The Broken Hill team also
consulted with Maari Ma Aboriginal cultural experts to ensure
a welcoming and culturally safe environment for all users of the
new facility.
Emily Moody - YMCA Victoria
Emily Moody is considered a subject matter expert in the Safeguarding children and
young people area. She is quick to offer guidance to other staff to ensure that centres
are safe and welcoming environments for all families. Emily plays an integral role
amongst the four Boroondara Leisure and Aquatic Facilities (BLAF) overseeing and
leading the highly regulated children’s service space. This service encompasses four
childcare licenses and two vacation programs each with a daily attendance of over 50
children.

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VOLUNTEER
OF THE YEAR
Kerry Holst, YMCA Brisbane
Kerry has been a volunteer for YMCA Social Impact for over eight
years now. Kerry spent more than 25 years working for Education
Queensland, undertaking many leadership roles including Regional
Director and Executive Director Roles for State Schools. She played
a vital role in supporting the commencement of the YMCA Schools’
Breakfast Program which started in 2006. When Kerry retired in 2012,
she was immediately committed to being a volunteer for the Breakfast
Program. She has been a supportive mentor to the program’s
Manager, assisted with administration duties and school supervision
visits and remains committed to serving children breakfast.

Rebecca Brooker, YMCA Victoria
Rebecca’s commitment to young people over her time as the Youth Parliament Program
Director has been outstanding. Rebecca’s dedication and passion for creating inclusive,
safe spaces has taken the Youth Parliament program to new heights. Rebecca is a driving
force in the Youth Leadership Development Unit and consistently goes beyond what
is asked.

Marjorie Moroney, YMCA Whittlesea
Marjorie (Marj) has been a valued part of our volunteer team at the YMCA Whittlesea and
the WRAP Basketball program for the past four years. The WRAP Basketball program is
a program for young people and adults with disabilities. WRAP basketball is more than a
basketball competition thanks to Marj, it provides players with the opportunity to have a
go, try their best, make friends and have fun. In a busy world, it’s important to remember
the power of friendships and helping those who are socially isolated to have something to
look forward to.

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IC HOWARD/ Y
INTERNATIONAL
SCHOLARSHIP
Todd Jeanes, YMCA Brisbane
Todd works in YMCA’s Education and Training department and
has undertaken a number of Vocational Education and Training
(VET) related webinars, and leadership workshops. The intended
study program would combine two courses, a Diploma of Sport
and Recreation Management through the Australian Sports
Academy and a specific module from the Queensland University
of Technology’s Leadership program. These courses provide the
blend of skills and knowledge that would support Todd’s
development and that of the YMCA’s internal professional development program.

Lachlan Graham, YMCA Geelong
Lachlan Graham from YMCA Geelong is an amazing young man who goes above
and beyond in his pursuit for the YMCA Gymnastics Program. He commenced
as a volunteer more than 10 years ago and is now the head coach of the Men’s
Artistic Gymnastic Program. He has held the role as Coach Development Officer and
represented the YMCA on the Gymnastic’s Victoria Technical Committee and was
selected as a coach for the Victorian team in 2018. The professional development
opportunity would directly assist YMCA Geelong’s management to gain insight to
the latest trends in club development, it will provide an evidence base for decisions
around customer and coach engagement. It will assist in the program development and
design and provide an opportunity for Lachy to share his learnings collectively with the
Movement.

Annette Jurisch, YMCA Whittlesea
In the past five years whilst employed by the YMCA, Annette has had the opportunity
to be part of the National Disability Leadership team and has visited the Hobart and
Brisbane YMCAs. In her role as Community Services Manager, she has attended local
conferences and workshops within the Disability Sector increasing her knowledge of
audit requirements with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The study
project is focused around access and inclusion services across YMCA Associations.
The scholarship would be used to understand and gain other YMCA impacts within the
NDIS space to bring back new ideas to YMCA Whittlesea and the National Disability
Leadership team.

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STAFF MEMBER
OF THE YEAR
Menny Monahan, YMCA Brisbane
Menny Monahan is the Senior Wellbeing Counsellor from YMCA
Vocational School’s Moreton Bay campus and has made an invaluable
contribution to the development of an organisation framework to
improve the mental health of beneficiaries and staff. Menny termed this
concept ‘Thrive’ to reflect a positive state of functioning of mind, body
and spirit. Since early 2017, she has passionately championed Thrive
across the YMCA Vocational School. In doing so, she has aided staff
to better understand how young people regulate their emotions and
to better understand how young people regulate their emotions and behaviour.
Marilyn Oliver, YMCA NSW
As well as her Youth Week and Female Wellness Project activities, Marilyn has been
involved in various community opportunities including Seniors’ Week. Additionally, she
has run various health seminars for the community to attend, including Gut Health,
Eat Right for Your Body Type, and a Sleep Seminar. These events are generally free for
participants and often result in many new memberships. Mount Annan’s fitness centre
has grown in the past 12 months from 1,400 members to over 2,000 and Marilyn has
played a key role in this growth. During this time she has led the team through a major
site redevelopment in 2017 which included a complete fit out of the gym. Throughout
the redevelopment, Marilyn was instrumental in keeping people engaged in programs
and services. She also built excitement around what the refurbished centre would look
like and offer to members.
Emma Hosking, YMCA Victoria
Emma single-handedly launched a Special Olympics Program at Booroondara Sports
Complex which provides a competitive gymnastics pathway for children with an
intellectual disability. Just two months after launching the program, Emma and three
of her participants competed at the 2018 Victorian Championships achieving amazing
results. Emma was also integral in the launch of the Aerobics Gymnastics Program,
and has been instrumental in the success of the BSC gymnastics program growing its
numbers by 10% in the last 12 months. She has also been responsible for the 19.9%
growth in the casual PlayGym gymnastics program annual attendances.

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STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR

Elizabeth Wolfenden, YMCA WA
Elizabeth has been an energetic and resourceful member of the strategy, governance
and administration team in Western Australia for three years. Elizabeth is a true ‘jack
of all trades’ and played a key role in executing a support function known as ‘roll
your sleeves up’ for the YMCA WA business. Elizabeth coordinates staff housing,
insurance, facilities management, compliance and reporting functions, fleet and
vehicle management and is also the lynchpin of our events management capability.
Jet Cool Do, YMCA Whittlesea
Jet began his YMCA career in 1994 as a casual lifeguard. Over the years, Jet has
taken on numerous roles to enhance his industry knowledge and to ensure he is
delivering the best service possible to his fellow team mates and patrons. Jet is
now Operations Director at Thomastown Recreation & Aquatic Centre, and he
oversees all plantroom operations, duty managers, lifeguards, centre cleaners and
centre maintenance. Jet’s passion is his staff teams, he believes in them and creates
opportunities for them to feel empowered and for them to step up and develop their
own leadership skills. He acts as a role model and is a wealth of knowledge to help
improve other staff and colleagues.

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THE POWER OF
INSPIRED YOUNG
PEOPLE AWARD
Kelly Moore, YMCA Brisbane
Kelly Moore first came into contact with the YMCA as an 18-year-
young musician, who had recently formed a heavy-metal band
with his best friend. Through his participation in the band project,
his work ethic was clear. He was then successful in applying for
a junior office position, immediately demonstrating passion and
hard work. Over the next five years Kelly played a key role in
campus operations. Not only was he the face of the North Lakes
reception counter, he frequently de-escalated emotional parents,
placated agitated teenagers and supported stressed-out staff. He
assisted regularly on weekends with band gigs and events, as well
as attending to the needs of community partners and venue hirers. He has recently
taken on the role of project worker with ease, and has commenced studying IT and
Business at university.

Patrick O’Meara, YMCA NSW
Patrick was a lifeguard from January 2016 until February 2017 when he was promoted
to a lifeguard Duty Manager. In September 2017, he responded to an expression of
interest to work on a new program being developed by YMCA NSW called StreetgYm.
StreetgYm is a youth outreach program that engages at risk young people from low
socio-economic communities with YMCA Youth Workers, recreational activities and
other community organisations. He commenced working on StreetgYm for three hours
a week. His passion for this project and rapport with young people was outstanding,
and in March 2018, Patrick was employed fulltime by the Community Services team as
the Youth Empowerment and Programs Coordinator. He now coordinates StreetgYm in
Telopea and Youth Hubs in Mount Annan and Penrith.

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THE POWER OF INSPIRED YOUNG PEOPLE AWARD

Abdullahi Mohamed, YMCA Victoria
Abdullahi Mohamed is a lifeguard who developed his skills through the Life Saving
Victoria’s CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) community program. When the
program commenced, his ability to swim was limited, and after graduating he became
a stronger swimmer and a Lifeguard at Coburg Leisure Centre. Outside of work
Abdullahi has volunteered his time with Life Saving Victoria (LSV) to inspire 10 young
Somalian and Afghani girls in his communities to enrol into the CALD program. He set
up initial inductions with these girls and the LSV program leader, and remains present
at every training session, to encourage and inspire the girls’ development. From his
hard work and dedication all of the girls have learnt lifesaving swimming skills. Three
of the young women are ready to graduate to the lifeguarding skills competent of the
program, two have gained employment as lifeguards and one is now becoming a
swim teacher. He is not only an ambassador for the YMCA and LSV but an inspiration
to all young people about the impact they can have on others’ lives.

Kimberley (Kim) Ransfield, YMCA WA
Kim has worked for the YMCA for over two years in the remote community of Port
Hedland, which is over 1,700km away from the central offices of the YMCA in
Perth. The Pilbara region is predominately a mining area with a high flying in, fly out
workforce, and a highly disadvantaged disconnected and disengaged local population.
Kim operates the largest health and wellness space in the Pilbara Region on behalf
of the Town of Port Hedland. She also manages two aquatic centres that serve two
communities of Port Hedland and South Hedland which are geographically separated
due to the salt mining operation. Kim is a leader of people who builds confidence, trust
and loyalty in a remote and demanding environment.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

YMCA Australia would like to thank the following people for
their significant contribution to the 2018 YMCA Australia
Awards:

YMCA Services

Ian Howard and Y Service Clubs International

Award Panellists:
Tom Stephenson – YMCA Australia Treasurer
Richard Nedov – YMCA Australia Director
Gabrielle Young – Global Change Agent & Senior Coordinator Vacation Care
Matt Shaw – Global Change Agent, Creative Services & Project Manager
Georgie Nichol – Global Change Agent & Project Coordinator
Jonathan Santamaria – Director, YMCA Global Study
Tal Karp – YMCA Australia Director
Jayden Parsons – Global Change Agent & Youth Development Coordinator

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