Category: News
Y.M.C.A. Four letters made popular by the Village People’s 70s song
How many times have you made those shapes on the dancefloor?
More importantly, have you ever stopped and thought about the meaning behind that song? The Village People supposedly wrote the song to praise the original YMCA – the Young Men’s Christian Association – for being a place where young men could spend their time, symbolising inclusivity and acceptance. And even though in 2024 we’re living in a very different time and place, the YMCA’s mission and goal remains, centred on inclusivity and the safety of young people.
Essential and valuable community services
For well over a century, people have known of the YMCA. It has deep roots in communities, decades of experience enabling young people and communities to thrive, along with an extensive global network spanning over 120 countries.
The Y Canberra Region, part of this YMCA movement – the largest and oldest not-for-profit youth organisation in the world – offers many support services for all stages of the life cycle, from early childhood education, to after school hours and vacation care, student accommodation, health and wellbeing, and job opportunities linked to career growth and personal development centred on giving back and helping the community thrive. All essential and highly valuable community services.
With and for young people
But how about taking a closer look at the Why in the Y – the why we do what we do, rather than the what we do.
It all comes back to the Y’s vision – to create a better world, with and for young people. Our mission is to empower children, young people and communities Australia-wide to build a just, sustainable, equitable and inclusive world where every person can thrive in body, mind and spirit.
There’s that inclusive word that the Village People were singing about again.
Safeguarding of children
Safeguarding of children and young people is also at the core of our why. For children and young people to feel safe is a basic human right. It gives them a voice and a say, it enables them to speak up with confidence and support. Central to our why, we are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable people first and foremost in all our programs and activities. And we embed a safe culture through our regularly reviewed and improved extensive Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy and Procedures.
Representing youth voice in the Canberra Region
All our Y Canberra Region employees, our ‘Y People’, complete appropriate safeguarding children and vulnerable people training, and understand their responsibilities to act in the best interests of these people.
Our young people are our why, and as such we have also developed the Youth Representative Group – the chance for young people of the Canberra Region to feel empowered and inspired, to have their voices heard and have opportunities to grow. Open to anyone who works for the Y Canberra Region aged 18-30, members serve to consult on the Y’s plans, policies and procedures, programs and initiatives, all with a focus on young people. Genuine change and driving real social impact are at the heart of the Group’s why.
For more information on the Y’s safeguarding of children and Youth Representative Group, discover more about Our Why.
Learn more from Canberra Region youth, whilst positively impacting their lives
They say if you enjoy what you do, you will never work a day in your life.
Whilst at the end of the day work is always going to be work, what a real difference it makes if you genuinely feel that what you’re doing is truly making a difference to the lives of those around you.
There is a lot to be said for finding a workplace in which you are personally making a sincere contribution to change someone else’s life. But have you ever considered working in an environment where you can have a direct and positive impact to people at all stages of their lives?
With and for young people
The Y Canberra Region does just that, with employment opportunities that span almost all stages of life – everything from early learning education and care, school aged care and accommodation services, to health and wellbeing. The Y’s goal is to make a genuine positive impact on all the lives we come across, with a big emphasis on our Canberra Region youth.
The Y Canberra Region has a very specific purpose, our own why, and the reason why we get out of bed each day for what is more than ‘just employment’– to create a better world, with and for young people.
“Young people are just fantastic to be around, to lead and engage with, and perhaps most of all, to learn from at the same time,” said The Y Canberra Region employee, Sarah*.
“It is so fulfilling to work in a role that’s geared towards helping young people, with the added bonus that we get to hear from those young people too. We find out what makes them tick, we find out what’s important to them – their likes, their needs and their wants – which arms us to create a better world for them,” Sarah continued.
Commitment to diversity and inclusion
Whilst we can certainly give you the rundown about our mission as background – empowering children, young people and communities Australia-wide to build a just, sustainable, equitable and inclusive world where every person can thrive in body, mind and spirit – and we can also tell you that we are committed to inclusion and diversity because it supports our vision and purpose, it’s probably more beneficial to hear directly from some more of The Y Canberra’s Region staff like Sarah on their ‘why’ they do what they do…
“It’s incredibly empowering to see people meet their physical and personal goals.”
“The families we provide assistance to make it all feel worthwhile”
“There are opportunities for both mentoring others and being mentored.”
“I really enjoy positively engaging with my community.”
“It’s opened up a number of pathways for me.”
“Work feels like working with one big family.”
Grow with the Y
The Y works to enhance connections, increase access, build social inclusion and encourage individual empowerment and participation in the workplace. If you work for the Y, you will be part of creating environments that support and promote inclusive attitudes and practices.
At the Y Canberra Region, we offer a variety of interesting, challenging and rewarding job opportunities for those people seeking work in an environment that values contribution, teamwork and community.
The types of valuable employment opportunities we offer include Centre Directors and Educators in Early Learning, Early Childhood Teachers, Food and Beverage attendants, and Health and Wellbeing Officers just to name a few. And of course, there’s a broad range of roles on offer that enable us to deliver our core services – such as roles in administration, support, finance, marketing and human resources.
If you are interested in joining our team and helping represent the youth voice in the Canberra Region, contact us to find out more about employment opportunities and have a chat with our People & Culture Team.
Help us keep our children safe
The YMCA Canberra is seeking community support to help with their campaign against an amendment to a Development Application on a large residential development site next to our Early Learning Centre in Gungahlin. Our key concerns are the risk to the safety of the children accessing our Centre due to the narrow shared driveway and increased traffic flow resulting from the proposed increase in residential and commercial units, and the waste management arrangements with large trucks accessing and blocking the driveway throughout the week. In addition to this is our concern of breaches of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in relation to Privacy with close to 100 units facing into the Centre.
How you can help
To help, please consider lodging a short written submission to ACT Planning before 9 June 2020. The short form linked below must include the following Development Application details:
Development Application: 207132666
Block 4, Section 224
Period for representation closes: 9 June 2020
If you would like more information or to see the plans proposed by the developer please visit Access Canberra website and scroll to the relevant development.
Other ways you can support
- Talk to family, friends and your community about this matter
- Contact your local MLA
- Share our social media posts
If you would like to speak with some at YMCA Canberra, contact Madeleine Taylor, YMCA Canberra Chief Risk Officer at madeleine.taylor@ymca.org.au or 0431 384 451.
Keep up to date with live status alerts
The YMCA Canberra Critical Emergency Alert System is now activated. This system has been setup to keep all families, staff and community members up to date on the opening and closure status of Y Canberra services. To follow live updates click on the button below and subscribe to the feed. If you are already using our services you will be subscribed to receiving email and/or SMS alerts as they impact you e.g. your child visits one of our Early Learning Centres, Out of School Hours Care or you use our health and fitness services.
On this page:
- How is the Y monitoring the risk of COVID-19?
- Where you can access the latest government advice?
- What is self-isolation?
- How the Y is managing impacts to services?
- Preventative measures Y Canberra has taken so far?
How is the Y monitoring the risk of COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
YMCA Canberra (the Y) is continuing to monitor the situation and is following ACT Health for notifications and procedures. As the spread of infections has rapidly increased in recent days, Government decisions to impose further exclusions is changing on less than a daily basis so we may be required to act on this direction quickly but we are committed to making timely decisions as soon as this information is made available from the Federal and ACT government. This is why we encourage people who need the latest information from the Y, to subscribe to the Y Canberra Critical Emergency Alert System as the most current information as we receive it will be available on this page.
Where you can access the latest government advice?
Exclusions
- Travelers: Everyone entering Australia from overseas must self-quarantine or self isolate themselves at home for 14 days. Upon their return they need to monitor themselves for symptoms of Coronavirus, such as fever, cough, sore throat and shortness of breath. If they develop symptoms, they need to follow the steps described in the ACT Health Getting Tested page.
- Contact: Everyone who has been in close contact with a person who has been confirmed with Coronavirus, must be quarantined at home for 14 days after their last contact with that person.
- Feeling unwell: Everyone who feels unwell with symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat and shortness of breath should stay at home.
- Please check Home Affairs website regularly for the current travel exclusions.
Social distancing and hygiene
- New indoor and outdoor gathering restrictions announced yesterday do not apply to schools, OSHC and ELCs, however social distancing and hygiene practices do.
- Y Canberra has implemented social distancing and improved hygiene practices at all sites since January, and as the advice has changed from ACT Health, Australian Government Department of Health and ACT Education we have adapted our practices accordingly.
- The current fact sheets published 23 March from ACT Education for ELC and OSHC which explain the current advice for social distancing and hygiene are available here.
- Some practical examples of how we have adapted our practices include:
- All sites – increased hand sanitiser at all sites, increased disinfectant of touch points, increased hand washing for staff and children and limitations on people entering sites and moving between rooms
- ELCs – children eating in their rooms rather than in the communal dining room, staff walking children out to parent’s cars where the parent is not well, cancellation of all incursions and excursions, extra time outside
- OSHC – updates to menus to reduce sharing food, increased food hygiene measures and eating outdoors with more space between children where possible, talking about handwashing techniques and utilizing child friendly signs as well as spending as much time outdoors as possible.
Fees and CCS
- The Government is making regular announcements about how they are supporting families and providers through this difficult time. The current fact sheet published 20 March from Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment is available here. Announced changes not reflected in this fact sheet are available here and include:
- Increased number of days that a family can continue to claim the Child Care Subsidy in cases where a child is absent from child care for more than the currently allowable 42 days;
- Families can access additional absences, without the need for evidence, in relation to Coronavirus; and
- Current obligations waived for child care services to require a family to pay gap fees if the service is forced to close.
- Due to ACT schools being officially open, the Y Canberra is required to operate as business as usual. As such, Y Canberra policy requires a 2-week notification period for cancellation of bookings, which is consistent for most providers of OSHC and ELC in Canberra and more broadly Australia. This helps ensure staff job security and also ensures the sites can meet their operational expenses such as salaries, rent, utilities, cleaning, supplies, maintenance and resources. We appreciate the confusion and frustration for families and are doing everything we can to provide clear and consistent information which reflects the current Government advice.
- We are absolutely committed to continuing to provide high quality education and care to the 3,000 children and young people who attend our sites as well as maintaining job security for the nearly 500 staff who work so hard to support them. Maintaining this policy helps ensure we can do that now, through this difficult period as well as into the future.
What is self-isolation?
Being isolated at home means that the adult, child or young person needs to stay at home for the full period, unless they need medical attention. They cannot go into public areas, and should not use public transportation, ride share or taxis. Visitors to the home should be discouraged.
How is the Y managing impacts to services?
- Plans have been developed to respond to the potential spread of Coronavirus. When and if there is a case in the ACT, these plans will be scaled in proportion to the spread of the virus. The response will be based on ACT Health advice, ACT Education Directorate advice and learnings from other jurisdictions.
- This may include that if a student, participant, staff member or volunteer were to test positive to the virus, the impacted site or service will close for a short period while ACT Health investigates the incident and completes contact tracing. Where a site or service closes, students and participants will need to be picked up as quickly as possible. Those students, participants, staff and/ or volunteers identified as close contacts of a case will need to self-isolate at home for 14 days. You may have already seen this happening in other states in schools and workplaces where confirmed cases have been identified.
- Y Canberra will then schedule a specialised clean to ensure the site or service is safe to return to when clearance is given by ACT Health.
- Families/carers/members will not be charged for the period the service or site is closed. If you currently utilise our childcare services refer to Coronavirus (COVID-19) information sheet for child care providers and services which explains when you will and will not be charged and how CCS will be applied for Coronavirus related absences. Hard copies of this fact sheet are available at relevant Y Canberra services.
- As a community, during this preparation phase, it may be timely for families to consider their own family and care arrangements should service or site closure be necessary.
Preventative measures the Y has taken so far
Y Canberra have been operating with increased hygiene practices for over a month now. To help reassure our members, parents and carers, please see measures implemented to date:
- Hand sanitiser will be required to be used by all people before entering sites.
- All common touch points (pin pads/ door handles etc) are being sanitised throughout the day.
- Staff will be washing their hands throughout the day and in children’s services, children and young people are assisted and directed to do so as well.
- Additional stock of hand sanitiser, disinfectants and paper products are in place at all sites.
- Protective masks will be available.
- Detailed information on implementing these measures and how to manage various possible scenarios related to Coronavirus is being shared with all of Y Canberra management and staff on an ongoing basis.
Preventative measures for your household
Please ensure everyone in your household continues to practice good hygiene, including:
- Carefully and regularly washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
- When sneezing or coughing – cover your mouth and nose, then dispose of tissue and wash your hands or apply a hand sanitiser
- Avoid touching your face
- Avoid handshakes.
We are sorry to report that recently, the YMCA community lost Ralph Westen. A great man who played a fundamental role in founding, developing and supporting YMCA Canberra’s Sailing Club.
For those of you who didn’t know Ralph, he was a man of many great traits and accomplishments – from being an original co-founder of the club; contributive club and boathouse designer; committee member; club commodore; race starter; to keen photographer and contributed to the club’s newsletter for many years. More importantly though, he was an adoring husband to his lovely wife Billie, a fellow committee member, club contributor and life member. He is remembered as a cheeky, kind and outgoing man, with a great sense of humour. He was also even a keen gemologist in his later retirement years!
To establish a better idea of who this outstanding man was and the true impact that he had on our local community, we spoke to Ralph’s fellow club colleague and long-term friend, Ron Thompson.
Tell us about how you came to know Ralph, and how he contributed to YMCA Canberra’s Sailing Club over the years
“First and foremost, Ralph was one of the two founders of the Sailing Club. As he, his wife Billie (a long time manager of YMCA Civic) and a few other keen skiers who were at the then YMCA Thredbo Ski Lodge were talking about Lake Burley Griffin being filled – they thought ‘why don’t we start a sailing club?’ Ralph and another gentleman called Val Parel then started the YMCA sailing club. The Y Board were very happy to have a sailing club as part of their community. Sailing with the club originally started on Lake George, then Lotus Bay and eventually moving to where the club resides now, on Yarralumla Bay, Lake Burley Griffin once the lake filled… That’s how it all started! In fact, Ralph had the first sailing boat on the Lake as it was filling with water! He showed me photos of his boat sitting on the Lake before it was even full.
“Ralph was also instrumental in the building of the club house. From the plans to the design, to selecting land, (to eventually) getting approval to build the club on Yarralumla Bay. Even down to the finest details like selected timbers and painting everything that you see today, Ralph was involved in all of it… A number of years later, he was equally as involved in the design and building of the boatshed.
“Ralph was a past Commodore of the club, he and his wife Billie often sailed and they started the club newsletter Mains’l, of which Billie was the editor for many years. Ralph provided a lot of photographs for these publications, being a very keen photographer.
“The YMCA sailing club originally started & finished all the races from an old caravan parked on the shore at the mouth of the bay. The racing starting boat that the club has used for many years was purchased and named Westen after Ralph and Billie. Ralph started and finished races for many years before retiring from the sport. In the early days, races were started with a shotgun & Ralph was fondly remembered for blowing a hole in the start number board one day when he accidentally discharged the gun in the wrong direction”
“I first met Ralph in 1984, when I started sailing in Canberra. Then, when I became commodore of the club, about 12 years ago, I got to know Ralph even more with lengthy discussions around how the club was formed & grown. Ralph & Billie became life members of the club & in later years I used to take him and Billie along to presentation nights.
“When Ralph and Billie moved into their retirement home, I visited them to chat and had regular phone conversations about sailing, the club and life in general. We ended up being very good friends over many years.”
How would you describe Ralph personally and how he uniquely impacted the club and the members throughout the years?
“He just had that type of personality where he could make people laugh, engage with everyone easily and make anyone feel involved…”
“With his interest in sailing and always wanting the best things for the club, he was consistently impactful. It was part of him… He has influenced many, many people throughout the years and always in a positive way.”
While there is no way to summarise Ralph’s life and what he truly meant to the Sailing Club, we think Ron probably put it best in saying, “He was simply a really nice person, who will be missed by the people who knew him.”
Our thoughts are with his wife Billie, loved ones and friends during this difficult time. He will be remembered fondly by us here at the Y.
Dear Leumeah and Bush Capital Lodge guests,
Please be advised that a State of Emergency has now been declared in the ACT for all areas of the ACT: https://esa.act.gov.au/state-emergency-place-act
This is vital to ensure the safety of the community and to ensure people are prepared as conditions become more challenging over the coming days. It has been declared due to the Orroral Valley fire burning out of control in Namadgi National Park. The State of Emergency will be in effect from Friday 31 January 2020 to Sunday 2 February 2020. This fire is currently at at Emergency Level.
We want to assure you that we are actively monitoring the situation throughout Canberra, as it relates to our local programs and accommodation venues. Despite the State of Emergency, there is currently no immediate fire threat to Leumeah Lodge in Nicholls or Bush Capital Lodge in O’Conner.
In the event that you are unable to travel due to these prevailing weather conditions, please contact reception on 02 6152 8388 no later than 24 hours prior to your arrival date.
We would like to offer some resources relevant to the ACT in monitoring the changing situation:
ACT Emergency Services Agency: Advice on the State of Alert, relevant bushfire advice, and road closures within the ACT are available on their website & communicated frequently via their Facebook Page
https://esa.act.gov.au/ & https://www.facebook.com/actemergencyservicesagency/
ACT Health: will offer up-to-date advice surrounding the presence of Smoke in the ACT
https://www.health.act.gov.au/about-our-health-system/population-health/environmental-monitoring/monitoring-and-regulating-air
Bureau of Meteorology: for any other weather-related warnings
http://www.bom.gov.au/index.php
Live Traffic NSW: for information on road closures around the ACT
https://www.livetraffic.com/desktop.html
For guests currently on-site:
– Our staff have undergone fire warden and evacuation training
– We have an emergency management plan in place, which includes evacuation maps displayed in all rooms
– We have fire alarms and fire safety equipment across the property
– For after-hours emergencies for on-site guests, please contact 0427 688 459
Reception staff are contactable during the following hours:
Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm
Saturday 10am to 6pm
Sunday 9am to 3pm
Public Holidays times may vary.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us. We hope you enjoy your stay with Leumeah Lodge and Bush Capital Lodge.
Y Canberra is continuing to monitor the situation and is following ACT Health for notifications and procedures. Below is the current information shared by Australian Government Department of Health (31 January 2020):
To date, all the information from around the world has suggested that confirmed cases of novel coronavirus could only spread the infection while they have symptoms.
There is now emerging information that some people may be infectious for a short period before they develop symptoms, or when they have very minimal symptoms.
For this reason, and in line with national health advice, we are taking a highly precautionary approach and making the following recommendations:
- People who have been in contact with any confirmed novel coronavirus cases must be isolated in their home for 14 days following exposure; and
- Returned travellers who have been in Hubei Province of China must be isolated in their home for 14 days after leaving Hubei Province, other than for seeking individual medical care.
Given the lower number of cases in mainland China reported outside of Hubei Province, we do not currently recommend self-isolation for travellers from other parts of mainland China or other countries.
The Australian government is closely monitoring the situation and this advice will be updated, as necessary.
In addition to following the above advice, Y Canberra is:
- Refreshing staff knowledge of the Y Canberra Child Health and Wellbeing Policy (as attached) and providing a copy at all sites for parents/ guardians and participants to view;
- Implementing increased hygiene practices at all sites such as more frequent disinfecting of common touchpoints such as door pin pads and door handles; and
- Increasing stock at all sites of relevant products such as hand sanitizer and disinfectant sprays.
Y Canberra will provide updates as needed to our families, participants and community via Storypark and our Website.
Please speak with your Director, Coordinator or Site Manager if you have any questions or concerns.
Kind Regards
Director/ Coordinator/ Site Manager