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This month we are excited to be celebrating 40 years of the RAID Basketball Program. Short for Recreational Activities for Intellectual Disabilities, RAID provides opportunities for the players to be part of a sporting team and to enjoy, not only the game itself, but the friendship, pride and confidence of being part of a team.

For those not privileged to have seen a RAID basketball game, they happen every Wednesday night and include about 30 players supported by 6 -10 student volunteers from Radford College, in the College’s gym. There are two games played, beginners and intermediate, and participants are placed into the game that best suits their level of skill and pace. RAID is a highlight of the week for our participants, which just in the last 5 years alone, has involved over 379 players of varying abilities.

Did you know we can thank YMCA for the invention of basketball?

Implemented in 1984, the program is actually part of a very long history the YMCA has with basketball. Did you know that basketball was invented in 1891 by Dr James Naismith of the YMCA Massachusetts? He came up with the sport as a way to keep people active and connected during the Winter months. Then fast forward to 1946, and it was the Y that introduced basketball to the Canberra Region community, along with table tennis, judo, and volleyball as social sports.

RAID partnership with Radford College

RAID Basketball wouldn’t be what it is today without our partnership with Radford College, which began in 2006. RAID offers the Radford College students the opportunity to volunteer at the program, promoting wholistic development, fostering leadership skills and nurturing a sense of community responsibility.

Kathleen Notley, Acting Director of Service Learning at Radford, supported the importance of the program when she said earlier this year, “The program’s focus on developing relationships between the RAID participants and our students has not only enriched the lives of the participating students but has also contributed to the overall well-being of our school community.”

End-of-year celebrations and thank you to our volunteers

Not only was this year’s end-of-year celebrations a special one, as we honour 40 years of the program, but it was also a great moment for us as an organisation to reflect on the contribution of our RAID volunteers that have made this program possible. Over the last 17+ years since the College and the Y Canberra decided to partner on RAID, we have had the support of over 570 volunteers from the Canberra community, of which are mostly current and past Radford students. Thank you to all of our volunteers, past and present, and the Radford College community that has also provided the space and resources to keep the program running for so long.

Looking to get involved?

Do you have a passion for basketball and supporting your local community? If you are interested in participating, volunteering or sponsoring our RAID program in 2025 please contact us at activey.canberra@ymca.org.au for more information.

The Y Canberra Region is keeping its eye firmly on their goal of building a better world with and for young people, today meeting with Independents for Canberra candidate, Thomas Emerson, to discuss the issues facing the young people of the ACT, and to develop ways to better tackle these issues.

“Canberra is a young, forward-thinking City, the median age is just over 35 years, making it the youngest capital city outside of Darwin. Canberra is a city of children, Gen Alphas, Gen Z, and Millennials, said The Y CEO, Kirsty Dixon.

“As we approach the ACT election, the many issues the younger generation of the ACT face each and every day are of serious concern. We are worried for Canberra children and young people, and our city’s future generations,” Ms Dixon continued.

Ms Dixon, together with fellow Y Canberra Region staff, today met with Thomas Emerson, reinforcing that the Y’s young people and Youth Representative Group (YRG) are supportive of Independents and the power of the cross-bench to introduce fresh new ideas, and better policies.

“Our YRG members really relate to Thomas Emerson, a fellow millennial, he is an energetic and smart young leader and younger parent, he is also prepared to listen, be courageous, and introduce new policies and ideas,” said Md Dixon.

One of our Gen Z youth representatives, Kobi Stray, said, “this current government has been in power since before I was born. I haven’t known another government.”

Y Canberra Region Youth meet with Thomas Emerson, Independent for Canberra Candidate
Left to Right: Bronte, Maeve, Thomas, Kobi, Kirsty, Sanyukta, Sam, and Danielle

Tom is striving for “real action, not just talk”, and this includes the introduction of innovative legislation like the Future Generations Act. The Future Generations Act is world-class public policy and a practical way to introduce accountability into a ‘forever government’. The UN ‘Summit of the Future’ adopted the Declaration of Future Generations just last month and called it a ‘paradigm shift’.

Ms Dixon said The Y Canberra Region met today to discuss some very big issues Canberra’s future generations face, and that being proactive and banding together is likely to see better outcomes than leaving things to chance, especially as voters aged between 18 to 40 years now make up a significant percentage of the voting cohort, yet Canberra’s major party leaders and cabinet ministers are mostly Generation Xers, or older.

The statistics are quite concerning for ACT youth:

The Y Canberra Region is working hard to address the needs of young people, with today’s meeting aligning with the goals set out in The Y’s Strategy 2030, with the aim to empower, connect and support young people in their care, their staff and communities.

The Y Canberra Region’s Senior Manager of Youth Voice, Sam Duffy-Yates, who oversees the Youth Representative Group (YRG) said,

“The ACT is overall a young demographic, and I don’t know a single young person who isn’t affected by the cost of living, housing, mental health, or sustainability stress.”

Ms Dixon also expressed concern with young people having watched governments over the past 20 years make decisions, or worse still, avoid bold ones, about housing, the climate, preventative mental health, youth justice, education, and taxation that has actually worked against them and their futures.  

“Young people don’t want to listen to older Generation X leaders and cabinet ministers, labelling themselves ‘progressive’, when they see no progress, a safe home, good mental health, or a secure planet for themselves. Young people aren’t progressing, many are going backwards,” Ms Dixon continued.

Research states that young people are no-longer voting along party political lines, and are more likely to be motivated by cause-related issues and bold policy ideas that take their future seriously.

“What places like Wales and Scotland are doing, it is groundbreaking, these progressive leaders care about the young people’s wellbeing and the planet, and not only are they listening to young people, they are embedding children’s interests in legislation. We think every grandparent and parent would want that for Canberra’s children and grandchildren.” Ms Dixon said.

Left to Right: Sam Duffy Yates, Senior Manager Youth Voice; Thomas Emerson, Independent for Canberra; Kobi Stray, Y Canberra Youth Representative; Kirsty Dixon, Y Canberra Region CEO

Canberra is the only territory or state in Australia that does not have a community-based, rather than government-directed, Y Youth Parliament and Youth Voice Ambassador program. The Y hopes to seek support to establish an independent, community-directed, Y Youth Parliament to ensure young people and children citizen voices are always heard by the Legislative Assembly.

“It is exciting to see that there are young people, like Tom, who have a genuine drive to put the voices of young people at the forefront, and explore policies and initiate change on issues that young people care about,” Ms Dixon concluded.

For more information on the Y Canberra Region, visit www.ymcacanberra.org.au

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the recent passing of Len Goodman AO.

Len was a past CEO and Life Member of the Y Canberra Region, as well as having ties to Y’s across Queensland, Victoria and throughout Australia.

Len passed away peacefully on July 10th 2024.

Len, and his beloved wife of almost 69 years, Joyce, played a fundamental role in some of the Y’s programs, and activities, from the Y Triangle’s Club in Brisbane, to being the President of the Jolly Y’s Men’s Club, to being part of the Y in Brisbane and in Rockhampton, in Melbourne as part of the Y Australia team, and as CEO in Y Canberra for 5 years.

Len was a YMCA staff member for over 27 years, and even after he left the role of CEO of Y Canberra in 1984, he continued to be involved with community events and as a Life Member.

In a 2022 interview with Len, he shared what he loved most about being involved in his community, and in particular, the Y:

“It’s the opportunity to draw out what young people don’t know they’ve got sometimes. You encourage so they can see that there is so much more to life. I’ve always said that we are in the people business, therefore we are there to give people opportunities to be better than they think they can be.”

Len was a man of vision, a person embedded into his local community and a valued member here at the Y Canberra Region.

We are grateful for Len’s support, and he will be fondly remembered by our Y team.

Our thoughts are with his wife, Joyce, family, friends and loved ones during this time.

The Y Canberra Region

20 March 2024

Media Release – Closure of Chifley Gym and Get Up & Go Programs, Karabar, NSW

The Y Canberra Region (formerly YMCA) has last week, released a statement to announce the sad closure of its Chifley Gym in Canberra and Get Up & Go program in Karabar, NSW.

The Chifley Gym is a small, community gym that runs during weekdays, and has around 200 members and 50 exercise physiology clients. Our Karabar, NSW program is a weekly exercise class of 50 members. Fees for classes and services are typically well below commercial gyms and commercial allied health providers. The gym is only open on weekdays and does not have a 24×7 service.

Over the past few years, the Y Canberra Region team has donated over $1 million dollars of its own financial reserves to keep these small services operating for a couple of hundred members.

Like most small businesses, the cost of doing business is increasingly tough for not-for-profits, and unfortunately, we cannot continue to help every member of the community.

The YMCA is primarily a youth charity and our benevolent mission is to build a better world, with and for young people. The Y Canberra Region’s core businesses are Early Learning Child Care, Before and After School Care, Inclusion Basketball and our Sailing Club. Unfortunately, the Y team are not specialist health providers in allied health, aged care, NDIS, or rehabilitation.

The Y team know there is so much need across all age demographics right now in the Australian community, however the mental health burden of disease facing children and young people, has escalated sharply post-COVID and is largely preventable. Younger Australians are doing it very, very tough and we can see a whole generation of people that cannot afford to study, pay rent, and buy houses. The great Australian dream for many young people in this country is under threat. The Y, as primarily a youth charity, wants to do more to address these unique challenges facing children and young people today.

The small Chifley Gym and Karabar program, operates like a social enterprise, is not a public service, nor is it funded by taxpayers or the government. The Y Canberra Region, have kept the doors open as long as we can, and sadly, we have now had to close our doors for this small group of members.

Over the next few weeks, our amazing Y staff will be assisting our gym members and clients in finding alternative providers and luckily, we have found some fantastic community-focused gyms and private allied-health practices, on both the North and South side of Canberra that can cater for this wonderful client group and their specific needs.

The YMCA team have loved providing this service to this small gym community and will be hosting a thankyou gathering and farewell afternoon tea on the 5th April, 2024, our last day of operating.

The Y Canberra Region is changing.

Our organisation is a part of the World YMCA network reaching over 65 million people in more than 120 countries. We have the power to unite people and inspire communities.

The Y Canberra Region team operates across the ACT and the adjacent NSW region and is part of the largest and oldest charitable youth movement in the world.

The World YMCA has a new Strategy 2030 that aims to unite all Y’s around the world under a compelling purpose to build a better world, with and for young people.

Supporting and empowering children and young people is our organisation’s primary charitable purpose.

 

From today, the Y Canberra Region organisation will commence its journey in transitioning all our sites and services across ACT and NSW region to align to this new 2030 Strategy. This involves important decisions about our current and future services.

We want to elevate our role as a charitable, for-purpose organisation, with a focus on child and youth development, benevolence, social justice and youth advocacy.

We will also be a charity for the entire Y Canberra Region, focusing on our important role and contribution in both Canberra, and importantly, renewing our focus on how the YMCA best serves the community of Queanbeyan and the adjacent NSW region over the coming years.

Strategy 2030 is about aligning behind a focused vision and being intentional in whom we serve, what we do, why and how we do it. This means important choices.

 

Today, we are announcing a new Health and Wellbeing Strategy aligned to the Y Strategy 2030.

This new Y Health and Wellbeing Strategy focuses on preventative health and wellbeing, inclusion, and social support for children and young people across our region. It has a particular emphasis on equitable access to play, leisure, and recreation, as a human right, for fill children and young people, no matter their background and different abilities.

This new strategy has an early intervention and prevention, biopsychosocial (body/mind/spirit) focus, with an emphasis on activating school and community-based sites and leveraging school and sporting partnerships to deliver more scale and impact across NSW and the ACT. This strategy will see growth and support for our Sailing Club, Paddle Hub, and RAID Inclusion Basketball and more cross-programming between Children’s Services and Student Accommodation.

Today, we have also made the important and carefully considered decision to close and exit from certain aspects of our Health and Recreation Business that unfortunately does not align with this new 2030 Strategy and our renewed focus on children and young people.

The Y Canberra Region team has made a decision to close the Y Chifley Health and Wellness gym in the ACT and close the ‘Get Up and Go’ classes at Karabar, NSW.

 

The Y team are immensely grateful for the support and patronage we have received throughout the years for these Y services, which primarily support our community of seniors across ACT and NSW. It has been a pleasure serving our community, and we are truly thankful for the relationships we have built along the way. We understand that this is extremely difficult time, for not only our Y members, but also the dedicated Y staff involved in the closure of these services.

The Y team believe that this service is very valuable to our Canberra community and we would love to see this type of community-based health service continue in a more sustainable way, managed by an appropriately accredited health provider and adequately supported by the Government.

For the remaining few weeks of operations of these two sites, the Y will provide membership and client case management to support members in finding alternative providers to minimise this impact The Y will also host farewell gatherings for clients and staff to thank them for their time with the Y at both Karabar, and Chifley sites.

 

I would sincerely like to thank all staff, managers, clients, partners, and community members in understanding and supporting this important change, as we renew our commitment to building a better world, with and for children and young people across the ACT and NSW region.

 

Kirsty Dixon
Chief Executive Officer
Y Canberra Region

The Y Canberra Region (formerly YMCA) would like to acknowledge the Y NSW (with headquarters in Sydney) for their services in running local Canberra pools and leisure centres at Stromlo, Gungahlin, Civic and Tuggeranong. The Y Canberra team look forward to collaborating with the Australasia commercial operators Belgravia Health and Leisure into the future.

 

The Y is a heritage Not-For-Profit organisation that has grown alongside the Canberra community since 1941. It is first and foremost about enriching the lives and supporting equal access to good health, recreation and wellbeing programs and services for Canberra’s young people, families and community. The Y Canberra Region team is keen to ensure that universal access to beneficial, preventative health, sport, and recreation remains accessible and inclusive for all of the Canberra community, particularly at-risk young people.

Based on the Australian Early Development Census (AECD) results, our Y team is concerned that the developmental vulnerability of Canberra children is the second lowest nationwide concerning the domain of physical health and wellbeing. Like other Not-For-Profits across the region, our team is also concerned that the ACT is one of the most expensive places for children to play sports and be a member of a sporting club in Australia. Almost 50% of the Y Canberra staff are under the age of 25 and know first-hand about the cost-of-living pressure disproportionately affecting young people and at-risk populations. Healthy recreation activities, including sporting clubs, pools and gym memberships, may be out of reach or seen as non-essential when someone is trying to navigate the current cost-of-living crisis.

Intergenerational healthy habits are critical to taking the pressure off Canberra’s strained health system at all levels of care as our population continues to age. Canberra deserves more inclusive and accessible community-based preventative health programs, knowing the risks and outcomes of not providing affordable sports and recreation for young people. Our Clinical Exercise Physiology team supports this, knowing that healthy habits are formed from a young age and are essential to lifelong physical and cognitive development.

The YMCA is synonymous with sport and fitness, having invented basketball in December 1891 in Massachusetts to keep young men focused and safely engaged during winter months. The 1844 YMCA motto of ‘mind, body and spirit’ has never been more relevant for Canberra children and young people.

We would like to thank the Y NSW for supporting this mission and running the local leisure centres, and we look forward to collaborating with the new commercial operators. Our local Y team is passionate about the people in and around the pools and leisure centres, rather than the assets themselves, and we look forward to developing inclusive and equitable programs and partnerships that ensure accessible sporting and leisure services remain for Canberra Region residents and young people.

The Y Canberra Region, last week launched its first Reconciliation Action Plan after significant consultation with members of our local First Nations community, across the ACT and NSW, and Reconciliation Australia.

 

The Y Canberra Region was founded only 80 years ago, and was established to serve the needs of our growing Canberra community, extending now from ACT to NSW. The traditional owners of this broader Canberra region, the Ngunnawal, Ngambri, and Ngarigu people have continually lived and cared for this land for over 60,000 years.

The Y’s in Australia have aligned under the mission to build a better world, with and for young people.

 

“To be true to this mission, we simply cannot progress without commencing this important reconciliation journey, in working with and for our First Nations local communities.” said Kirsty Dixon, CEO of The Y Canberra Region. “This inaugural RAP for the Y Canberra Region, is timely, in supporting the Y’s vision to promote and advance justice, peace, equity and human rights for all and follows the important position by Y Australia to support the Voice to Parliament and Constitutional recognition for First Nations People.”

 

The Y Canberra Region is proud of our community partnerships, and know that in order to achieve real and lasting change, it requires these genuine connections with our local First Nations people.

Through our connections, the Y Canberra Region has partnered with several community organisations and programs, such as The Ngunnawal Bush Healing Program; Aaron Chatfield of Dreamtime Connections; Rayne Huddleston of Urulah Cultural Art; Kippax Community Tracks to Reconciliation; and SBS Inclusion Training.

We have also worked closely with local Elders in consulting with the cultural significance of Camp Sturt, a site that the Y Canberra previously hosted school camps on.

We are excited about enhancing our current partnerships and also creating new linkages with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders and organisations in commencing our reconciliation journey!

The Y Canberra Region launched our Reflect RAP at the Y Sailing Club on June 15th.

The artwork that has been created for our RAP and for the Y is by local Ngunnawal/Wiradjuri artist, Megan Daley.

Megan spent her childhood in Wiradjuri country in Wellington NSW before moving to Canberra in 1999. Her art is reflective of the two environments she calls home. She is passionate about Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing and childhood development, and works as a child and family worker with the ACT Government. More of Megan’s artwork can be found at the Burrunju Aboriginal Corporation.

Read our Reflect RAP by clicking the image below!

Winyu, 2022
Megan Daley, Ngunnawal Artist

“Winyu” means “Sun” in Ngunnawal language.
This painting represents a child an a parental figure standing in the glow of the sun together.
This painting speaks about the special connection between adult and child, and the role of sharing knowledge and the responsibility to pass on culture to the next generation and ensuring that we instil culture, values and knowledge in our youth as it is as precious as gold.
The white curved lines in the background represent the passage of time and how learning is a lifelong journey that we take together with our young ones. Sharing, learning and growing.

Communities Flourishing, 2023
Megan Daley, Ngunnawal Artist

Communities Flourishing represents the work of the Y Canberra in connecting communities in the ACT Region and across Australia.
The colours are the well-known colour palette of the Y – red, orange and purple. The central figure shows a child with two other figures, representing parents, siblings, friends and significant community members. It also represents a single
person as they pass through the stages of their life as part of our community – from children, to adolescents and seniors.
The figure is then surrounded by their extended community providing support and connection, and handprints surround this to represent working together supporting with a helping hand.
The central figure is then connected to two pathways representing communities sharing resources, and also connecting to the central figures to provide knowledge and care to the community.
Gum leaves are shown here to represent new growth, with the gum blossoms representing communities and their ability to thrive when provided adequate support to be their very best.

There’s a change in leadership at the Y Canberra Region!

After more than three years at the helm, Torrien Lau has resigned as Chief Executive Officer of the Y Canberra.

“Torrien has been a committed leader of the Y, leading us through a global pandemic, the most challenging of times, and has executed his role with immense professionalism, compassion and dedication”,  said Elisabeth Judd, Chair of the Y Canberra Region.
“While the Board was disappointed that he was unable to continue in his role we understand and support his decision to be with his family and express our deep gratitude for his service and leadership”.

After a robust recruitment process, the Y Canberra Region is now delighted to announce the appointment of Kirsty Dixon as its new Chief Executive Officer!

An experienced CEO, senior executive and advocate for supporting children and young people to thrive, Kirsty is passionate about universal human rights and believes in the power of early intervention childhood programs to support the best life trajectory for young people.

“Kirsty brings significant experience in overseeing children’s services, youth programs and place-based community services”, said Elisabeth Judd. “Her background in the not for profit sector, and in particular her work with children and families across a range of communities make her an excellent fit for our organisation.”

Kirsty has worked in complex service delivery across government, health, early years and the human services sector for over 20 years and has experience working in human rights-based global movements.
Most recently, she has been the CEO of Play Matters Australia, and has held senior leadership roles in Mater Health and the Australian Red Cross.

A dedicated learner, Kirsty also has qualifications in Business and Health Science and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Harvard Business School. She is particularly passionate about the role not-for-profits play as leaders in making a difference in local communities.

“The Board is looking forward to working with Kirsty as she leads the Y Canberra into its next chapter and we warmly welcome her to team.”

Currently in Brisbane, Kirsty is excited to make the move to Canberra – a region she has visited regularly over the last decade with her close family residing here. She is honoured to be part of the Global Y movement in building a better world for young people.

“The Board would also like to thank Andrew O’Neil, Y Canberra Chief Finance Officer, who has been acting as CEO during this transition period. We are grateful to him for his continued deep commitment to the organisation, it’s mission and values, and to our staff”.

Kirsty will formally commence as Y Canberra Region’s CEO from the 15th of May.