Garden in the Summer

Hi everyone! Happy San Francisco Indian Summer! To commemorate our brief time with the warm summerlike weather, we will be hosting yet another Garden Work Day in our Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA urban garden.

Join us on Saturday, September 25 from 2PM until 5PM!

Recognizing Our Volunteers

Greetings readers! I apologize for delaying an update for the past couple of months. Despite the lack of an update, the Volunteer Program at the Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA has been very busy, especially with recognizing our wonderful volunteers.

Let’s backtrack to June when we honored two particular people in our YMCA family at the annual YMCA of San Francisco Volunteer of the Year event: Hua Chan and Tayler Cato. Hua, the Adult Volunteer of the Year has been a volunteer in Administration for over four years providing his assistance and great company in the Admin offices. Having personally worked with Hua, he has a special energy and contagious smile that uplifts the spirits of the other staff members in the branch. Congratulations Hua!

Tayler, our Youth Volunteer of the Year, has been involved in most of the programs in our teen program. She has worked as the Business Manager for Y-Projects, our teen music and business program, developed her leadership potential in the Youth Leadership Council, and has been an active participant in Youth Court. Congrats Tayler!

Now fast forward to July…

On Wednesday, July 28, we recognized the volunteers of the past and present who willingly give their time to help the Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA thrive. Even though  the weather was the typical San Franciscan summer (a.k.a. cold), it was great seeing a mixed gathering of volunteers from all departments meeting and greeting over turkey burgers and hot dogs. Check out the photos here!

Have a Volunteer-ific Weekend!

We have a busy volunteer-ific weekend ahead of us!

This Saturday, May 22 we are having a Gardening Day in our Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA urban plot from 11AM to 5PM. No prior gardening experience is required and lunch will be provided. Feel free to come for one hour or even six hours! Bring your friends and family and make a day of this. Share your green talents or develop your green thumb. If you have any questions, leave a comment here or contact Felice Cary at FCary@ymcasf.org.

Calling all you ballers!  Sunday, May 23 we are having a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. Get your teams together and come show off your skills on the court. The event is open to participants ages 12 and up. the entry fees are $10/person for anyone in high school or below, and $20/person for adults 18 and over. You can even sponsor a Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA youth member to play in the tournament. All proceeds from this event will benefit youth activities for the Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA. To sign up for the tournament, please contact Cameron Ruby at comeron.ruby@sfuhs.org.

Volunteer at Our Volunteer-of-the-Year Event!

Happy Friday everyone!

Here is a great one-time volunteering opportunity for those of you who would like to get involved with the YMCA of San Francisco. This year’s annual Volunteer of the Year Celebration “In the Spotlight” event will be on Friday, June 4, 2010 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. We will be honoring the extraordinary volunteers who dedicate their time to the YMCA of San Francisco. The honorees include the Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA’s Adult Volunteer of the Year, Hua Chan, and Youth Volunteer of the Year, Tayler Cato!

You can help us by volunteering a couple hours of your time that evening helping in any of these ways:

Area: Greeters and Registration
Time: 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. Number Needed: 10
Duties:
  • Set up registration area
  • Greet all guests; answer questions; direct them to reception and restrooms
  • Accept payments from guests who have not pre-paid. Prepare receipts and print name tags for unpaid and “new” guests.
  • Clean-up registration and reception area while program commences.

 

Area: Photo Op Support
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Number Needed: 2
Duties:
  • Assist photographer as needed, getting emails from participants to send link to photos post-event
  • Provide spirit and enthusiasm, engaging event participants in the process
  • Serve as an ambassador to the event, answering any questions as needed

 

Area: Backstage Support
Time: 4:45 – 8:30 p.m. Number Needed: 6
Duties:
  • Assist stage manager with various backstage functions
  • Ensure efficient movement of entertainers throughout the program
  • Help to communicate with presenters/honorees regarding their roles

Please let us know if you would like to help!

- Leslie

Introducing…Our New Volunteer Blog!

Welcome to the Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA Volunteer Blog! My name is Leslie Truong and I am the Volunteer Coordinator at this branch. I am proud to introduce our new volunteer blog where we can share volunteer stories and post upcoming volunteer events.

As some of you may or may not already know, the SYLC YMCA just moved from our 100-year-old home on 220 Golden Gate Avenue in the heart of the Tenderloin to an interim site just down the street at 387 Golden Gate. Throughout our branch’s long history, we have always been and continue to be a volunteer-run organization. Our volunteers come from all parts of the world, speak various languages, and have different life experiences. But what unites them is their common goal to share with our community the core values of the YMCA.   Our branch would not exist without our dedicated volunteers.

What I love about my job is getting to know the different volunteers who donate their time and energy to support our YMCA and seeing how they grow and develop within our organization. They may not be monetarily compensated for their time but our volunteers gain so much more. They can gain professional experience by volunteering to help with accounting in Administration, answering phones at the Membership desk, or giving tours of our facility to returning and prospective members in our community. They can share their unique talents with our youth members by cooking their favorite recipes for dinner, leading sports skills clinics, or contributing to our music program. Our seniors can enjoy the company of our volunteers who join them on their monthly field trips and Friday lunches. Volunteer gardeners maintain the plants and trees hidden in our urban surroundings on a weekly basis. Our volunteer-run Board of Managers along with our other fundraising volunteers drive our annual Strong Communities Campaign to raise funds for our programs.

Join our volunteer community by checking out the available volunteer positions on our website: http://www.ymcasf.org/central/volunteer. Tell us why you volunteer. Share your volunteer experiences with us!

Stay tuned for more…

Leslie
ltruong@ymcasf.org