Website Initiatives Advocacy News Contact Members Locations August 2018 Newsletter CLICK HERE FOR LINKS! Advocacy August Recess - Support for Charitable Giving Subheading Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative August YMCA Spotlights Sign up for the Bright Futures Healthy Kids MA Monthly Newsletter Youth and Government Social Media Stay Connected ADVOCACY PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE Kate-Marie Roycroft, Director of Public Policy The 190th Massachusetts General Court concluded its formal session on July 31, 2018. Below you'll find a summary of where the YMCA public policy priorities landed. Overall, we made some great progress on our priorities this year and will continue to push many of them over the finish line in the next session! 1. An Act Relative to Diabetes Prevention filed by Representative Benson passed the House of Representatives 2. An Act to provide diabetes prevention program benefits filed by Representative Cullinane. Made it through the legislative process to the House Ways and Means Committee. 3. An Act providing for a donation check-off box on state tax returns for the Massachusetts Youth in Government program filed by Representative Ayers made it through the legislative process to the House Ways and Means Committee 4. An Act relative to mandated reporter reform
Transcript
Website Initiatives Advocacy News Contact Members Locations
August 2018Newsletter
CLICK HERE FORLINKS!
Advocacy
August Recess -Support forCharitable Giving
Subheading
MassachusettsHealthy AgingCollaborative
August YMCASpotlights
Sign up for theBright FuturesHealthy Kids MAMonthly Newsletter
Youth andGovernment
Social Media
Stay Connected
ADVOCACY
PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE
Kate-Marie Roycroft, Director of Public Policy
The 190th Massachusetts General Court concluded its formalsession on July 31, 2018. Below you'll find a summary of where
the YMCA public policy priorities landed. Overall, we made some greatprogress on our priorities this year and will continue to push many of
them over the finish line in the next session!
1. An Act Relative to Diabetes Prevention filed by Representative Benson passed the House of Representatives
2. An Act to provide diabetes prevention program benefits filed by Representative Cullinane. Made it through the legislative
process to the House Ways and Means Committee.
3. An Act providing for a donation check-off box on state taxreturns for the Massachusetts Youth in Government programfiled by Representative Ayers made it through the legislative process
filed by Chairwoman Khan passed the House of Representatives
5. An Act relative to the background record check proceduresof the department of early education and care
filed by the Governor. Passed by the House of Representative andSenate, laid before the Governor to sign into law.
6. Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund continuation fundingfiled by Senator Lewis and Representative Vega. The language tocontinue the program was included in both the House and SenateHealth Care bills. Unfortunately, broader disagreements on other
parts of the bill prevented the two bodies from reaching a consensusbefore the end of the formal legislative session. We are incrediblydisappointed by this outcome, but will continue to advocate for
funding for this program moving forward.
If you would like more information on any of these bills or laws,please feel free to reach out to me at
The YMCAs are grateful to have worked with our friends in thelegislature to have an incredibly successful budget session thisyear. We are happy to report that none of our priorities were
vetoed by the Governor.
1. Youth-At-Risk funding-new high funding level of:$1.4 Million
2. Early Education and Out-of-School Time Rate Reserve:
$20 Million
3. HomeWorks Program: $965,000
4. QRIS durable goods grant: $4 Million ($2 Million for durablegoods)
5. Early Educator Professional Development opportunities:
$10 Million
6. Early Education Mental Health: $2.5 Million
7. Creation of an Early Education Workforce Council on which theAlliance of MA YMCAs will have a seat
8. Creation of a hardship waiver for seasonal employers and
nonprofits for the EMAC Supplement
We would like to thank you all for your hard work these past two
years of our Massachusetts legislative session. The phone calls andemails to your legislators coupled with site visits and local advocacydays have made all of our success possible. As we look forward tothe next legislative session we know that all of your hard work will
continue to pay off!
AUGUST RECESS - SUPPORT FORCHARITABLE GIVING
As some of you may know, YMCA of the USA has been working toensure that charitable giving is expanded under the new tax law. ThisAugust recess, it is imperative that Y's show their members ofCongress the impact charitable contributions have on the services weprovide and the communities we serve. With the possibility of "TaxReform 2.0" this fall, it is critical that lawmakers understand thepotential benefits of a universal charitable deduction and share theirsupport for one of two versions of the proposal.
How you can help:
1. Please invite public officials into your Ys in the next month, anddirect them to the tools linked below.
2. Use the facts/talking points on the universal charitable deduction(link below), to highlight how it will help continue to make an impact
in the community.
August Recess - Tax Issue Brief TALKING POINTS
3. Coordinate a visit with House Ways & Means member (especiallyYs listed below):
The House Ways & Means Committee Member from Massachusettsis Representative Richard "Richie" Neal (D-MA-1). The Ys that
The MA Alliance of YMCAs is proud to support and partner with the
Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative (MHAC), which promotesthe Age- and Dementia Friendly Community Movement across
Massachusetts. YMCAs are already a significant part of keeping theircommunities healthy and to help recognize those efforts, there isnow an opportunity for individual Y's to join MHAC as a member.
Simply fill out a brief application with your current work aroundhealthy aging (like current programming and grant-funded work that
benefits older adults and people living with dementia) and thenpropose a goal or set of goals about how your organization will
advance this movement in the coming year.
The goal-setting portion is about recognizing an extension of existingefforts and sharing initiatives where you may be willing to partner
with other organizations. It could be a goal to add programming forolder adults, people living with dementia, and/or their caregivers or itcould be about a goal to partner with cities and towns in your service
area or local councils on aging to be part of an Age- and DementiaFriendly Community effort.
The Healthy Aging Collaborative will review applications and eitherapprove or work with you to recognize how your work promotes
healthy aging.
For more information on the Massachusetts Healthy AgingCollaborative and Associated Work, check out the links below:
Webinar OpportunityReframing Aging: A Deeper Exploration of Research-Based Messaging
Strategies for the Field of Aging
When: Thursday, August 16, 2018 Time: 1:00 PM ET - 2:00 PM ET
Registration: FREE -- as part of the American Society on AgingSeminar Series, sponsored by Grantmakers In Aging
Gaining Momentum toolkit Framing Strategies to Advance Aging & Address as Policy Issues
Implicit Association Tests
Reports (Click links below) Gauging Aging: Mapping the Gaps Between Expert and Public
Understandings of Aging in America (2015) (PDF)
Aging, Agency, and Attribution of Responsibility: Shifting PublicDiscourse about Older Adults (2015) (PDF)
Finding the Frame: An Empirical Approach to Reframing Aging andAgeism (2017)
Other materials you may find helpful (Click links below) Reframing Elder Abuse
Reframing Materials for Human Services
AUGUST YMCA SPOTLIGHTS
EXTRA EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! YMCAs in Massachusetts have been taking greatstrides in their work to serve our members and
communities. Check out the latest news from localYMCA leaders across the state:
State Representative William Driscoll VisitsQuincy YMCA
State Rep William Driscoll (D - 7th Norfolk) visited the Quincy Y onJune 29th for a tour of the facility with (left) Chrissy Shah, ExecutiveDirector of the Quincy Y, (right) John Galluzzo, Grant Writer, South
Shore Y and (not pictured) Laureen Browning, Vice President of YouthDevelopment and Mary Spargo, State Street Early Learning Center
Director. Thank you for your support, Representative Driscoll!
Congratulations to the Old Colony YMCA for being awarded
the Community Collaboration award from MassDOT and Safe Routes
to School at the State House! This award is given to a community
organization that has exemplified hard work, dedication and true
values of safety and community collaboration. The Old Colony Y
facilitates the local community coalition Healthy Easton. Healthy
Easton has been a significant role model for the State in regards to
bringing the community together.
Congratulations on a job well done, Old Colony YMCA!
Featured L-R: Moss Lynch-Safe Routes to School, Lauren Bartell-
OCY, Leah Serafin-OCY, Darcy Paiva-OCY, Courtney Palm-North
Easton Savings Bank, Vinnie Marturano-OCY
Somerville YMCA CIT/LIT Job ReadinessProgram
The CIT/LIT Job Readiness Program held its graduation on July 17,2018 from 12:30-2:00 at The Arthur D. Healey School on 5
Meacham St. Our graduating class consisted of students between theages of 13-15, who dedicated four-weeks out of their summer toparticipate in a program that taught them about job readiness and
leadership skills.
Throughout the four weeks these students learned how to leadchildren, the significance of leadership and communication, themeaning of diversity, how to solve conflicts, and employment
training. This program not only taught the student's skills that theyneed to work with children but also gave them the opportunity to
work with kids at camp settings at The Somerville YMCA's SummerDay Camp and the Somerville Recreation's Somertime Day Program.
This session's graduating class included the following 14 students:Nicholas Dipietro, Claudia Cooper, Wendy Guo, Jaanan Khan, AlyssaDeSantis, Liana Orantes, Isra Khan, Deseree Ernst, Devin Coneeny,Drexler Pierre, Nehemiah Simon, Fidendi Francois, Helena Easton,
Sagin Gani.
The collaborative efforts of the Somerville YMCA, the SomervilleCommunity Youth Program, the Somerville Recreation Department,
and the Healey School have been the dynamic forces behind thisprogram's great success. The CIT/LIT Job Readiness program wouldlike to thank everyone for their hard work and support throughout
the past thirteen years that the program has been running.
For more information about the program, please contact Joe Pintoat the Somerville YMCA (617) 625-5050.
SOUTH SHORE YMCA: Cultivating communityroots with new family farm
It started with an open plot of land and a seed of an idea to bring thecommunity closer together back in the fall of 2017. Today, the South
Shore YMCA's Family Farm in Hanover is now open for planting, asvolunteers and staff have begun to transform the previously vacantlot off of Route 53 into a family-friendly space for hands-on farming
education.
Based on the successes of the South Shore YMCA's Camp BurgessFarm, its Germantown Neighborhood Center's Vegetable Garden,
and the Children's Garden at the SSYMCA South Shore NaturalScience Center, the SSYMCA will follow the same path in Hanover.
The Family Farm will be a place where children, families and neighborscan participate in giving back through sustainable agriculture, with
local food pantries across the South Shore to receive producecultivated from the farm.
"Together with the Town of Hanover, we wanted to find a new wayto breathe life into our vision of serving as a true partner formembers to grow, learn, and thrive through our services and
programs," said Paul Gorman, CEO, South Shore YMCA. "A farmwhere children, families, and volunteers can all come together tolearn while simultaneously giving back was a natural fit. We look
forward to welcoming our neighbors to come and grow with us, andto supporting those in need throughout Hanover and the South
Shore."
Located between the South Shore YMCA's Early Learning Center(ELC) in Hanover and the Emilson branch of the South Shore YMCA inHanover, the SSYMCA Family Farm will provide visitors with tangible
learning experiences.
Read the full article HERE
BRIGHT FUTURES HEALTHY KIDS MA
Are you interested in hearing about the latest news and updates
around nutrition and physical activity in Early Education and Out-of-School Time? Well look no further!
Check out the Bright Futures Healthy Kids MA Website to sign up forthe monthly newsletter and sign a petition to promote theincorporation of Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA)
Standards in ECE/OST by telling your local representative that yousupport health and wellness for all!
