Engage Globally, Act Locally
Engaging both globally and locally is vital for fostering inclusivity and understanding. By welcoming newcomer and immigrant populations, organizations like the YMCA not only demonstrate empathy and compassion but also enrich their own communities. These efforts create spaces where people from diverse backgrounds can come together, share experiences, and learn from one another.
YMCA Mexico
Emergency Shelters for Deported & Vulnerable Migrant Youth
The YMCA Homes for Migrant Youth in Piedras Negras, Mexico, provides an emergency shelter and resource center for unaccompanied children and teens who have been deported. Our YMCA staff & volunteers help in delivering essentials for the children as well as well as assisting in addressing maintenance and repair needs of their facility.
Additional engagement opportunities include interaction with the children, through conversation, games and language activities. There is a special focus on learning about the plight of asylum seekers and refugees as they try and escape human trafficking and seek a better life in the United States.
YMCA Vietnam
Critical Infrastructure & School Support in Vietnam
The YMCA in Saigon (HCMC), Vietnam, specializes in serving teens and young adults in workforce education, travel and cultural immersion programs. Our YMCA staff & volunteers are accompanied by YMCA Vietnam staff and volunteers as we travel and conduct service projects throughout the Mekong River Delta area in southern Vietnam.
Projects and activities include building classrooms and libraries. alongside teaching English, playing games and cooking meals together in rural villages and orphanages.There is a special focus on learning about the history, culture and impact of foreign occupation and wars in Vietnam and the refugee population present in our YMCA’s service area.
YMCA Peru
Delivering Essential Supplies & Services to Orphans
The YMCA in Lima, Peru serves children and families throughout the region, including the poor orphan children of the highland areas surrounding the capital. Our YMCA staff & volunteers help in delivering essentials, such as clothing and toiletries, to the orphan children who attend local YMCA programs.
Additional engagement opportunities include interaction with the orphans, through conversation, games and language activities. There is a special focus on learning about Incan culture and history through visiting major attractions.
YMCA of the Seven Council Fires
Support of Exploited Indigenous Women & Children
The YMCA of the Seven Council Fires has a unique international designation, due to its presence on the sovereign Cheyenne River Native American Reservation in South Dakota. Our YMCA staff & volunteers will continue to build transitional housing for single mothers who are homeless due to domestic violence oftentimes rooted in poverty, hopelessness and substance abuse.
Additional engagement opportunities include working with children in before/afterschool programs and construction projects at YMCA Camp Marrowbone. There is a special focus on learning about Native American and indigenous culture in America, both past and present day.
Get Involved
Volunteers include community leaders, YMCA board members, and staff. If you are interested in Global Engagement opportunity, please contact Cheryl McCarver, Senior Vice President of Global and Local Engagement at [email protected].
