At the YMCA, we believe ALL children deserve the opportunity to discover who they are and what they can achieve. Every day, we are proud and respectful of the TRUST parents and the community place in our YMCA. From Summer Camp, After School programs, Youth Sports and Teen experiences, our Ys are buzzing with activity to serve youth. We work to ensure your children have a safe, fun filled experience.
At the Y, child protection is our number one priority. Our goal is to help educate parents and children on how to be safe from child abuse in any environment with the skills they learn at our Y. Our staff and volunteers are trained on comprehensive and innovative practices around child safety to ensure your children are safe in our care. The trust that you, as parents and guardians, place in us to care for your children is important to us and we do not take that trust for granted.
You may see these symbols around our centers:
These symbols stand for Know-See-Respond. This symbol is a conversation starter for staff, parents and guardians to talk about child protection. As we mentioned, our staff is fully trained on how to protect children. Please ask them about it. When we KNOW how abuse happens and SEE the warning signs we can RESPOND quickly to prevent it. Together we can foster a culture of child abuse prevention.
I urge you to talk to your children regularly about their experiences at the Greater Houston YMCA. Ask them about their instructors. If, as a result, there is ever a concern regarding the safety and protection of your child, please notify our team immediately. You can also contact your YMCA center executive.
Together, we can keep our children safe and cultivate the values, skills and relationships that lead to positive behaviors, better health and educational achievement.
Thank you for being a part of our Y family.
Five Days of Action is a week-long campaign designed to raise awareness and inspire adults to take action to protect children from sexual abuse. This year, the campaign takes place April 24-28, 2023.
Additional Resources:
- Official Statement from our CEO on Child Abuse Prevention
- YMCA of Greater Houston’s Commitment to Child Protection & Abuse Prevention
- The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- U.S. Center for SafeSport
- Praesidium
- Key questions for parents to ask to keep kids safe
- How you can keep kids safe, and how to respond to online victimization
For resources and more information on what you can do to keep children safe, visit Five Days of Action.