The Huntington YMCA

The Huntington YMCA is similar to other YMCAs across the United States - and indeed the world - in that it is a registered non-profit agency that is dedicated both to Christian principles as well as to providing an array of services to a diverse community from childcare to swimming lessons to temporary housing. The organization sees no discrepancy in upholding Christian concepts while serving people of all faiths and no faith: The founding idea of the organization is that Christian organizations should offer help to whomever needs it because this is a calling for Christians.

The organization is organized along the form of a number of other similar non-profits. There is a national office - the YMCA of the USA - which is located in Chicago. The national organization also has satellite offices in a number of other cities. These offices provide a certain amount of guidance to each of the chapters across the country, but the oversight is fairly low-key: The local chapters are supposed to look to the national offices if they need help or assistance but have a great deal of autonomy in selecting the programs that they will include and the internal organization of each chapter.

Most YMCA's offer a number of the same services (including exercise classes for both adults and children, childcare and artistic and cultural classes), but the national office allows each individual chapter to select its own program offerings.

Related Essays

Samuel Huntington Samuel Huntington's thesis that future geopolitical instability and insecurity would be more cultural than ideological or economic was met with derision when .... (7194 29 )

Huntington's Disease Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited disorder involving the premature loss of neurons (Gusella, 1991, p. 125). This loss results .... (2648 11 )

Huntington's Disease Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited disorder involving the premature loss of neurons (Gusella, 1991, p. 125). This loss results .... (2699 11 )

Huntington's Disease Disorder Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited disorder involving the loss of neurons (Gusella, 1991, p. 125). This premature neuronal .... (2862 11 )

Samuel Huntington's Theory of Geopolitical Stability When Samuel Huntington first hypothesized in 1993 that the coming challenges to geopolitical stability and security would be more cultural than ideological or .... (1749 7 )

another organization; he is responsible for making policy decisions and for hiring the three directors. Each of these directors is in turn responsible for linking the day-to-day activities of his or her division to the larger goals of the chapter (as outlined by the executive director) and the national organization (as outlined by the YMCA mission statement). In general, the decision-making process is an informal one, although some decisions are made formally. An example of the latter is the annual budget approval process. The budget is designed by the three divisional heads working with the executive director, along with input from volunteers and the suggestions of those who use the chapter. This process is essentially an informal one, with small group meetings often over coffee or lunch in which staff and volunteers brainstorm about the needs of the community and the ways in which the chapter can meet those needs while simultaneously adhering to the national mandates. This process of informal, inclusive governance is typical of non-profits and is the aspect of non-profits that is both generally the most valued component of working for them as well as often the most frustrating (Monks & Minow, 2001). Such an informal decisio

Category: Misc - T