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Y in Central Maryland

The position certainly has it's pros and cons. The pros are that you get a lot of experience in a leadership role and can build strong connections with the people you work with. You will be doing a lot of different things day to day so there is never a dull moment there. The Y is all about making connections and you certainly get to do that here. If you're a social person it is a good environment for you because you will always be meeting new people(both associates and members) but The downsides are that you are simply over worked and underpaid. You need to wear many hats, many of which do not include what you were hired to do. For example, I was hired as membership director/sales manager, it is not a sales job by any means. It has sales tasks you need to do but it is primarily a management job, but you're still expected to do a lot more. You need to manage your team of membership associates(which includes managing the schedule and facilitating shift coverage and so forth, plus reaching out to the community and do tabling events on the weekends, plus compiling the budget for the month, all while trying to drive sales and making sure you meet the net goals every month. While you are doing this certain days you have to act as manager on duty and manage the day to day operations of the center which means certain days you will do 1-9pm days. There isn't really a strict time clock of when you are supposed to be there either you are just kind of there if you're needed which can kind cause issues with work life balance. In conclusion, you definitely have to be a Y person to work there. they're very cause driven so if you believe in the cause(which it is a very genuine and admirable one) you may be able to tolerate the long hours and low pay. The conclusion I came to is that it is really hard to maintain a good work life balance if you work at the Y, your work kind of has to be your life. And for a lot of the tenured people there are fine with that because it is a charitable organization. But that doesn't mean the position I was in wasn't extremely challenging and left me burnt out more often than not. It was definitely a stepping stone job because the amount you get paid for the amount you work is not worth it

When I first accepted this job I was very excited. You read so much about The Y and it's purpose and I had pride in myself for being a part of that. Unfortunately that does not stop the fact from having a bad leader as your boss. 

To start off I was one of two people that were being considered for this position. The other individual that did not get the job would come into the center to make my job hard and at one point threatened me. My safety and my teams safety our priority.  My so called "Leader" told me that they handled the situation even though myself and my team told them they feared for their safety this person was not banned from the center. 

On top of this the training program that is in place for this role is absolutely pathetic. There is no training program your so called leader will walk you through certain things while at the same time taking phone calls, getting side tracked, and at times taking personal calls while they are so called supposed to be training you. I opened the center on a Sunday morning thinking that I had another director their with me to show me the ropes and how to open the center. In fact there was no one else there with me and my "Leader" knew I had never opened before. Running around in front of members trying to figure out what exactly to do is embarrassing and completely ruins my credibility with these same members.  

I pride myself on working hard and dedicating myself to bettering myself as a leader and as a person. This experience is the most disappointing job experience in my life. If you want to be set up for success do not work for The Y in Central Maryland. If you want to feel safe at all times and feel like your leader has your back do not work for The Y in Central Maryland. I can only hope that my experience is a example to others and a wake up call to people that can actually make a change with the leadership that is in place at The Ward Y in Abingdon Maryland.

Basically, I worked in and staffed one of the more "essential personnel" departments. If someone did not show up for work, I had to fill in or find someone to do so. Thus, I ended up working some 17-hour days, as the facility was open 5:30a - 10:00p and the department was wildly understaffed when I was appointed. Other than working some 70 hour weeks, I did like this job. It was very gratifying to work in a company that served the community and helped people everyday. It was also tough because some costumers seemed to come in only to complain, and about things like pool/air temperature or how many people were currently in the weight room-- things that were out of the control of the staff, or were set at a point to please the most amount of people.

One of the greatest frustrations of this role was also that the work was not balanced between the different departments. One of the departmental managers was getting paid salary but working maybe 30 hours a week, at the same time that I was working 70 and getting paid the exact same salary. It was simply the demands of the different departments, and the fact that our center director was not able to help in my field, because their background was in a different area.

The kind of job you recover from in therapy. A typical day at work includes working months long stretches with no days off, never seeing my manager unless I messed up, having all my responsibilities slashed while simultaneously being held responsible for the outcomes of my department..... Management is more disaffected and useless than any group of people I've ever met. I had 4 different supervisors in a year. Anytime I felt that things were improving, my boss would leave or some decision from upper admin would upend everything. When I asked for a meeting with my manager asking for more managerial oversight and assistance, she seemed shocked and annoyed that I felt like I needed such things. As a full time employee my hours were never consistent and I was responsible for figuring out how to hit 40 each week, even as programming that I was supposed to work would be cancelled with no notice. Technically this job provides chances for "advancement" but really you just get more duties loaded onto you because the person above you just quit. And then in 3 months theyll move you to a different position. I would reccomend working just about anywhere else, ESPECIALLY for a full time gig. I love working with the kids. Thats about it.

The Y in central Md falls into a lot of the same ruts that many non profits do. Overworking and underpaying their employees who care about the work they do. My position required a lot of collaboration from several different departments and many did not have the bandwidth to collaborate. I also experienced unprofessionalism from upper management with one department head telling me in a meeting that she “thought I was just b*tching” when I told her I was burnt out so I couldn’t take on another task. Overall this was a frustrating company to work for because I wanted to make an impact in the Baltimore community but often had my hands tied by bureaucracy in the organization. If you are looking to work in non profit, I would advise to to keep looking. It’s important to work for an organization that sees you as part of the community you are helping. It’s unfair to ask you to be “trauma informed” in your work towards others but have your boundaries steamrolled over and over. 

Working with the Y of Central Maryland (Riverveiw Headstart) is a loving, sweet, caring place. Where you always get greeted with a smile. Wonderful staff thats willing to give their all to take care of you and your family needs in the best way they can. The teachers are wonderful. They have this motherly since about them. When I was working at this place my everyday root was coming in help prepare breakfast for the children till it was time to pick up the children and bring them in for school. meeting and socializing with the parent and inter acting with the children was the best thing about that job and seeing the children smiles. Just knowing that we as adult can make a different in this children life is so special to me. Then we im done bring the kids back i prepare lunch, straighten up area the center, help out in the office/ classroom where ever work needed to be done. After all that done it time to bring the kids back home. My hardest time was in the begin. Trying to learn each child route, names, numbers, address, parents names,  filling out paper work and what class they go to with in 2 weeks was hard. But after all the right training and time (3 years) I got it in protection.

COVID has shown a spotlight on the areas this organization has put bandaids on for years, and are now being forced to look at. People promoted above their ability level with no training, support, or guidance. Lack of transparency on the actual health of the organization. Frequent surveys sent out to capture the "pulse" of the workforce, yet systems and treatment of employees stays stagnant. Upper management is shocked that people are still discontent and there is an air of "you should be lucky you have a job" from executive directors on up. Incredibly defeating when people join the organization to do good in their communities and be apart of a movement then get micromanaged, unrecognized for their work, and told to work harder/longer/better for the sake of the organization with less support and resources. "We appreciate you" is a slap in the face. Y work is important and meaningful, but if you want to move up find another association to do it in.

This is one of the most stressful and toxic workplaces I have ever worked in. The culture is one that is filled with individuals who are clueless about their job; therefore, management is unable to offer support and guidance. Rather than providing support, management gossips about associates, which ultimately circulates creating a workplace with low morale and productivity. Seeking support from upper leadership only leads to further ridicule, isolation, and being labeled. The hardest part of working for this organization is feeling unsupported, the inappropriate comments or treatment of supervision, and being provided additional work with no compensation. The most enjoyable part of the job is building friendships and the daily connection with collogues. Unfortunately, most of the friendships are build based on the solidarity of workplace plights and unfair treatment.  

Working at the Y After-school program was really fun and educational for me. I learned new skills on how to deal with children and their different moods. I've learned how to be more patient too. The most fun part about working with the Y after- school program is being around the kids. They are always so energetic and that reminds me of how I used to be. They are respectful; they are taught to address you as Mr. or Ms. The coworkers are very helpful too and they look out for each other (even if they don't want to). Sometimes we combined the classes when one teacher couldn't make it or was going to be late. The hardest part of working at the Y was saying goodbye and leaving at the end of the school year. The kids just made me so happy. Everyday is the same routine. The teachers meet the children at their classrooms and help them with their homework for the first few minutes of class. Then its what ever activity the teacher planned for the day. After that, Its supper time and usually the students would go back to their classrooms after they eat but sometimes they just wait for their parents in the cafeteria.

Being a senior camp counselor had it's ups and downs, but it made me learn many things. I had to be responsible for everyhting that went on in my group, I had to guide the campers and our counselors. It improved my leardership skills and it taught me patience. I had to be responsible for having the campers meds, coming up with games and other fun activities. I had to make sure we had all of our campers at all times by doing head/face counts. I had to make sure every camper had a lunch and write up Boo Boo Reports when a camper fell and hurt themselves. I had to call their parents when they were sick or was having some behavioral issues. This job really gave me the essential skills needed in the real world. I have learned so much from working at the Y of Central Maryland. It was an awesome and rewarding experience. It was lead by people who truly love children and know what they are doing. I love children and I loved that I was able to have some kind of positive influence on them.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Elementary school teacher 1 salary reported	$16.75 per hour
Camp counselor 30 salaries reported	$16.08 per hour
Camp leader 28 salaries reported	$16.52 per hour
School program staff 5 salaries reported	$19.20 per hour
School principal 13 salaries reported	$27.40 per hour

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