STRATEGIC PLAN
IMPROVING YOUR Y TO MEET OUR COMMUNITY'S NEEDS
The West Cook YMCA is dedicated to ensuring that our services and programs are optimally focused to address both current and emerging community needs. Beginning in 2023, our YMCA’s Board of Directors has been diligently evaluating the West Cook YMCA’s Strategic Plan, originally articulated in 2018, to update it and set the Y’s course for the next three to five years.
As we did in 2018, the West Cook YMCA is anchoring the updated Strategic Plan in four Big Questions to sustain our relevance and impact for the communities we serve:
How will the West Cook YMCA increase accessibility to programs and services to reduce inequities in our communities, especially among youth?
What role will the West Cook YMCA have in reducing or delaying the impacts of social determinants of health and increasing overall well-being?
How can we transform current and access new program space to ensure we achieve our full mission impact?
How can the West Cook YMCA build the public’s awareness and interest for the value of the Y’s impact among influential stakeholders in our communities?
The West Cook YMCA Strategic Plan Update will be published later in 2024.
NAVIGATING CHANGE
The West Cook YMCA has been serving our community for 115 years. The Y is known for programs such as residence, swim lessons, fitness, sports, after-school care, and summer camp. In 2014, we renewed our commitment to the communities we serve through an intentional and comprehensive restructuring of the Y’s capacity and program offerings in order to position our Y, programs, and services as the preferred wellness provider to our members and service area by providing a quality experience through excellence in service.
In order to renew our commitment, we had to meet our community members where they were to address the critical socials issues they were facing and break down the barriers that prevented them in becoming their best self. To achieve this, we restructured our staff to hire individuals who are highly qualified and skilled in their area of expertise. We made targeted facility investments to reconfigure our space. We acquired new evidenced-based programs and upgraded our core programs. We built strategic partnerships to expand our reach and positioned our Y for a better tomorrow.
EXPANDING OUR REACH AND POSITIONING OUR Y FOR A BETTER TOMORROW
The Y’s commitment to America is to raise new generations of change makers who are capable of creating the kinds of communities we all want to live in. Through a heightened focus on youth, the Y will help more young people grow into thriving adults who can transform communities into places where everyone feels welcome and safe and has equal access to opportunity. That does not mean important work in healthy living and social responsibility will stop. The Y’s work in all three areas of focus is essential to delivering on the Commitment and advancing our cause of strengthening community.
To fulfill our commitment, the West Cook YMCA will work to expand our reach through strategic partnerships, reaching new communities and expanding our programs. We will work to increase accessibility to programs and services that will reduce inequities in our communities, especially among youth. Through a Community Integrated Health Approach, we will work to reduce or delay the impacts of social determinants of health and increase overall well-being. We want to transform our current space and gain access to new space. We will focus on building the public’s awareness and interest for the value of the Y’s impact among influential stakeholders in our communities.
All that we are committed to will be done to position our Y, programs, and services as the preferred wellness provider to our members and service area by providing a quality experience through excellence in service.