YMCA World Challenge 2018 – Well done YMCAs everywhere

Date: 26 June 2018

Thank you for your participation to the YMCA World Challenge

Dear YMCA friends,

What a great few weeks we have had watching local YMCAs create events and ways to engage with their communities through World Challenge 2018. Simply fantastic. I really want to congratulate you all and say “well done” for your amazing community impact.

If you were following the event via our social media you would have seen a symphony of color, smiles and amazing impact. This one was really big.

A few reminders for you all:

> We are sharing all your photos on our Flickr page CLICK HERE.

> Some YMCAs are still running events and we are collating results. Please remember to send them to : challenge@ymca.int

> We shall announce the results – and the award winners – at the World Council and then via our website and social media.
HERE is a thank you video you can share. We really want to say “Well done everyone!”

YMCA WORLD CHALLENGE - AWARD CERTIFICATE
YMCA WORLD CHALLENGE – AWARD CERTIFICATE

HERE you can download a certificate to share and congratulate those people within your YMCA who participated. It can easily be personalised with your event and their name.

I want to encourage you all with a couple of stories I received about the World Challenge that really sums it up for me. Whilst we always have a big challenge associated with this event, more importantly this is the great opportunity for YMCAs of the world to do what they do best – communities are sharing, YMCAs are innovating and young people are leading. This is GREAT! The World Challenge really works!

The stories are impressive and inspiring… and too many to possible share here.

Empowering young people

“We have started running and walking clubs for both parents and young people recently in anticipation for the World YMCA event. We hope that this legacy continues and through running Carrickfergus will be changed, one step at a time.”

“We organize this event every year and this is one of the biggest events we have to reach out and impact young people in our society. We are planning to charge a small amount of fee from the participants and all the fee/donations will go toward poorer community and its people in Ulaanbaatar.”

“This year YMCA Madagascar is participating and we choose to oriente the education side of the event into ‘Ecologic and Environement awarness raising’ and the main activity will be running a half-marathon.

“In Kenya we are organizing a community marathon that looks into creating safer cities for women and girls. We have brought in new partners in line with the SDGs.

“Ours (in Australia) will be a distance challenge where we will count the collective kiloemtres run over the day and have our members sending screen shots of Strava, Garmin (etc) or treadmill screen photos of their distances to our Facebook page, Front Desk or Reception email addresses. We will collectively add these up on an in-centre distance counter doing social media coverage as we go.”

I’m sure you will agree these – and all of your events – are creative and inspiring.

Thank you and well done again.

The YMCA World Challenge is an integral part of our strategy to gain more profile and reputation for YMCAs everywhere.

Well run!

Johan Vilhelm Eltvik
Secretary General

21st June, 2018

Questions? Send e-mail to : challenge@ymca.int