The 2012 event season has officially begun. Below is a list of the various events and conferences we will be attending in the next quarter. If you’re planning to attend, be sure to stop by and say hi to one of the following people: Date Conference Location Jan. 25 JCC Executive Seminar Kevin Trapani will be leading a keynote session...
2nd Annual Philanthropy LIVE! transforms Pittsburgh
There are still 4-months until Philanthropy LIVE! but I am excited about the opportunities the North American YMCA Development Officers (NAYDO) conference attendees will have to help transform Pittsburgh. This year, an estimated 1,000 philanthropy officers will attend NAYDO on April 25 -28th, and they will all be given a chance to change Pittsburgh. On April...
The Importance of Intervening at the First Signs of Bullying
Bullying can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. It can take the form of physical, social, verbal or cyber. It can be hard to identify or to know when to intervene. What distinguishes bullying from common teasing is the deliberate, repeated action from someone who has power over another person. My son David was in 5th...
Watch Mission First: Employee Safety Webinar
Yesterday, YMCA, JCC and Camp CEOs joined our Mission First: Employee Safety Webinar to discuss how crucial staff are to the accomplishment of your mission. Our panelists included: Danny Carroll, Executive Director, Peninsula Metropolitan YMCA Barak Hermann, Executive Director, JCC of Central New Jersey John Flynn, President & CEO, YMCA of Philadelphia and Vicinity We recorded the webinar...
Transforming communities through affordable housing
We are pleased to share an episode of ABC11’s “Heart of Carolina Perspectives” with host Angela Hampton interviewing Redwoods very own Kevin and Jennifer Trapani. When it comes to affordable housing there is no other organization that has had a greater impact in our community than Habitat for Humanity. Kevin and Jennifer share how...
What’s the Right Balance between Participation and Supervision?
We’ve discussed this topic internally and externally, and our collective learning is that achieving a balanced approach between playing and supervising is often easier said than done. But this post will help to give you an idea of where to draw the line between playing and supervising. An effective balance is achieved when staff understand...
Delaware aims to train 35,000 advocates
Amanda Nieman recently wrote a post about the YMCA of Delaware’s commitment to eradicate child sexual abuse in their state by training 35,000 adults in sexual abuse prevention over the next 5 years. To accomplish this, the Y has partnered with several government entities and nonprofits, including the state’s Attorney General and a nonprofit...
A Partner For Life: Healing After A Sexual Abuse Incident
Stephen Ives, CEO of the Merrimack Valley YMCA, has been with the Y movement for 23 years—15 of those years as a customer of The Redwoods Group. There were two difficult years where Merrimack Valley Y had to respond to the unthinkable: a sexual abuse case. The incident occurred during the years they were...
Scaling Social Impact: Making the YMCA Case for the new philanthropy
Kevin Trapani spoke on “Scaling Social Impact: Making the YMCA Case for Social Enterprise,” at the AYP (Association for YMCA Professionals) National Conference in Dallas, Texas. This is a message about how important it is for professionals to be powerful forces for transformational change. It’s not an insurance message —...
Monkey Business Café: Equipping Foster Kids To Succeed
Monkey Business Café, a social enterprise non-profit, catered our NAYDO “Party with a Purpose” event. On the surface, it sounds like a cool concept: hire & spotlight a mission minded organization. Except this café is changing kids lives. These aren’t just any kids. They are the rejects, abused, neglected, forgotten and discounted: foster kids who,...