OYPD

Huh? OYPD???? "Whatchu talkin' bout Flem?"
This Black History shout out goes to lol my former employees at the West Philly YMCA, where for 7 years I worked and was eventually one of the directors.

I started as a camp counselor and worked my way up the ladder to be a Youth Program Director, in charge of most of the Y's youth programs. There were many teenagers and young men and women who worked for me during my tenure. My goal was to give promising young men and women and teens a chance and to teach, especially the teens, them what it meant to be a professional, how to carry one's self, how to put together quality youth programs, and how to be prepared for "whatever" especially working with a parent's most prized possession!

I had the BEST STAFF a director could have on this side of heaven! We were a team and we stuck together through thick and thin!! We were visionaries and excited to work for the Y, even in the face of others who couldn't stand the ground we walked on because we were so tight!

Because we were visionaries, we went on and renamed ou r little program office and called it the Office of Youth Programming and Development (OYPD)! We were proud to serve the youth in our communities as sports coaches, dance and drama teachers (at one point more than 100 girls in our program in classes all week and on Saturdays), camp counselors, after school program teachers, grant writers, administrative assistants, school bus drivers, tutors, contract gym teachers, etc!!!

We are no longer an OYPD, but though the evolution of modern media and technology, we all "like" and "post" and "share" and 💓 on IG!

Many reminisce and thank me, even this past week. You're welcome, but let ME be the one to thank YOU!!! Even as a young leader, I knew then that bed every good leader is an EXCELLENT staff!! You made easy look good and in ret I did my level best to treat you right at every turn!!

So shout out to the former West Philly YMCA OYPD!!!!!!!!