The Y in Central Maryland set out to ensure that everyone involved in its programs and operations reflects the diversity of the communities where its 12 locations are situated. Building a more inclusive community starts with awareness about who is missing from the room. The Y began by analyzing its membership data, which revealed that Hispanic/Latino and Asian communities are significantly under-represented numerically and in engagement. For the Y, this was a call to action.
With the support of the Team Up Project, the Y in Central Maryland selected one of its locations, the Catonsville Y, for a year-long bridgebuilding initiative. They focused on forging genuine relationships with community organizations, schools, and local partners already embedded in the Hispanic/Latino and Asian communities. The flagship event of that effort was Healthy Kids Day 2025, a lively, family-centered celebration that drew 250 attendees, including at least 50 non-Y members. Healthy Kids Day is the YMCA’s national initiative to improve the health and well-being of children and families. The day featured physical activities, creative programming, wellness demonstrations, and the debut of a new Free Little Library stocked with books intentionally selected to reflect the stories and voices of Latino and Asian families in the community.
Beyond a single successful afternoon, this project proved that relationship-building and data-informed, culturally-specific outreach can open doors that years of traditional marketing efforts have not.
The Catonsville Y serves the greater Baltimore area as part of a network of 12 centers across Central Maryland. Catonsville is a suburb in Baltimore County that has been steadily diversifying, with the Hispanic/Latino and Asian populations growing most substantially and representing a wide range of countries and heritages within their respective diasporas. The Y serves young people and families; nearly one-third of Catonsville households include children under 18.
The Catonsville Y’s bridgebuilding effort stemmed from a hard and honest look at data. Toward the end of 2024, Y of Central Maryland Association leadership analyzed membership records from the previous fiscal year and mapped members back to their zip codes. They realized that five of the seven zip codes generating the most new Y members were among the most racially and ethnically diverse in the region. And yet, Hispanic/Latino and Asian residents were significantly underrepresented in Y membership, staffing, and programming.
Y of Central Maryland leadership shared their findings with stakeholders across the region and set concrete goals for membership diversity in the next fiscal year as part of the organization’s broader strategic plan. To pilot the approach for community engagement, they chose the Catonsville Y as an example site, highlighting how intentional community engagement and inclusion could be implemented across all of the Y of Central Maryland’s centers. In December 2024, the Catonsville Y held a meeting to introduce the strategy to staff across all levels and departments, with a clear message that creating a welcoming and inclusive environment is everyone’s responsibility.
Planning unfolded in clear phases over the course of a year.
| Phase 1 | Staff and leadership identified goals, established timelines, and aligned the full Catonsville Y and Y of Central Maryland teams around the initiative’s purpose. |
| Phase 2 | Catonsville Y engaged partners, recruited volunteers, and confirmed participation. |
| Phase 3 | Catonsville Y hosted Healthy Kids Day. |
| Phase 4 | Y of Central Maryland provided a three-part professional development series to centers across the network. Building on learnings from initial data analysis, community outreach, and participant surveys, the series covered community belonging, member engagement principles, and data-informed outreach. |
Early in 2025, the Catonsville Y began cultivating relationships with organizations that have established relationships, programs, and trust in the communities it was trying to reach. The Y in Dancel, CAPA, and Alpha became community partners in the initiative, contributing to the outreach and engagement efforts in the months leading up to Healthy Kids Day—a recognizable annual event that provided a natural platform to introduce the initiative. By embedding the program into a familiar event, the Y could track engagement against previous years while integrating new outreach efforts into planned programming. The Y also activated its Community Leadership Boards to bring in their own networks, amplify the effort, and help connect with families who might not otherwise have walked through the Y’s doors.
In the same timeframe, Y of Central Maryland staff provided each center with detailed zip code and member experience data from the Y Engagement Survey, creating a shared foundation across the network. Staff participated in the national Team Up conference and traveled to a Team Up gathering in Chicago in March 2025, which were invaluable opportunities for peer learning.
The Catonsville Y conducted outreach through established community networks and partner organizations. The Y’s volunteer Community Leadership Boards played a key role in inviting previously unengaged families to Healthy Kids Day.
Keeping all staff engaged throughout the process, not just those directly involved in event planning, was also key. The Y’s approach was, and continues to be, that every interaction a member or potential member has with a staff member is an opportunity to build the welcoming culture that bridgebuilding requires.
The Y gathered feedback through post-event participant surveys, partner check-ins that included reflection on the event and discussion of future bridgebuilding opportunities, and informal conversations with attendees on the day itself.
Healthy Kids Day at the Catonsville Y brought together 250 attendees — including 50 non-Y members — to celebrate and promote a safe, active, and healthy summer for children and families. Attendees participated in a wide variety of engaging activities, many of which can be enjoyed year-round at the Y. The energy-packed day featured physical activities like obstacle courses, family boot camps, sports, and lively dance parties. Attendees also enjoyed a calming and educational Tai Chi demonstration, showcasing Y activities that promote balance and well-being. Participants made spin art and planted seeds to take home at arts & crafts stations.
Healthy Kids Day fostered a strong sense of community, with opportunities for connection and engagement with a broad cross-section of Y members and potential members. Families gathered at picnic tables to share in fellowship and took part in guided membership tours to explore the Y’s offerings.
The debut of the Catonsville Y’s newest Free Little Library was a highlight of the day. Stocked with 50 books selected to reflect community diversity, including stories and voices representing Hispanic/Latino and Asian families, this new library is part of the Y’s commitment to literacy, inclusion, and access to educational resources for all.
Healthy Kids Day was made possible by the support of 30–40 dedicated volunteers from across the community. A team of 11 volunteers helped with setup and preparation two days in advance, and 14 volunteers assisted the day before with further preparations, including for the Free Little Library launch. On the day of the event, an additional 15 volunteers joined to ensure everything ran smoothly.
The Team Up Project sees differences as a strength. Using a Respect–Relate–Cooperate framework, programs can encourage participants to engage across differences around a common goal or value by respecting others’ identities and perspectives, building mutually positive relationships, and working together across backgrounds on shared concerns.
“Who’s in the room?”
For the Y in Central Maryland, bridgebuilding began not with an event but with a question: who isn’t here, and why? By grounding its work in data—and then treating that data as an invitation, rather than just a metric—the Catonsville Y demonstrated what it means to respect community members whose needs and experiences have not always been centered.
Healthy Kids Day was designed to foster a sense of belonging that makes building relationships possible. Families who had never set foot in the Y before were welcomed by name. Programming was designed intentionally to reflect the cultural lives and experiences of Asian and Hispanic/Latino neighbors.
The Y’s work to make its centers’ membership, staff, leadership, and volunteers more reflective of its communities continues beyond the event. Y staff regularly review and reflect upon membership and participation data to inform ongoing outreach and programming. Associates at every level and across departments are part of the bridgebuilding effort. At the Y in Catonsville, programs are being piloted, like paid family memberships, as a way for the organization to work directly with families to remove barriers to access and make the Y more welcoming to all.
Healthy Kids Day 2025 reached beyond the Y’s existing membership base in a meaningful way. As a direct result of intentional community outreach and partnership engagement, at least 20% of attendees were non-members. Volunteers described a warm, energetic atmosphere in which families from different backgrounds mingled, played, and shared space together. The event sparked a real-time connection: families met Y staff and learned what the organization has to offer, while the Y gained direct insight into the interests and needs of the communities it seeks to serve.
Beyond the single event, the initiative strengthened the Y’s organizational capacity for bridgebuilding. Y of Central Maryland staff provided technical assistance and professional development to teams across all 12 centers to support bridgebuilding. This support created shared language and practices around community engagement. The Catonsville center’s work now serves as an illustrative model for what this kind of sustained, data-driven bridgebuilding can look like in practice, informing the rest of the centers’ efforts.
One key lesson learned along the way was that providing more lead time makes a real difference. In follow-up conversations and surveys, families and schools shared that knowing about the program two to three months in advance would have helped them with planning. The schools, in particular, noted that they needed time to organize transportation. That feedback has already shaped planning for future events.
The Catonsville Y’s model—pairing data analysis with ongoing community relationship-building and accessible, culturally-reflective programming—can be replicated across Y centers and adapted by other community organizations. Schools, parent and community groups, local faith communities, and neighborhood associations are all natural partners for this kind of work.
To get the attendees you want, it’s essential to conduct early outreach with community organizations and schools. These groups need two to three months advance notice to integrate your program into their own plans. Earlier outreach allows them to participate more fully, and demonstrates to them that they are core partners, not an afterthought.
Partnerships multiply reach. Community organizations that are already trusted and rooted in priority communities can connect with people in ways other marketing never will.
Offering culturally relevant programming is essential to growing participation. Programming should be woven into everyday efforts, and not saved for one-off events.
Bridgebuilding starts before and continues after the event. While the event itself should be a safe, fun, and welcoming space, the most meaningful connections happen through the ongoing relationships and follow-ups that start before and continue after.
Engage all staff early and often. Even if they aren’t directly involved in planning, every person plays a role in bridgebuilding.
Bridgebuilding cannot live only within the team directly tasked with a particular event or initiative. Every staff interaction can help create a welcoming environment and reinforce the community connections you’re building.
