Volunteer With Us

The Ashland Family YMCA believes the following policies are vital to the protection of children in our programs and thus these policies will be shared with and applied to all staff, including volunteers. The Ashland Family YMCA has a zero tolerance policy for child abuse.

1. Reference checks will be conducted, documented, and filed on all employees and volunteers prior to being hired. This includes criminal, sex offender and child abuse screenings.

2. At no time should staff or volunteers be in a situation where they are alone with a child or children and cannot be observed by others. This is in order to protect YMCA staff, volunteers and program participants. The YMCA will make every attempt to design and structure its programs to eliminate the potential for staff or volunteers to be in a one-on-one situation.

3. YMCA staff members are not to have children enter closets or storage areas to retrieve equipment. At no time may children be unsupervised in shower areas or locker rooms.

4. YMCA staff and volunteers may not date program participants under the age of 18. YMCA staff and volunteers may not have electronic communication with program participants under the age of 18.

5. YMCA staff and volunteers may not baby-sit for participants or children of participants in YMCA programs, unless they have a babysitter release form on file with the Personnel Director.

6. YMCA staff and volunteers may not transport children in their own vehicles.

7. YMCA staff and volunteers may not discipline children by use of physical punishment or by failing to provide the necessities of care (food, sleep, bathrooms, and water). YMCA staff and volunteers may not verbally or emotionally abuse children.

8. All YMCA staff members are mandated reporters with regard to child abuse. Staff and volunteers will be alert to the physical and emotional state of all children and any sign of injury or suspected child abuse. Any evidence of potential child abuse or observation of inappropriate contact by a parent, staff member or other child will be reported to the proper authorities. All allegations are taken seriously and the YMCA will cooperate fully with law enforcement.

9. No type of child abuse will be tolerated. Any abuse by a staff member or volunteer will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

10. YMCA staff and volunteers should wear nametags or badges for identification and encourage children to know them by name. Badges make staff and volunteers easily identifiable and prevent children from being lured away by adults claiming to be YMCA staff.

The YMCA is committed to providing a safe, secure, violence free, and welcoming environment for all staff members, volunteers, and program participants. To promote safety and comfort for all, staff members and volunteers are expected to behave at all times in a mature and responsible way in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations and the policies and procedures of the YMCA, and with adherence to the YMCA’s four core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility.

Staff and volunteers must maintain a professional attitude and represent the YMCA in a professional and positive manner at all times, at the YMCA and outside of the YMCA.
All employees and volunteers are responsible for helping to maintain a violence-free environment and, therefore, are required to promptly and accurately report concerns, threats and incidents of violence, whether or not physical injury has occurred.

Failure to comply with the expectations as defined within this Code of Conduct will lead to disciplinary action, up to and including discharge. It would be impossible for the YMCA to outline every “do” and “don’t”, but rather, the policies represented here are intended to cover general requirements that are essential for the YMCA’s operations. You should review this carefully and perform your conduct accordingly.

1. Poor or unsatisfactory performance is prohibited. Poor or unsatisfactory performance may include, but is not limited to, failure to meet established performance standards, failure to complete assigned tasks, or attendance problems.

2. Dishonesty is prohibited. Dishonesty include a number of types of activities including falsifying time worked, unauthorized removal of equipment, theft from fellow employees, the YMCA, a YMCA member or participant, falsifications for inaccuracies on records. Lying is prohibited.

3. Acts of physical violence or acts that threaten physical violence, on YMCA members or participants or on visitors is prohibited.

4. Deliberate or negligent acts, which endanger your safety or the safety of others, are prohibited. This includes horseplay such as scuffling, wrestling, and practical jokes.

5. Any damage, either willful or due to carelessness, to YMCA equipment or processes which could cause waste, spoilage or temporary shutdown of operations is prohibited.

6. Refusal to carry out a supervisor’s directions constitutes gross insubordination.

7. Smoking is prohibited.

8. Abusive, obscene, profane, or offensive language is prohibited.

9. Use, possession, sale or being under the influence of alcoholic beverages or a controlled substance on YMCA premises is prohibited.

10. Carrying or concealing weapons, devices, or objects that may be used as weapons are prohibited.

11. Engaging in any prohibited, discriminatory, or harassing conduct against other employees,
YMCA members, participants, or visitors is prohibited. This would include, but is not limited to:
- harassment
- illegal or immoral conduct
- child abuse, molestation or indecent display
- conviction of a felony

I certify that the information on this application is true, complete and correct. I authorize the Ashland Family YMCA to perform the necessary background checks to determine my qualifications for volunteer work and the safety of YMCA participants and programs.