I wrote a piece in March 2022 about Ukraine’s YMCAs and wanted to provide an update as the war is raging and continues to be out of control.

The first Ukrainian YMCA started in 1993 in a small town and the movement grew. It is now located in 24 cities and towns. Twenty Ukrainian YMCAs continue to operate, and their programs reached more than 120,000 people last year. The YMCA Lviv has been forced to move from place to place in order to continue providing humanitarian services for its membership.

YMCA Zaporizhzhia, closest to the front lines, continues to work, even developing new projects. According to the YMCA Ukraine General Secretary Vicktor Serbulov, “We had to attract new volunteers, and the leaders who remained faced more pressure. We have brought new people to the YMCA community and we hope in the future, with such excellent examples, they too will become experienced leaders.”

YMCA Ukraine has developed mine safety education and a prevention board game called “Watch Your Steps.” YMCAs sew uniforms and clothes for soldiers, make military nets, and provide evacuation and relocation services for people escaping the war zone.

It’s is hard to imagine our YMCA involved in providing services for a war conflict in our backyard!

To date, nearly 7 million people within Ukraine have been internally displaced and more than 8 million refugees have left the country for safety. USA YMCA has generated nearly $2 million to support Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced families.

There exists so much irony in the world we live in!

In Israel, the Jerusalem International YMCA was dedicated in 1933 by Archibald Clinton Harte, who worked tirelessly in planning every detail of the YMCA. He dedicated the YMCA with the following words: “Here is a spot whose atmosphere is peace, where political and religious jealousies can be forgotten and international unity can be fostered and developed.”

It’s absolutely frustrating, as war rages in Israel/Palestine and in Ukraine, that the mission of love, serve, and care falls on deaf ears. The Jerusalem International YMCA stated mission is spirit, mind and body. It has an interfaith (Christian Muslim and Jewish) chorus encouraging youths from East and West to come together to become leaders for peace in their communities.

As the current president of Franklin County’s YMCA board of directors, every day I witness how committed to love, serve, care our YMCA staff is dedicated to Franklin County’s community. The services we provide are as diverse as our almost 5,000 members. The attention to detail is outstanding, whether it is providing first class child care services, wellness programs, providing clothes and meals to the community, competitive and recreational opportunities for adults and children, providing youth sports at our amazing Camp Apex and to our YMCA Leaders club. Our YMCA is always striving to provide a welcoming community for its membership.

I personally want to thank the YMCA staff for the amazing services they provide day in and day out.

The YMCA has a done a tremendous job working through the challenging years of COVID. Franklin County’s YMCA is now in a position to commit to building a better YMCA experience for our staff and membership. Our YMCA is located in an older building requiring modernization in order to better service the community for a continued successful future.

If you are not a YMCA member, please join. If you value the unique YMCA organization, please help us help others. Peaceful holidays.

Don Simms is president Franklin County’s YMCA board of directors.