Teen Leaders Club

The Leaders Club is a YMCA program that offers opportunities for leadership training, personal growth, service to others and social development to teens between the ages of 13 to 18. The members of this club have a strong desire to make a difference at their YMCA and in their community. This program has played a vital role in multiple YMCAs across the country since its inception in 1922.

The Olive Branch Family YMCA will begin offering Leaders Club in the fall of 2009 with its inaugural group of members. The focus of Leaders Club is to promote and enhance the personal growth and social skills of young people in order to develop strong leaders who will be a positive force in their community. Additional objectives of this program will focus on the development of life skills, the provision of educational and career-oriented guidance and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle.

Members of the club will elect officers each year to guide the groups in such areas as fundraising and community service. Teens will assume responsibility for planning their own activities under the supervision of adult advisors. In addition to personal growth and service work, we will also focus on physical fitness. We will meet work out as a group frequently, learning about the importance of healthy choices.

Beginning in June 2011, members will have an opportunity to attend Leaders School in Black Mountain, North Carolina where YMCA Leaders Club members from all over the country will also attend. To be able to attend the week-long school, each member must pass a physical fitness test, have strong knowledge of YMCA history and have completed a minimum of 100 volunteer hours. Club members will also be responsible for raising funds to attend Leaders School.

The current goals of Leaders Club are as follows:

• To have each member complete 100 hours of community service.
• To have each member work out 3 hours per week.
• To have the group complete at least one community service project each quarter.
• To have each member attend Blue Ridge Leaders School in 2011.

Download the brochure and nomination form here.

For more information on the Olive Branch Family YMCA Leaders Club, please contact Mary Ellen Grannan, Associate Executive Director.