What can you do with over 40 motivated Punahou High School Students and some College Students on a Satudrday Morning?  Why not gather everyone for an opportunity to not only serve the Atherton YMCA , but The Salvation Army Women's Transitional Shelter in Manoa as well.  Under the guidance of Board Chairman Carl Ackerman, a respected member of the Punahou faculty, 43 High School Students from Punahou joined forces with our very own Altertnative Spring Break Students to provide needed repairs and maintenace to the facilities of Atherton YMCA.  Tasks included painting, labeling tools, redecorating the MAR Lounge, glass cleaning, and movement of supplies and furniture.  Students were broken into teams with ASB students to accomplish each given responsibility.  The teams were very focused, yet they all had fun working on common goals.  The biggest blessing from the shared work was the ability to provide the Salvation Army Women's Transitional Shelter with YMCA Fitness memberships, thus allowing these single mothers the opportunity to work out and feel good about themselves.  This is made possible through an Educating the Heart grant  provided through the Weinberg Foundation. Mahalo to all that participated with us in this event, and we look forward to more opportunities to provide service activities for our youth.  Come get involved with us!

Atherton is one of 20 Campus YMCAs in the United States. The Coalition of Campus Ys (CCY)  is a group of student representatives from campus Ys that organize conferences and alternative breaks. Our own members Laura Chua and Maryam Palma participated in Alternative Winter Break 2011 which was held in New Orleans.  Check out the January 2011 CCY Newsletter below for a full story!

Last year, CCY held a student conference at Virginia Tech. Ashleigh DeBord and Sara Phillips from Atherton attended. Going forward,  CCY will be holding its nect conference in May at the University of Toledo. Applications for Atherton representatives to attend will be coming out soon. Be on the lookout for this great opportunity to travel,  meet other college students from around the country and Asia, and represent our Campus Y.