By Tucker Paquette
@tpaquette17
On a campus like Springfield College, where such a heavy emphasis is placed on leadership and helping other people, it stands to reason that a club whose goals so closely align with these values would stand out.
As it turns out, the Springfield College Y-Club is doing just that.
Members of the club are part of a wide range of service-based activities, both at Springfield College and out in the surrounding areas. Regardless of what the club is doing, however, the same core principles apply.
“It’s about building community, trust and helping out,” Springfield College sophomore Donovan Carmichael said.
The Y-Club does a significant amount of volunteer work. One common practice of the club is members going on a service trip to a community in need, and helping to clean up the area. Other times, the Y-Club will visit and spend time with people going through serious illnesses, such as cancer.
Also, the Y-Club makes a point to spend time with younger people, another hallmark of the group. This is something of great importance to the club, as service is a primary part of its ethos. Helping others, and specifically young people, is top of mind for Carmichael as well.
“Building a community for the younger youth [so they] have a place to stay and a place to thrive without the dangers of the outside world [is an important part of the Y-Club’s work],” Carmichael said. “I strive to be a person that can help other people in the future, and Y-Club gives me that opportunity, because it’s all about mentorship and learning how to build as a team.”
Over spring break, the Y-Club went on a trip to Cape Cod and visited Camp Lyndon, where they did cleaning and renovation work. The 13 students who went on the trip did a variety of jobs, including cutting down overgrown thorns and filling in uneven parts of the campground with rocks. Over the course of the trip, the students made time to organize cabins and paint houses, too.
But to Carmichael, who was on the trip, the experience was about much more than trimming trees and cleaning cabins.
“I felt one with nature in the sense that when you stepped outside, you saw the world around you, the forests, the different lakes and the overall environment that was generated from the YMCA and all the people that went on the trip,” Carmichael said.
The powerful nature of this trip and the other events the Y-Club takes part in highlight the profound effects the group has not only on the people they’re helping, but also on club members’ own leadership development.
“The Y-Club is a program that allows [people] to excel in mentor and leadership roles, especially in the younger communities,” Carmichael said.
With a collection of eager, selfless students who want to make a difference in their communities, the Y-Club develops a stronger identity with each person they impact.
“I think the program really thrives off of the energy [from] people who have the desire to be a better leader or want to be a [creator of] change in this world,” Carmichael said.
Photo courtesy: Donovan Carmichael