YMCA of Honolulu manages program waitlist through hiring initiatives

YMCA of Honolulu is looking to hire at least 43 staff members for its A+ After School Program across 59 sites statewide.

The program is supported by the state Department of Education and is “free and open to families who qualify,” Vice President of People and Culture Kevin Patterson told Aloha State Daily. Once school is back in session, it will provide after-school care for 3,420 keiki in grades K-12. As of July 31, 476 kids were on the waitlist, he said.

“This is one of YMCA’s most important programs for Hawaiʻi families, which allows kids to go to a safe place after school to work on homework and their social skills,” Patterson said. “If the waitlist is too high, working families may have to keep one parent at home, which could result in loss of income they can’t afford with the state’s high cost of living. One kid on the waitlist is one too many.”

To incentivize recruitment for new workers, YMCA of Honolulu is currently offering a $500 hiring bonus, paid training, a free membership and 60% discount on program fees for families. Pay starts at $19.50 per hour.

“We’re also offering $250 in YMCA credit for those who refer someone,” he added. Incentives will be in effect until communities needs are met.

So far, job fairs and expos have also helped the organization toward its goal.

When asked what it’s like to work/volunteer at the YMCA, Patterson said, “The thing I love the most about any YMCA site, is we do a wonderful job of serving keiki, ʻohana and kūpuna, so you see the communities come to life in the lobbies of most of our branches. You’ve got the keiki interacting with kūpuna. You’ve got families with a program for everyone; parents working out in the gym, kids in their day program or kūpuna eating or swimming together. When you step in it, you see the best of our community.

“That’s what makes the Y special, we’re not just a gym or swim place where people come and go, people come, and they want to stay and build friendships with each other.”

With nearly 20 years of experience in human resources, Patterson joined YMCA of Honolulu in June 2024. “I grew up surrounded by the YMCA and became a yoga instructor there through college.”

 “Here, my team internally, we call this time the Super Bowl because we work all year long to staff our sites as the needs present, but we know that this is the one where it takes a village. It takes the community coming together, it takes all hands-on-deck inside the YMCA, and it takes our partners – everyone ramping up for the volume of people. It’s hard to get excited about anything else when we still have kids on the waitlist. This is our top priority."

Last month, YMCA of Honolulu announced that president and CEO Greg Waibel will become chief operating officer for the YMCA of the USA on Aug. 29. Lisa Ontai, former vice president of marketing and mission advancement, has stepped up to serve as interim president and CEO, effective immediately.

“It’s exciting that we have somebody from Honolulu going to represent the YMCA movement across North America, so we’re really proud of Greg,” Patterson said. “For us here, we’re excited that Lisa Ontai has stepped into his position. Lisa has great relationships with people in various sectors across the community. We’re in wonderful hands with Lisa. … I have no doubts we’ll be able to continue every initiative that is planned.” 

In terms of retention, he said, “We have a high volume of returning seasonal employees – we’re the place they want to come back to.”

“Our leadership positions tend to be full-time, year-round. Frontlines are more seasonal, especially when school is in session,” he said, adding that part of its success in keeping staff has been “getting creative with where to plug people in.”

“If you have friends or family that you think this youth leader position is good for, we want to take care of them and plug them in. We are ready for them to start as soon as possible.

“If you’ve questioned, do I have what it takes to work with kids? You do! We will train you. We will get you everything you need to fill confident and ready to go. If you’re looking for a meaningful career that shapes our next generation of kids here in Hawaiʻi, come work with us. We would love to have you, and we do feel strongly that you belong here."

The YMCA of Honolulu is “dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility," its mission statement reads.

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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.