YMCA Calgary > YMCA Community Action Network (YCAN)

Hello Everyone! This is blog posting #5 for intergenerational week. Today we wanted to focus more on the life lessons we have learned at the Kerby Centre. We were fortunate enough to be able to speak to a group of older women who were knitting/crocheting. They told us many different life lessons and shared with us their different experiences and wisdom. We chatted for hours about the most random topics but each topic always had meaning behind it.
YMCA Community Action Network (YCAN)

The YMCA Community Action Network (YCAN) supports youth, aged 15-30 years old, in Calgary as they develop and deliver projects that address needs in their community, in a way that is meaningful to them.
In partnership with 16 other YMCAs across Canada, youth from underrepresented communities are brought together to meet others from different backgrounds, discover their potential, and see their ability to create impact in the world around them; meeting them where they are, to increase their social and employment skills, confidence, and community engagement.
Want more information about YCAN?
Click here to fill out our contact form
Through YCAN, youth have the opportunity to:
- Discover your potential to make a positive impact in the community through the planning, development and implementation of service projects based on community need and participant interest.
- Explore personal interests and learn about your community through experiential learning.
- Develop social and employment skills for future employment and volunteer opportunities.
- Remove barriers to your participation in community outreach and volunteer opportunities.
- Collaborate and build relationships with other organizations in Calgary.
- Receive a complimentary YMCA Membership.
- Earn high school credits and volunteer hours for your participation, wherever applicable.
Upon completion of 120 service hours though YCAN, youth will receive a reference letter which can be used for future work and education purposes.
Quotes from YCAN Alumni:
“I was able to speak up for myself and my community.”
– Cohort 3, YCAN Alumni
“I felt most proud of myself when I was able to look at the completed project and know that I was a part of it’s creation and success.”
– Cohort 4/5, YCAN Alumni
“YCAN is what ever you want it to be. It’s a way to make your ideas tangible…it’s making your ideas into something real while having a good time.”
– Cohort 7, YCAN Almuni
YCAN Cohort 13 Blog
During the week of Monday, April 25 - Friday, April 29, the YCAN Cohort 13 will be publishing blog posts focused on intergenerational relationships and their significance to bring awareness to Intergenerational Week. Learn more about some of the interviews they have done with individuals from the Kerby Centre.
April 29th - Lessons Learned from the Kerby Centre
Hello Everyone! This is blog posting #5 for intergenerational week. Today we wanted to focus more on the life lessons we have learned at the Kerby Centre. We were fortunate enough to be able to speak to a group of older women who were knitting/crocheting. They told us many different life lessons and shared with us their different experiences and wisdom. We chatted for hours about the most random topics but each topic always had meaning behind it.
The golden rule that many of the women agreed on was to, ‘treat others the way you want to be treated.” We found this to be such an important lesson because it is so simple. They are not asking us to do something complicated. Just love everyone and treat others in a good way. Doing this will help you to live a successful and most importantly, a happy life. We also learned to count our blessings. It is not right to hold grudges, because we often take things for granted. These women said that as they got older, they had more restrictions. They cannot do the things they want to do because of their physical health. So be grateful every day. We believe that this is important because more and more teenagers especially have trouble counting their blessings. Create those fun experiences when you can and to not take things for granted. For example, I (Danbee) like to stay inside and watch Netflix. My parents often ask me to go on walks with them and I usually decline. I took from this experience at Kerby Centre that I should be grateful I have parents and a wonderful city to go on walks in. From now on, I won’t take them for granted and live every day more happily. As mentioned earlier, the older adults that we talked to said they have many more restrictions due to their health even if their mind is still motivated. This leads to mental block.
Another part of the interview that stood out to us was being able to learn about the culture of each and every person in the room, a valuable piece of discussion that wasn’t planned and instead flowed naturally into the conversation. In fact, the idea came from one of the women sitting at the table and she asked for each of us to tell a short story about where we were born and where our parents are from. This small addition to our discussion was very fascinating because each person told a different story, with some sharing that they were born across the world, and some shared that they have moved many different times before settling in Calgary. I (Nina), was very grateful for this opportunity to share my family roots because a major part of my identity is embedded within my heritage. My family is from Kimry, Russia and although I was born in Calgary, I was raised at home in a very Russian way. My grandma’s knitted slippers, the soups my dad makes, the cross-stitched pieces of art hanging on our walls at home, my name, my blonde hair and blue eyes all remind me of Russia and the sacrifices my family made to immigrate here in order to have a better quality of life. When I was younger, I felt very insecure about being Russian because a lot of the kids that I grew up with in kindergarten and elementary school spoke English with their parents which was something I could never relate to. I
wanted to fit in. I wanted to have a shorter last name that wasn’t hard to pronounce. Now I know that I have a very unique last name, I find it cool that I can fluently speak in Russian and I would be happy to discuss the ups and downs of my parents' life with others. The older adult who initiated this conversation helped remind me that I am proud of who I am and I realized that asking where someone is from can create a friendly discussion filled with many stories and it can also help us respect each other’s cultures.
That is the end of our blog post and intergenerational week! Although it is celebrated for a week once a year, it should never leave our hearts. The lessons that we learn and relationships we create should be with us all 365 days throughout the year. Thank you so much!!!!