Starting this year, the YMCA has been providing various after-school activities, along with free food, to McKinley High School students in room T-1 from Monday to Thursday and B103 on Friday, with the goal of promoting a healthy body and mind.
The YMCA is supported by the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program, a federally funded initiative that helps establish learning centers where students can attend during non-school hours to socialize, participate in activities and improve their academics. It primarily targets K-12 students in high-poverty and low-performing schools.
The program operates on a schedule dedicated to different activities on different days. Monday is for board games, Tuesday is for volleyball, Wednesday focuses on college and career readiness and movie nights are held on Friday. Food is offered for free daily via donations from Aloha Harvest, a non-profit organization that rescues quality surplus food, which is when the amount of food available exceeds the demand.
Ann Ngo, a math tutor for the YMCA, touched on the importance of the food they provide.
“Us being here for students and engaging with them through even something as simple as card games and bringing food, just giving one student food that might be their only meal … I think that’s an accomplishment,” Ngo said.
Students who have little leisure time between the end of school and the start of their extracurriculars tend to hang out in T-1. One such student, Micah James Quimpo (℅ ‘26) said his favorite activity to participate in is the Monopoly card game. He also said the YMCA has introduced him to new people, including Business Academy teacher Francis Philip Vilar.
“I do plan to show up more frequently,” Quimpo said.
Beyond homework help, tutors also offer mental support and the ability to simulate a test environment for students. Amy Liu (℅ ‘27) said she discovered the program from the Daily Bulletin, and decided to attend because she needed tutoring for her AP Precalculus course.
“It was really nice. I finally understood the concepts a lot better than what my teacher taught me,” Liu said.
Besides tutoring, she enjoys talking to the staff members and other students. She said she tries to attend at least once or twice a week, and mostly comes for tutoring and to hang out.
The YMCA staff will continue operating at McKinley for the rest of the year, and they hope to continue in subsequent years as well.
“I encourage people to attend because it’s really fun,” Liu said
