Santa Monica Family YMCA Celebrated for Work in Sustainability
On April 29th, the Santa Monica Family YMCA was honored by the City of Santa Monica and Sustainable Works as a Grand Prize Winner for the 2026 Sustainability Quality Awards, recognizing the work the YMCA does around stewardship of the community.
Awarded annually, the SQA promotes the efforts of local businesses making significant achievements in the areas of sustainable economic development, social responsibility, and stewardship of the natural environment. The SQA nurtures Santa Monica’s sustainable business community, inspiring other businesses to adopt their own sustainable practices, and providing residents & visitors with a healthy economy and environment.
The SQA Grand Prize is given for combined excellence in Sustainable Economic Development, Social Responsibility, and Stewardship of the Natural Environment. Specific excellence awards are given to businesses with outstanding achievements in any one of the three areas.
As a community-driven organization, the Santa Monica Family YMCA is dedicated to enriching the physical, mental, spiritual, and social lives of individuals and families. Guided by core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility, the YMCA embraces diversity to ensure everyone can learn, grow, and thrive. Sustainability at the YMCA is not only about efficiency, but stewardship – taking care of the people and physical community in which we serve. Our organization was honored to receive the Grand Prize for excellence across all three categories.
Our organization was honored to be highlighted among other stand-out local businesses, including Regent Santa Monica Beach, Community Corporation of Santa Monica, and The Bike Center of Santa Monica. Featuring speakers like Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis, Clove Galilee (City of Santa Monica), Susy Borlido (Sustainable Works), Shannon Parry (City of Santa Monica), and Antonio Vasquez (California Board of Equalization), the SQA celebration was an inspiring night filled with people who believe a more sustainable future means a higher quality of life for everyone in our community.
At the Santa Monica Family YMCA, we believe that effecting change comes down thinking globally and acting locally. The YMCA truly is a place for every age and every stage, and ensuring we create a safe, welcoming place for everyone is core to our sustainability efforts. We strive to be a good partner to the community, working to protect our beautiful coastal environment, and acting to do the most good possible for our neighbors. To learn more about the sustainability efforts at our YMCA, we invite you to read about our Environmental Stewardship, Economic Development, and Social Responsibility initiatives below.
Environmental Stewardship: Protecting our Coastal City
The Santa Monica Family YMCA’s Environmental Policy supports energy efficiency, pollution prevention, waste reduction, and sustainable procurement. Facility upgrades include replacing hundreds of fluorescent tube lights with LEDs, installing window tint on North- & East-facing windows to reduce heat gain, and installing water bottle refill stations to reduce single-use plastics. To improve indoor air quality, the Santa Monica YMCA eliminated aerosol cleaning products, switching to Green Seal Certified floor and multi-surface cleaners. Waste reduction efforts include cutting paper use by over 50%, creating flyers with QR codes, utilizing digital displays instead of mass-printing flyers, digital newsletters, and utilizing paper products with post-consumer recycled content.
Recycling practices feature a color-coded refuse liner system, with clear blue bags used to indicate recycling and black for trash, simplifying sorting. The Y has also introduced color-coded infographics on all waste-stations to educate youth, staff, and members on proper disposal to reduce waste and encourage recycling. Sustainable purchasing focuses on janitorial paper products containing up to 100% post-consumer recycled content. Beyond facility improvements, the YMCA incorporates sustainability education into its children’s after-school & day camp programming, fostering environmental awareness within the community.
Through the Green Business Certification process, our YMCA reduced the amount of chemical waste materials onsite, including old paints, e-waste, old light bulbs, pool chemical containers, and harsh cleaning products. Our YMCA has switched to all Green Seal Certified cleaning products. We replaced many paper towels dispensers with Energy Star/ LEED rated Dyson automatic hand dryers in the restrooms. Dyson Airblades are Green Spec-listed and help buildings achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, with Dyson units using up to 80% less energy than traditional warm air dryers. Paper products purchased contain post-consumer recycled content, supporting the recycling industry and help reduce our carbon footprint.
The YMCA engages youth and seniors in waste reduction, upcycling single-use plastics and recyclables for craft activities and our Makers Space. The Makers Space is a STEAM(Science, Technology, Art, Engineering, Mathematics) lab for our Youth Development programs where youth & teens can design and create using hi-tech equipment.
Economic Development: Providing for Our Community
The Santa Monica Family YMCA is a charitable non-profit. Our work is community-driven and community-focused, and our stakeholders are the people of Santa Monica, Venice, and the surrounding area. Governed by a Board of Volunteers, our YMCA incorporates the voices of community leaders through our board, trustees, local and municipal partners, members, staff, program participants, and advisory council of community leaders to guide how our programs, initiatives, and service model address the needs of the community.
As a non-profit, our YMCA seeks to operate on a net-zero basis, investing our resources in the community through our financial assistance program and free or low-cost programs. Financial assistance at The Y means that people have access to critical programs & services like preschool, swim lessons, senior programs, afterschool, when they otherwise would not be able to afford them. This directly benefits people in the community, covering the cost of vital programs so their funds can go towards basic necessities without compromising their quality of life. Financial assistance supports families (including survivors of the LA Wildfires), seniors on fixed incomes, youth, and young adults alike with dignity and equity, creating an opportunity for them to connect with others, form community, and find a sense of belonging.
Each year, the YMCA raises funds to sustain the scholarship program, asking the community to invest in the work The Y is doing to improve the quality of life of others in the community. In 2025, our YMCA fundraised $134,000 to support our scholarship program and distributed over $201,000 in financial assistance to community members, far exceeding the amount raised. Our YMCA continues to support victims of the LA Wildfires through financial assistance, ensuring these neighbors are supported long-term. When families & individuals receive financial assistance for the vital programs and services offered at The Y, it allows them to take care of their most basic needs without having to sacrifice care or community that improves their overall wellbeing. We are grateful to our community for contributing to our work, ensuring the Santa Monica Family YMCA is always a place for ALL to rise and thrive, together.
Social Responsibility: Taking Care of Our People
In pursuit of our mission where all are valued and respected by the Y, the Santa Monica Family YMCA is committed to advancing equity for all so that everyone has an opportunity to reach their full potential and live life to its fullest. We nurture and intentionally promote a culture free of bias and injustice, recognizing the uniqueness of each person, and celebrating all dimensions of diversity. We are committed to dismantling oppressive systems and holding ourselves accountable to identify and put in place long-term policies designed to eliminate inequity.
The Santa Monica YMCA is committed to creating and maintaining a workplace in which all employees have an opportunity to participate and contribute to the success of the business and are valued for their skills, experience, and unique perspectives. Our YMCA strives to embody a culture of celebration and recognition, highlighting effort & growth in our team and empowering them to reach for even higher achievements. Each month, our association leads a staff appreciation activity as a way to say ‘thank you” for all their hard work. Staff achievements are highlighted at staff meetings. During our two annual all-staff meetings, we award one staff from each department a recognition award for their commitment to safety, experience, and meeting the needs of the community. Team-building is incorporated into all department and leadership meetings to continue to develop strong rapport and trust among teammates.
Employees of all levels are offered professional development opportunities for continual development. Training is offered within their field as well as general leadership development. The YMCA puts all employees on a professional development track to help everyone hone their skills, develop functional expertise, and strengthen competencies to help them excel in their chosen career path. Staff begin their professional development journey when they start at The Y and have opportunities to recertify leadership levels annually, attend conferences and retreats, and shadow fellow professionals. These professional development plans prepare our staff to advance to the next tier of leadership when opportunities arise. Staff are given opportunities to take on new projects, exploring new skills. This may include community events, specialty programming, or member engagement in addition to their original role. The YMCA offers a Continuing Education Support Program through Springfield College, Strayer University, and Capella University through tuition grants, discounts, credit transfers, and more to assist employees in reaching their educational and career goals.
Looking Ahead
From Caity King, Director of Mission Advancement
“Being honored by the 2026 Sustainable Quality Awards for the Santa Monica Family YMCA’s work around Social Responsibility, Economic Development, and Stewardship of the Environment is something we hope our Y community is deeply proud of. Our organization has been serving the area since 1927, striving to serve people at all ages and stages. Understanding sustainability as a way of taking care of our neighbors and our people feels intuitive at The Y. We are excited to continue innovating and striving to serve the good people of Santa Monica and Venice better and more sustainably for years to come.”
