Character Development
Caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility are the core values of the YMCA.
Character Development
The YMCA movement had been involved in character development from the beginning, but in an implicit and practical focus rather than an explicit one. The YMCA movement studied the issue and emerged with four "core values" -- caring, honesty, respect and responsibility -- and promptly began to incorporate these in all programming in an explicit and conscious way.
The YMCA’s commitment to character development makes it extraordinarily valuable to the communities and people it serves. Building on this commitment and making it part of everyday operations is our focus. The four character values defined are:
Caring (red to represent the heart): To love others, to be sensitive to the well-being of others, to help others.
Honesty (blue to represent “true blue”): To tell the truth, to act in such a way that you are worthy of trust, to have integrity, making sure your choices match your values.
Respect (yellow to represent the “golden rule”): To treat others as you would have them treat you; to value the worth of every living being, including yourself
Responsibility (green to represent the environment and money): To do what is right, what you ought to do; to be accountable for your behavior and obligations