Nearly everyone knows the YMCA song by the Village People and the silly dance that accompanies it, but not everyone knows about the YMCA sponsored club for teens, Leaders Club.
   YMCA Wellness Director Justin Parker is a co-advisor of the Leaders Club, a group of about 100 young adults who meet once a week where they organize or participate in various volunteer community projects and engage in character-building activities. Of the nearly 100 teens in the program, he said about 45-50 regularly attend the weekly meetings.
   The Leaders Club is a collaborative effort with Partners for Healthier Communities, a program of Goodall Hospital.
   Parker said girls mostly attend the club, but a few boys joined, too.
   The Leaders Club is an active club which recently participated in a pancake breakfast at the Trafton Senior Center and which plans to volunteer at the Beat the Winter Blues evening of literacy fun scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Knights of Columbus hall in Sanford.
   He said the teens will be leading participants in the Beat the Winter Blues in four 10 minute exercise breaks.
   The teens also do activities to raise money for organizations, such as participating in the breast cancer walk in Portland.
   “They raised $1,000 for breast cancer,” Parker said.
   The teens also take part in Youth in Government, a program that allows teens the opportunity to learn, hands-on, how Maine’s legislative process works.
   He said he plans to take the teens to Augusta for Youth in Government Weekend, but said he wasn’t sure if the weekend would pan out as well this year as it has in the past.
   “This year, Youth in Government Weekend falls on Mother’s Day and it’s prom weekend,” he said.
   The students recently visited the Hall of Flags at the State House in Augusta where they met Rep. Joan Nass, Rep. John Tuttle and Senators Richard Nass and Jon Courtney.
   “When the kids stood up, they received a round of applause,” Parker said.
   The YMCA and Partners for Healthier Communities pay for transportation and lodging to Augusta for Youth in Government weekend.
    Not only do teens gain confidence, make new friends and volunteer their time, if a teen completes 15 hours of community service through the Leaders Club, they earn a free membership to the YMCA for the remainder of the school year. The 15 hours of community service also count toward community service hours required for high school graduation, Parker said.
   The sooner a student completes the community service, the sooner they can take advantage of the free YMCA membership.
   He said the teens recently worked with the Sanford/Springvale Trail Committee to adopt the trail leading from behind Sanford High School to the YMCA.
   “We’ll do the upkeep if it ever stops snowing,” he said.
   The teens assisted with the triathlon event at the YMCA Feb. 16 and volunteer their time shoveling snow for the elderly who sign up for the SALT (Seniors and Law Enforcement Together) program through Goodall Hospital.
   “There are five kids who shovel two driveways each,” Parker said.
   He also engages the students in team building activities such as Bingo and other games.
   “At first they are in their cliques,” he said. “Team building breaks down the clique barriers.”
   By the end of the year in June, the group celebrates their accomplishments with a pizza party.
   The group does not meet throughout the summer, but Parker keeps a list of names and phone numbers in the event something comes up that he thinks the teens might be interested in doing.
   There is a possibility of monthly meetings during the summer just to keep the kids in touch with one another, he said.
   Now in his third year as Leaders Club advisor/co-advisor, he originally began working at the YMCA as the childcare director after graduating from Springfield College in Massachusetts, the first YMCA training school.
   He said he hopes when the YMCA building expands, it will include a community center. He said he sees a great need for a teen community center in Sanford because kids have no place to go.
   He said when he was a freshman at college, he began a three-year stint as a YMCA camp counselor. During his senior year at Springfield College, he served as an assistant camp director.
   He came to Maine after perusing the YMCA Internet site for available jobs within the infrastructure of the YMCA.
   “I saw Sanford, Maine and that’s what I chose,” he said.
   His brother attends a college nearby, he said, so he doesn’t feel too far removed from his roots in Connecticut.
   As the wellness director, Parker oversees the fitness and cardio programs at the YMCA and implements programs aimed at keeping members motivated in their quest for fitness.
   He initiated a New Year’s Resolution Program, which inspired 132 people to sign up.
   Participants earn points every time they work out. The three-month program grants one point for each workout during the first month, two points for every workout during the second month, and three points for every workout during the third month.
   He said as the weeks wear on, people often lose sight of their resolution. The three-point incentive during the third month not only inspires people to make it to the third month, but by the third month, regular workouts become a commitment. In the end, those who earn the most points will be awarded a YMCA T-shirt.
   “It’s funny what people will work for,” he said. “It’s just a T-shirt, but people want that T-shirt.”
   The YMCA also offers “12 weeks to a healthy lifestyle,” a program where participants meet with Parker and a wellness coach once a week and also work out.
   In the Biggest Loser program, people are assigned to teams of five. The teams will compete to lose the highest percentage of weight. He said there is a $5 fee per person to join the Biggest Loser Program.
   Parker continues his training in his climb up the YMCA ladder. This past week, he escaped the snow and frigid Maine winter for a training seminar in Tampa, Fla.
   He is also working on obtaining his personal trainer certification.
   He said the mission the YMCA is what attracts him to the organization.
   “Being in (the) fitness (field), it’s good to help people get healthy and do things they enjoy,” he said.
   During the summer, Parker splits his time between his as the wellness director at the YMCA and Bunganut Park in Lyman where he oversees staff, makes reservations for local parks and recreation departments.
   “Summer at the Y is quiet,” he said. “Most people are getting their exercise outdoors.”
   Parker said he is happy to be a part of the YMCA and he’s proud of the work the Leaders Club.
   “There are a lot of organizations doing good thing,” he said. “The more the better.” To contact Renee Worthing, email news@intheregister.com or 282-4337 ext. 240