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Leadership Blog: National Campaign and New Brand “Shine On”

By Pamela Marck, Vice President, Brand Experience & Strategic Innovation at the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka.


At the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka, we are proud to be participating in YMCA Canada’s National Shine On Campaign. This national brand awareness campaign, which started with the YMCA of Greater Toronto, is now expanding nationwide, to help spread the YMCA message of belonging, support, and empowerment to every corner of our great country, including every community we serve.

This campaign is also the first opportunity to highlight the new Shine On brand. This brand focuses on the YMCA as a place where everyone can ignite their true potential. It will help more Canadians understand why the YMCA is so important to communities, through a simple but powerful message: we all have the potential to shine, and that potential is ignited at the YMCA.

Whether that be through belonging – like Olesegun, who participated in our Immigrant Services program and told us:

“I’m glad to have been referred to the Y. They have introduced my family and I to several activities that are key to being able to fully integrate into a new society, e.g. how to get a license, the bus routes, employment workshops etc.  All the staff of the YMCA are friendly and are quick to offer a solution to challenges. I’m glad I met them and would recommend them to new immigrants in a heartbeat.”

Or through meaningful employment – like Courtney, who participated in our Youth Advisory Council and told us:

“This life changing experience not only made me think about things differently throughout my day-to-day life; it also gave me skills to help me become a hard worker.”

Or through programming to benefit physical or mental health, the YMCA has something for everyone. By welcoming our community in with a supportive, positive, empowering approach, we can continue to work to ensure our YMCA shines, too.

The Shine On brand has been carefully crafted with collaboration from Y’s all across the country over the past three years. From its inception at the YMCA GTA in September 2021, to Y Canada identifying opportunities for strategic alignment across the nation in November 2022, to a full Y Canada Shine On brand centre becoming available in June of 2023, to today, with the national campaign launching, this process has been nothing short of intentional and collaborative. And we’re thrilled to be part of it.

You may spot the campaign in the form of television and radio commercials, digital advertisements, on streaming platforms and more from now until December. I hope you’ll love it as much as we do – and we hope you’ll consider sharing it where you can!

But this work didn’t just begin this year. We have been working thoughtfully toward our role in the Shine On movement for over two years. Driven by our Forward Together strategic plan, which helps guide us in delivering our programs and services to make a positive impact in the communities we serve each and every day, we’ve supported thousands of people across Simcoe, Muskoka, and Parry Sound District, and helped them shine. When we say ‘Forward, Together’, it refers to the steps we take each day, individually and together, to ensure that the communities we serve are vibrant and connected places where everyone belongs. This intention could not align any better with the promise of Shine On!

The Shine On brand and the new National Campaign give us the opportunity to share this promise with individuals and our community. Shine On is in everything we do, from our programs and services, to how we communicate and interact with our participants, donors, staff, and community members. By participating in this campaign and continuing to live the Shine On brand, we can inspire more people to get involved with the YMCA, ignite their potential and help others do the same.

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