Check out our most Frequently Asked Questions below!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do I start a club?

  1. First, contact your local YMCA to see if they offer the program or programs you are interested in.
  2. Next, find a sponsor for the club! This can be a teacher or a parent with a passion for mentoring students and a drive to help the club to learn and grow as a team.
  3. Start recruiting! Spread the word about your new club by word-of-mouth, flyers, and/or presentations so that many students have a chance to learn what Youth and Government in Texas is all about.
  4. Motivate students and succeed. You have laid the foundation for what may become a long-lasting and rewarding club that will benefit many current and future students. Do not get bogged down by small hindrances but instead use them as a tool for learning.
  5. What is this all for? Following these steps and watching your club grow means you’ll have a chance to see students learning a variety of skills. Their experiences can help them in their future endeavors in both government and other areas of specialty and work.
  6. Watch our 15 minute information video about TX YG. Click HERE and enter Passcode YMCAtxyg22.

Club Management and Recruitment Tools

In collaboration with local YMCAs, programs are organized within high schools, middle schools, home school associations, and other youth organizations throughout Texas, each with a caring adult role model serving as club advisor/coach. An advisor can be a teacher or staff person at a school, a community volunteer, or a Y staff person. These club sponsors can run their programs in a number of different ways:

  • As part of their UIL enhancement
  • Incorporated into their classroom and curriculum
  • In combination with clubs such as World Affairs Council, Student Government, and/or Debate
  • As a stand-alone club

YG programs are meant to be primarily youth-led and to meet throughout the school year. When this model is followed, students learn to become leaders and get the practice and experience they need to succeed.

For more Club Management and Recruitment Tools, visit our Resource Portal Advisor Tools section.