February 22, 2024
YMCA leader draws on personal experiences to drive organization’s commitment to diversity and inclusion
As an African American teenager growing up in Baltimore, Bob Divers experienced diversity at his local YMCA, in both sports and social interactions.
“The Y offered a summer program where a group of kids could spend about six Saturdays participating in a variety of programs. We did everything from archery to boxing, fencing to karate, and, of course, swimming,” Bob shared. “I got to experience new sports and activities. But equally as important, I got an opportunity to interact with people that I would not normally—people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, etc. And that was eye-opening. I enjoyed it.”
Decades later, Bob serves as Vice Chair of the YMCA of Metropolitan Denver’s Board of Directors and leads the board’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Global Innovation Committee. In his position, he draws upon his lifelong experience with the Y to build and cultivate a space that reflects and celebrates the diversity of Denver, where all people feel welcome and can thrive together.
“The Y offers much more than just sports or activities,” he explained, reflecting back on his personal experiences. For instance, by exploring karate at the Y as a young man, he also learned self-confidence and discipline in the process. As a result, Bob continued to seek out and make the Y “the third leg of my support pillar” (along with his job and church) as he moved between locations and countries during his career. “The YMCA really got me re-engaged, re-energized. So, when I came to Colorado, I knew I would be joining the Y.”
When Bob retired from IBM in 2013, he decided it was time for a new challenge and chose to improve his swimming skills. “I wanted to get better so I decided I would pursue triathlons,” he shared. “I actually came back to the Y in Littleton to swim, ultimately took swimming lessons and a lifeguard coached me for my first triathlon. She’d been on a team that swam the English Channel, so she taught me some of the techniques about how to swim longer distances, train and otherwise prepare.” For the next five years, Divers successfully completed eight triathlons and several distance swim races.
“One of the things I think differentiates the Y from other similar businesses is the instructors… they bring a certain passion to the role. They really care about the members and the people in their class,” he shared. “Between the instructors and the other members, you really start to see a community.”
It wasn’t long before he joined that community officially, eventually chairing the local Littleton YMCA advisory board. There, he received the opportunity to participate on the Denver-wide YMCA of Metro Denver board of directors, and eventually joined the board in 2015. He has served on nearly every YMCA committee since, including his current role as the chair of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Global Innovation Committee.
“When I joined, I was actually surprised at all the ways the Denver YMCA is involved,” he shared. “The gym and the pool are such a small piece of all the things that are being done at the Y. So, I thought, how do we bring more of those things to light and help the community take advantage of all that the Y has to offer?”
One way—spreading the word that the Y is a place and has programs for everyone. Bob has seen the Y do this many ways, including appearances and participation in events across various communities—like the Juneteenth Music Festival.
“We try to be present and visible across all communities,” he explained, “just so people know they’re welcome at the Y. No one is excluded. We want to welcome all.”
During his time on the board, the Y has also helped spearhead efforts to bring YMCA offerings to more Denverites in the wider community. A good example is the YMCA’s bilingual Diabetes Prevention Program, where the Y’s well-established program was launched in Spanish as well as English to expand this key health education to local Hispanic communities. The success of this program has lead to a large number of referrals from clinical and community partners. Whenever possible, the Y collaborates on initiatives, with local groups including Colorado Immigration Rights Coalition, Urban League of Metropolitan Denver, One Colorado and the Denver Foundation.
“There are a lot of areas that we can help,” Bob explained. "The board is constantly asking what it can do for veterans, for the immigrant and refugee communities? How can we support them as they are coming in and becoming part of what we're doing in the city and country?”
Ultimately, Bob believes that once individuals experience a class or program with the Y, they will discover that it is a diverse and welcoming community that offers many ways for them to learn and grow. After all, it’s the reason he came back as a teenager in the first place.
“The Y gives people a place to come,” he said. “That’s the secret sauce of the Y. You come for a program, to learn a particular skill or class, and you quickly find people that really care about you, and that's what brings you back.”
The YMCA of Metro Denver has been building strong, thriving and equitable communities since 1875 and provides a wide variety of programs and resources for Denverites.