Frequently Asked Questions

What is Y-Maidens?

Y- Maidens is a mother-daughter organization sponsored by the YMCA for girls from kindergarten through fourth grade.   Together, girls and their mothers attend meetings, go on fun outings, do crafts, donate their time to social services and have tribal activities.  These activities are all designed to foster the relationship between the mother and the daughter, giving them a fun and structured environment in which to experience new and enjoyable activities together.

What are the Y-Maidens Goals?

The slogan of Y-Maidens is "Friends Forever", focusing on the long-term relationship that is built and strengthened between a girl and her mother when they spend time and do activities together.   In addition, the goal of the Y-Maidens program is to build strong and confident girls who can learn to cooperate in a group environment and have positive values toward their family, their friends and their community.

How is Y-Maidens Structured?

Y-Maidens are put into a "tribe", which becomes your Y-Maidens family.  Tribes are composed of mother-daughter teams with several girls from each age range.  This gives the older girls a chance to mentor the younger girls, and the younger girls some guidance on appropriate behavior.  Activities are geared to accommodate girls at these ages.  

Tribes have regular scheduled meetings, typically every two weeks, where the girls and mothers sing, do crafts, have a sharing time, talk about their accomplishments and do team-building activities.  In addition, there are social services activities where the girls donate their time toward helping those less fortunate than themselves.  There are also regularly scheduled outside "fun" activities which have included roller skating, pottery making,  ice cream parties, dress-up parties for holidays, an annual Father-Daughter dance, skiing, beach parties and many more fun functions.   There are also several camping trips per year where all of the local tribes come together for a larger Y-Maiden time.

Where are You Located?

The Kahnee Ta Nation includes mothers and daughters from Costa Mesa, Irvine, Newport Beach, Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach, California.  If you're outside of this area, try checking the YMCA website for a Y-Maidens tribe in your area.

How Do I Learn More?

You can send an email to the YMCA or call the Central Orange Coast YMCA at (949)722-3807.  If you are not in the Orange County, California area, you can contact your local YMCA for information on a Y-Maidens group near you!