Paying it Forward – Kentucky YMCA Youth Association Enlists Alumnus to Serve as its Outside Counsel on Pro Bono Basis

The Kentucky YMCA Youth Association is pleased to announce that one of its alumni, Kevin Havelda, of the Colorado law firm Johnson Muffly & Dauster, P.C. has been retained to serve as the Youth Association’s outside legal counsel on a pro bono basis. Havelda was first engaged by the Kentucky Y to assist in contract review and negotiations during the onset of the pandemic, and has recently agreed to serve the Y in an ongoing capacity to provide legal counsel in the areas of contract review, employment advice, as well as pre-litigation matters.

Havelda, a native of Owensboro, Kentucky, began attending KY Y events in seventh grade. During his time with the Y, he attended every KYA, KUNA, Go For It!, and LTC conference available. He also attended the National Y’s Conference on National Affairs at Blueridge Assembly, where he was selected to return after his freshman year of college to serve as one of the conference’s six Presiding Officers. He also attended the Y’s Service to the South programs twice, being named as one of the trip’s Co-Captains his senior year.

Havelda graduated from Centre College in 2008, where he double-majored in English and International Studies, was a member of the school’s varsity soccer team, and was a four-year Bonner Scholar, through which he performed several week-long service trips over his summer breaks to places like Caretta, West Virginia, performing community outreach and manual labor to deserving residents.

Following his graduation from Centre College, Havelda accepted a position with Teach For America’s Greater New Orleans Corps members, where he taught in post-Katrina New Orleans for two years. After his two-year corps commitment, Havelda was accepted into the University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law, but deferred his admittance for two years while moving to Brooklyn, New York to accept a role as a founding middle school teacher for Uncommon Schools while simultaneously obtaining a Master’s in Education from Hunter College.

When asked about his current role as the Y’s outside counsel, Havelda said:

“It is perhaps the greatest honor and privilege of my professional career. When people ask me about the Y, I always respond that I owe everything I’ve accomplished to that institution. The Y instilled in me the principles of service, humility, and leadership from a young age, and challenged me to always put into practice the lessons I’d learned from all of its programs. I was honored and humbled that the Y called on me to serve in this role – it is the very least I can do to pay it forward for all the blessings the Y has bestowed upon me. In fact, I credit the Y for molding my worldview, and part of that is to never stop asking what I can do to serve, and to make the world a better place.”

Havelda also hopes that this engagement may inspire other Y alumni to serve the Y in a pro bono capacity when called upon. “I am not alone. My story is hardly unique – there are thousands of alumni who are committed to making the world a better place each and every day through their service and leadership. The Y ensured that we each have much to offer in our professional endeavors. I believe many, many more will answer the call to pay it forward to an institution that has given us so much.”

He concluded by saying “I am ecstatic that the Y has called on me to provide my professional expertise to help carry out its mission for years to come, and I vow to work tirelessly to serve this client to my fullest. Given recent social and political events, I could not think of any program more essential to our democracy than the Y, whose goal is to prepare our future leaders and servants to continue to put some good out into this world. It badly needs it. I look forward to continuing to serve the Y to carry out its essential work each and every day. I charge my friends and fellow alumni to answer the call as well. We need you.”