Fabulous organization that provides free activities for my toddler. My son loves the Tumble Tots and Discovery Time. There are very few free in-door resources for active play for young children in this area, but the YMCA does a wonderful job of filling that gap. We were regulars all winter - don't know what we would have done without them!
I have found this orgination to be my link to a deployed family member and they have been EXCELLANT at keeping me updated with necessary info to help me navigate my way through this new experience. I find their services invaluable.
I have been going here with my 2 year old for over a year. It is wonderful, All the ladies that run it are saints, they go above and beyond. The playgroups are so much fun for all the kids, they learn so much. And all the field trips make things possible that normally i wouldnt never be able to do or afford with my daughter. Here we have made best friends, and wonderful memories. I wouldnt know what to do if we didnt have the ASYMCA available for us.
I was introduced to the Armed Services YMCA by a very close friend of mine. She needed help starting a new program for children who needed an extra boost in their lives. The Operation Hero program has been a wonderful asset to the Fort Campbell Community for the parents and teachers of the children they assist. It provides children with guidance in learning how to be a more positive person and making them feel like they are special. It is great for self esteem, communicating with others and learning how to deal with separation of a parent due to deployment. There is much more to the program, but this is the basics. It is offered in all the elementary and middle schools on Fort Campbell. I was an instructor and the feeling it gave me just knowing I was making a difference in their lives, was so rewarding. The ASYMCA also has programs such as the Back Door Boutique, which allows families of the Junior Enlisted Soldiers to come and "shop" for clothing, household items, toys, and other miscellaneous items. They get these items for free. They also have a formal section where anyone can come and "rent" formal wear, for men and women. A deposit is put down and once the item is returned, you get your deposit back. I have used this several times and it has saved me money in having to go out and buy a dress and accessories. It also helps the Junior Enlisted soldiers to attend the events that they would not otherwise attend due to the cost of purchasing the formal wear. Each year at Easter they have a post wide Easter Egg Hunt where all the children come and meet the Easter Bunny and search for eggs. I have volunteered with this and once again what a rewarding feeling. Seeing the smiles on the children' faces is an awesome feeling. At Christmas, soldier's who are in a financial crisis or just can't afford to give their children the Christmas that they would like put in request for items. Not always do they get what they ask for, but the ASYMCA works very hard putting the family baskets together to meet those request. It takes a lot of money and dedication from the volunteers to put these baskets together.The baskets consist of toys, clothing, winter coats, family items, household items just to mention some of what they contain. Once again, I helped volunteer with this. Not as much as I would like or as often, but the program is there and it is a wonderful program. Children receive a Christmas celebration that they would not get if it were not for the ASYMCA. I would have to say the the ASYMCA helped me to get a job at the school I work at. I was doing the Operation Hero Program and was asked to put my name on the substitute teaching list. I was hired and have been subbing for several years now. I am not as involved with the ASYMCA as I use to be, but I still support the program and believe in it's existence. It is a vital part of the Fort Campbell community. I only mentioned a few of the programs they offer, there is so much more. The funds are limited and the space is small, but the staff and volunteers have hearts of gold and accomplish what they set out to do. I was/am honored to have been a part of the program. They deserve all the recognition they can get and then some.
This organization has several services which are all great: daycare, playgroup, dress rental, and 2nd hand store, all for free. I have volunteered at the daycare for three and a half year while my husband was station on Ft.Campbell. My husband have deployed twice during the time, and this service help me both phisically(financially) and spiritually. Not only they gave my children chance to experience preschool, but they trained me as a caregiver, foodhandler, and as lead caregiver, and held benefitial meetings twice a month for all volunteers. It is very difficult to raise small children especially when including infant while spouse is deployed...and it is more difficult to keep the marriage from corrupting, but I was able to be strong and focused because I had the support from the ASYMCA and co-volunteers. I was even able to go back to school while raising 3 children aging 5yr, 3yr and infants all by myself. My experiences at ASYMCA are beyond any words; they were like a blessing from heaven.
My Church and I have been volunteering at the ASYMCAon Ft. Campbell for the past six months. This organization truly cares for its community and the morale of teh military it serves. From the monthly free meals that we help serve, to the free clothing, to the formal gowns available to borrow, to the free childcare it provides, this service offers practical help to teh junior enlisted at Ft. Campbell. The staff is well trained and passionate about the people they serve. This is a ministry/service that deserves recognition.
The ASYMCA program of Ft. Campbell offered many free programs and activities for families of the community. I participated in the co-op daycare program for about two years while stationed there. The program allowed me to receive free training to be a qualified daycare provider. At the time I had two children. They loved getting to go to co-op to play with other children their ages. They were able to do age-appropriate lessons to help them with ABCs and numbers. They thought of it like preschool. I volunteered by working in the classrooms and in the kitchen. In turn for my time I received free childcare. Soldiers at Campbell deploy often so having this service was such a blessing for my family. I made friends and connected with others who were facing the same issues. The co-op network helped the time to go by faster. I really appreciated the time I was able to have for myself being a part of the ASYMCA. The ASYMCA also offered other programs such as crafty kids and tumbling classes and even free dinner nights for the family with door prizes. Since being stationed at another post I truly miss the ASYMCA programs. It would be wonderful if every post could have a program as devoted to helping families of the community as much as the ASYMCA of Ft. Campbell does.
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I volunteered with the ASYMCA from January 2005 until May 2009 (when we left Fort Campbell, KY). Our family has been assigned to several posts, and none of them have had the programs and family support that we found with the ASYMCA of Fort Campbell, KY. The ASYMCA provided lots of programs that were very beneficial to my childrens mental, emotional and social development. Programs that allowed my 6weeks old-school age kids interact with other kids and develop educationally such as the ABCs&123s;class, the Tumbling Toddlers class, and the Co-operative Daycare. The ASYMCA also provided programs including the Co-operative Daycare and Backdoor Boutique that I was able to take advantage of. By volunteering my time at the Co-operative Daycare, I earned points to drop my children off for free childcare while I used the time to go doctors appointments, grocery shopping or just take personal time for myself. This was extremely helpful during the multiple deployments when my husband was gone for 12-15month at a time. Being able to go grocery shopping without 3 kids or having time to get a massage really relieved a lot of stress during the deployments and made it a little easier to get through them. At the Backdoor Boutique I was able to go in and find gently used donated items for myself and my family at no cost. I was also able to donate items that other soldiers and their families could use such as used computers, bed mattressess, clothes, and dishes that my family no longer had a use for. At the Armed Services YMCA of Fort Campbell, KY, my family and I have built lifelong friendships with other spouses and families that I am still in contact with after going to a different posts. We used to have holiday parties together, sleepovers for the children, and other get-togethers while supporting each other through deployments or other tough times. Now we meet up whenever we can for family vacations together while keeping in touch via e-mail, telephone or social networking sites. The experiences and bonds that I've made during my time with the ASYMCA of Fort Campbell, KY, are ones that I will truly treasure for the rest of my life.