YMCA

Programs: "healthy living: the ymca of york and york county is committed to building a healthy community with healthy lifestyles. Our health and wellness programs provide opportunities for friendship and community, increased self-confidence and the physical benefits of a healthier, fitter body. We believe that all people, regardless of age, income, background or ability can benefit from ymca wellness programs. These programs include personal and group fitness classes, a comprehensive aquatics program, nutritional classes and programs designed to help individuals in our community achieve a healthier lifestyle. Considered our most wide-ranging program, we offer aquatics to members of our community at any age. Through progressive lessons, water exercise & fitness, water safety, lifeguard certification, a competitive swim team and a master's swim program, we help develop the whole person, physically, mentally and spiritually from infancy to senior adult. In addition to indoor pools in two of our four branches, we have a separate state of the art aquatic facility with both indoor and outdoor pools. In the current year, we provided swim lessons to hundreds of inner-city youth through partnerships with two local charter schools and our downtown child care center. During the month of july, we also offered free swim lessons at our graham aquatic center to inner-city youth. We collaborated with 13 other non-profit organizations within the city, to offer them use of the pool during their summer programming at a discounted or even free rate. Part of that collaboration included 500 free passes to york city parks and recreation for their summer camp programs to utilize our outdoor pool. Our aquatic program is about more than just the techniques and skills; it is about building friendships, developing self-esteem and creating positive experiences that will last a lifetime. As part of our dedication to building a healthy community, our southern branch ymca provided free swim lessons to second graders in the current year as a part of the fishes program (free instructional swim helps every second-grader). The purpose of fishes, to build life-saving swimming & water safety skills in children in our community, further illustrates that commitment to our community. Livestrong at the ymca, affords cancer patients and survivors the ability to regain their physical and spiritual strength over a 12 week period. We offered this to over 100 participants at no charge. Because the ymca is a community-based organization and we believe our services should be available to everyone, we offer "membership for all," our own financial assistance program. Strongly aligning with our mission, membership for all is an income-based pricing strategy through which we are able to provide the opportunity for a healthier spirit, mind and body to all, regardless of income. The ymca also offers a free temporary extension of membership to any member experiencing loss of employment, and free memberships to eligible military families and personnel. Our ultimate goal is to reduce the barriers to healthy living for all kids & families within our community. In the current year, we promoted healthy living by serving 65,000 individuals in the community and provided direct financial assistance in the amount of $445,112.

child care: the ymca of york and york county offers developmentally appropriate learning activities for infants to school-age children through a full-day naeyc-accredited child care program, a part-day pre-kindergarten program and multiple dpw licensed school age child care locations, some of which have achieved keystone stars designations. The ymca child care services offer quality, affordable care for families, many of whom would not be able to continue their employment without our services. Our enriched curriculum includes language arts, numbers, science, music, arts & humanities, gymnastics and swimming. Activities are offered in a positive learning environment by a caring and nurturing staff. Our 22-site school age child care program offers safe, supervised, enriched programming in 9 school districts throughout our service area. These sites help to meet a community need for productive, structured after school activities. We provide a safe environment where children can learn, grow and thrive. Trained staff provides homework supervision, crafts and recreational activities at all of our school age child care locations. We partner with other community agencies such as the united way of york county, private foundations and government agencies to ensure that no one is turned away due to inability to pay. In the current year, we provided child care for more than 772 children and gave direct financial assistance in the amount of $129,594.

youth development: at the ymca of york and york county, we are committed to engaging youth in year-round asset-building activities resulting in productive members of society who have life-long relationships with the ymca. Our youth programs focus on reducing risky behaviors, promoting a sense of belonging and providing a safe environment where kids learn leadership skills and build character. We believe that by developing key skills and character in youth, we are helping them to grow up to become healthy, caring and successful adults. Ymca youth sports programs provide youth with positive activities and caring adult attention. Youth sports are offered at each of our four branches and include but are not limited to: basketball, soccer, t-ball, baseball, softball, flag football, lacrosse and girls' club volleyball. Through these sports programs, we foster positive competition, teamwork and family involvement. Specialty sports camps are offered for more specialized and higher-level instruction in baseball, gymnastics, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball. Our y achievers program helps socio-economically disadvantaged youth develop a positive sense of self and sets high education and career goals. During the out-of-school supplemental education program, mentors expose participants to various careers, assist with sat/act test preparation and impart positive and appropriate behaviors for youth and teens to model. Students also go on college tours, preparing them for post-secondary education. We offer a high-quality summer day camp program that provides a safe, values-driven environment designed to keep youth engaged, active and learning throughout the summer. We provide children ages five to 15 with summer adventures that promote a healthy spirit, mind and body. Children spend time indoors and outdoors as experienced staff lead campers in a wide variety of activities each day, including arts & crafts, games, sports & fitness activities, instructional & recreational swimming and weekly off-site field trips. Our day camp provides the opportunity for youth to have fun and make new friends while participating in character-building, skill development and healthy living activities. In the current year, the ymca promoted youth development to over 3,200 youth and provided direct financial assistance in the amount of $25,075.

other program services/community development: our focus on social responsibility has led to extensive work in community stabilization, which has further led to substantial community development. We do so through substance abuse counseling services, a homeless men's residence, emergency shelter rooms, housing counseling programs and access to affordable housing units owned by related entities. We hope to build a better foundation within our community by reaching out to people and inviting them to interact and build relationships with the ymca beyond the traditional membership arrangement.