BR Ryall Ymca

Youth development: the b.rBR.r. Ryall Ymca is committed to nurturing the potential of every child and teen. We believe all kids have great potential and deserve the opportunity to discover who they are and what they can achieve. That's why we help Young people cultivate values, skills and relationships that lead to positive behaviors, better health and educational achievement. Our bright beginnings preschool provides a safe and enriching environment for toddlers through preschool-age children (ages 2-5). Once participants enter school, we provide before- and after-school care at our y, as well as at six elementary school sites in cooperation with local school districts. In these programs, as well as in our summer camps, we offer experiences for learning, social growth and responsible behaviors in safe, nurturing environments. Our swimming and sports programs, from preschool through high school, provide opportunities to cultivate fitness, fun, healthy competition, fair play and social interaction. This year, we nurtured more than 500 children in our care. For those unable to afford participation, we provided approximately 37 individuals with over 48,400 in financial assistance. We provided another 8,200 monthly to kids and families in financial assistance for memberships so that their y could always be available to them as a hub for unstructured family time.

Social responsibility: our Ymca believes in giving back and supporting our neighbors. We have been listening and responding to our community's most critical social needs since 1919, when our y was founded to fill a void in our surrounding communities to develop healthy mind, body and spirit. As stated above, we provided approximately 18,500/month in financial assistance and scholarships to area youth, adults, seniors and families who need financial support in order to participate in needed programs such as child care or summer camp. Our child care programs, preschool, and school- age and camp programs award financial assistance so that we can reach a wide range of youth and families who are in need of child care. A number of families rely on our child care in order to maintain their employment. We also work with the state of Illinois and encourage participants to seek state aid as appropriate. We seek the financial support of the public to help us fund our financial assistance and to keep our fees as low as possible so that all can participate. Our fees for child care average 20-25 percent below the average market fees. We also seek public support to allow us to offer programs for those with chronic disease can participate free of charge. We engage volunteers; this past period more than 100 individuals (a combination of policy and program volunteers) gave of their time and talents to help b.rBR.r. Ryall Ymca improve our community. In addition to our many programs and child care efforts, the y is a social gathering place for many area seniors.

Healthy living: the y is committed to improving community health and well- being. We bring families together, encourage good health and foster connections through fitness, sports, fun and shared interests. This is especially important as our nation struggles with chronic disease and obesity, families are challenged by work/life balance and individuals search for personal fulfillment. Also, we pride ourselves on the fitness, fun and fellowship opportunities we offer our active older adult population. As members join, we provide them the opportunity for a free fitness consultation and orientation, so they can maximize their time at the y. Our offerings are plentiful and varied to fit our members' individual abilities and preferences, ranging from unstructured family fitness time to family classes to group exercise and specialty classes, water fitness classes and personal training. This period, while the y was fully open, we estimate that as many as 3,200 individuals of all age groups accessed our healthy living resources. We address chronic disease issues and offer specialized classes for individuals living with parkinson's disease. We partner with local health care providers to target health concerns as part of our evidence-based programming.

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