Mankato Family Ymca

Youth development - The best path to seeing healthy, positive values in adults is to instill those values when they are children. In all we do at The Ymca, we model those values to our youth. The activities we provide are a vehicle for providing life lessons which will serve our children well throughout their entire life. Helping develop positive values for life is something parents look for as they search for experiences in which to enroll their children. Our youth sports programs have been experienced by 734 participants who are taught fundamentals and The value of good sportsmanship. Our after-school adventures (218 kids) and pre-school(134 kids) programs deliver this need during The school year and our camps(1,792 experiences) do so in The summer, providing a year-round opportunity to learn and grow. Our skatepark played host 2,742 times throughout The year. We have come beside 221 kids in our mentoring programs, letting them know The sky is The limit and taking The boundaries off of what they believe they can achieve. Our marlins swim team shows 146 kids The right way to train and to compete. And our swim lessons have taught 735 participants how to be safe around The water.these programs stress The Ymca core values and teach kids social skills that are so important in their development. They provide physical activities that burn energy and calories and promote social interaction with their peers. Our camps offer great variety, keeping kids active, interested and invested all summer. Our camps include horse, advanced horse, pre-teen, teen adventure, preschool, kindergarten prep, mini day camps, sports camps, teen outdoor adventure, 4 weeks of week-long resident camp, skateboarding, leadership camp, just to name a few. We do half day and full day camps to make sure we can give busy parents what they need for their kids. Canoeing, archery, swimming, field trips, science, geography and history are all covered giving kids a variety of choices and experiences. The after school adventures program also offers great variety as we deliver character development, physical activity and relationship building opportunities. For many of our kids, we provide transportation from school to The Ymca. The program keeps kids safe during what could be The most dangerous part of The day, from after school until mom and dad get home. Our financial assistance program allows families to receive The member rate for all of these programs, making them very affordable.

Healthy living- wellness: in 2022 we continued with our foreverwell program, which focuses on keeping those 55 and older healthy, active and connected. We continue to offer virtual group fitness through our extensive menu of free classes so these experiences are available whenever they are needed without The need for an instructor. This makes it easy for us to provide classes at a time that previously might have been difficult because we could not find instructors. With The addition of The virtual option our Ymca now provides over 90 free group exercise classes a week. While delivering what is needed for a healthy body, these classes also promote social interaction, leading to friendships that develop a healthy spirit. As always we have many areas equipped with fitness equipment that members may use as a part of their membership. Our les mills classes provide a well thought out, anatomically beneficial option to our group exercise classes. These workouts are assembled by national leaders in exercise and provide a balanced, sensible, effective workout. Our spinning classes are free with membership. Water aerobics are as always, very popular and provide great exercise and social interaction. In 2022 we serviced 371 personal training packages for those who wanted to personalize their workout. We continue to strive to give our members variety in their workouts so they stay engaged and invested in becoming healthy in a variety of ways.

Social responsibility- membership: social responsibility is one of The true cornerstones of The Ymca. It is what makes us different from other organizations. Social responsibility is about helping someone other than ourselves. It is about helping our neighbor. We do this by concentrating on their mind, body and spirit and how we can help them improve their well being in these areas. When looked at that way, youth development and healthy living are parcel and part of social responsibility as we look to take care of our neighbors. Some of what we do clearly fits into healthy living and youth development, while much of what we do does not fit so clearly into these areas. We deliver a safe space where people of all ages, ethnicities and financial backgrounds can feel comfortable as they strive to achieve a healthy existence with their neighbor. We continue to find more areas within our facility that work well for sharing and interaction between members. We provide free coffee and newspapers to promote socialization, which strengthens friendships, which in turn uplifts The spirit of our members. In recent years we have worked to make more and more programs a free part of their membership. These programs build relationships among members, furthering The chances of healthy mind and spirit also. Members can also enjoy free racquetball, handball and pickleball, played with other members. Our fully equipped wellness center, y fit gym and free weight room are available at no additional charge. Our two gyms and two pools can also be used without additional fees. We provide 90 minutes of free child watch at each visit for our members, helping busy couples accomplish what is important to them. Our financial assistance program makes all of this available to everyone, regardless of their financial situation. Through everything we do, we stress our core values of caring, honesty, respect, responsibility and faith, making this a place where members can feel welcome, safe and embraced. It is our social responsibility to make sure this endures at our Ymca.

Other program services: we provide several youth socials every year to give kids a fun, safe outlet where they can interact with their friends, or make new ones. We provide several non-school day camps so kids have somewhere to learn and grow when school is out for The day. Birthday parties at our Ymca have grown considerably over The past several years as we provide a fun, affordable experience to celebrate The occasion. Our parents night out evenings give parents an opportunity to do things as a couple, knowing that while they do so their kids are safe and entertained. We provide a space for other local non-profits to hold their events, including The united way reading festival, The pedal past pverty event for The local homeless, and multiple red cross blood drives per year. Where there is a need, if there is a way, we will see what we can do to fill it in The name of building a stronger community.