Ymca of Central Florida

Healthy living programs and initiatives:the Ymca of Central Florida is committed not only to strengthening communities, but also to strengthening families and individuals of all ages. Through y family centers and virtual offerings, the y provides an array of tailored programs from youth activities and e-sports for teens, to personal training for adults, to group exercise programs for seniors, all designed to encourage healthy living habits. With families making up approximately 50% of y memberships, the y works to connect each member through a whole-health approach to wellness in spirit, mind, and body. Across our 14 family centers, the y offered a wide variety of ways to grow healthier with fitness equipment and free weights, basketball and racquetball courts, swimming, and several hundred weekly group exercise classes, including spin class, yoga, aqua-zumba, core training, strength training, stretching classes, barre, and many more. Similarly, y staff worked with individuals on our wellness floors through personal training to help create a personalized program to meet their individual health goals. Additionally, with one in two adults being diagnosed with one or more chronic health conditions, the y is focusing on leveraging evidence-based programs to promote wellness, reduce risks of chronic conditions, and reclaim health after diagnosis. In 2022, the y also introduced a new virtual wellness platform called ymca360 which provides both live streaming and on demand classes in conjunction with other ymcas across the us. With classes ranging from yoga fusion, cardio drumming, latin dance, seated silver, mat pilates, muscle pump, y box, tae kwon do, low impact bootcamp, culinary arts, and many more, there are hundreds of fun and healthy activities for children, teens, adults and seniors to do while on the go or at home.

Aquatics: with water everywhere in Florida, the y knows that swimming is a life skill that everyone must learn to stay safe, secure, and enjoy the water. To meet the needs of everyone from infants to seniors, the Ymca of Central Florida proudly offers a strong menu of aquatics programming that ranges from infant drowning prevention (safe start) to introductory swimming and swim lessons for youth and adults of all ages and abilities. The y is keenly aware of the reality that drowning is the leading cause of death in Florida for children under the age of four (4) years. To combat the risk of drowning, the Ymca of Central Florida has teamed with dr. phillips charities and infant swimming resource to develop and deliver "safe start," which is a drowning-prevention program offered to infants as Young as six (6) months. Safe start teaches children how to survive in the water by holding their breath underwater and how to roll over and float. Safe start provides a solution to keep children safe in and around water, one infant at a time. In 2022, 297 children were enrolled and taught in safe start, bringing the total to over 19,500 children who have completed the water safety program since 1999. In addition, the y was also able to provide swim lessons and an array of aquatic classes to over 14,000 adults and children in 2022, including aqua fitness classes for active older adults such as shallow water fitness, swim workout and aquafit. The result of this commitment from the y is a strong aquatics program that encourages not only water safety, but swim proficiency. With 15 indoor and outdoor pools, the Ymca of Central Florida remains a leading community advocate for water safety and for the positive impact aquatics can have on health and well-being for all ages.

Youth development programs and initiatives: youth development is a key area of impact for the Ymca of Central Florida, where the focus is on nurturing the full potential of every child from cradle to career through programs that instill values, wellness, enrichment, and teamwork. In 2022, the y cared for thousands of children across the community onsite at ymcas, offsite at partner schools, and at dedicated y child development centers. Using evidence-based early learning at the two y child development centers at the walt disney world resort and the y child development center at the osceola county Ymca, over 2,300 children were served throughout the year. Similarly, over 23,000 elementary and middle school students were provided with safe learning environments in our before and after school programs, located directly in 25 schools across orange, osceola and lake counties. In these programs, children were provided with hands-on reading, science, math, music, and arts programs designed to substantially increase school readiness and school success of children. This commitment to providing an enriching learning environment is also seen in summer camp and out of school time learning to improve academic outcomes and provide fun youth activities. In 2022 alone, over 13,000 youth attended y summer camp programs across 18 locations. The y hosted its annual free healthy kids day in april both virtually and in person at all ymcas to expose hundreds of children and families to healthy activities and tips so they can grow healthier together.additionally, y youth programming is designed to focus on physical and mental wellness to reduce childhood obesity, teach healthy habits, and foster positive mental health. In 2022, more than 18,000 youth learned values, sportsmanship, teamwork, and confidence while being physically active in a variety of indoor and outdoor y youth sports. Moreover, hundreds of teens developed character and leadership skills through involvement with Ymca teen programs, the y's Christian youth conferences, and community service projects. To continue to provide engaging activities for teens, the y also piloted an e-sports program in 2022 as a new way to engage youth in skill and achievement activities set within a safe, positive environment. These youth development efforts will continue to evolve to meet the needs of children of all ages and abilities through the y so that our youth can grow healthier and achieve their dreams.

Social responsibility inititatives: at the Ymca of Central Florida, we provide opportunities to give back, support our neighbors, and make our community a better place by uniting all people through the y mission. There are many ways to get involved in making a difference through the y, like becoming a volunteer, member, or donor. Through the support of our engaged neighbors, the y is able to provide numerous programs and services for free or at reduced fees. Our donors form the bedrock of support needed to offset these operational expenses. Over $1 million in financial support was provided in 2022 to fund such services, programs, and memberships for those in need of income based financial assistance thanks to our donors.the y also depends upon volunteers to provide additional community perspective and help staff certain programs. In 2022, over 2,400 individuals served as y volunteers and community advocates to help make our neighborhoods stronger. Throughout the year, the y also sought ways to offer additional free community services to enrich all neighbors in person and online. In 2022, the y hosted free facebook live healthy eating cooking demonstrations and "better us" virtual wellness challenges, engaging residents online throughout our six-county service area. The y continued to serve as centers for food distribution in partnership with local food bank organizations to provide boxes of food to hundreds of families in need. In partnership with oneblood, the y continued to host blood drives at Ymca locations in 2022, helping to secure pints of blood that save lives. In 2022, the y also continued hosting back-to-school celebrations to supply over 100 students and families with backpacks, school supplies and related services that help prepare kids to learn and thrive in school. As part of the y's Christian heritage, the y looked after the spiritual care of our community. In 2022, the y hosted its annual arthur "pappy" kennedy prayer breakfast virtually due to covid, engaging members of our community and awarding scholarships to graduating high school seniors in need of financial support. The y also hosted its annual celebration of prayer event on the national day of prayer across y locations so neighbors could join locally in prayer. Also available on the y's website is a virtual prayer wall. In 2022, 50 prayer requests were submitted online and prayed for by the y's chaplain and mission committee. Through these social responsibility initiatives, the y aims to hold true to its mission "...to improve lives of all in Central Florida by connecting individuals, families, and communities with opportunities based on Christian values that strengthen the spirit, mind, and body."