YMCA of Greater Cleveland

Health and Wellness In 2023, the Y offered an array of programs extending beyond mere exercise, tailored to foster holistic well-being for individuals of all ages. Numerous seniors engaged in activities aimed at enhancing their daily functionality, bolstering balance to prevent falls, promoting cardiovascular health, and participating in educational and social gatherings crafted to combat feelings of isolation and melancholy. Scores of adults grappling with chronic illnesses revamped their lifestyles through initiatives emphasizing nutritious eating habits, increased physical activity, and effective disease management. The Y's initiatives in water safety and swimming prioritized drowning prevention while equipping both youths and adults with vital aquatic skills, fostering confidence and safety around water. Moreover, the Y's sports programs afforded countless young participants the chance to cultivate teamwork skills within an environment deliberately fostering values of compassion, integrity, respect, and accountability.

Social Responsibility: Y-Haven provides temporary housing, substance use disorder and mental health treatment, and other critical services to women and men who are experiencing homelessness, re-entering the community from incarceration and seeking to recover from opioid use disorder. Y-Haven worked to reduce the likelihood of overdose in the client population through the provision of safe housing, high-quality treatment, vocational support, and other needed services. In 2023, Y-Haven provided temporary housing and substance use disorder treatment to 630 adults. Sixty-five percent of residents completed 90 days of intensive outpatient treatment, 80% obtained employment or training (less those receiving SSI/SSDI or engaged in intensive outpatient treatment), and 45were homeless veterans.

Youth Development Our Youth Development programs continue to return to pre-COVID activity. In 2023, we served thousands of children in our various programs. For example, we provided 1,072 kids per day with our before-and-after-school (Y-Club) and pre-school programs. More than 2,000 children participated in our Junior Cavs program. Our summer camps served 1,068 children in day, sports and fine arts camps. We also taught thousands of kids and teens to swim. We were delighted to expand our Teen Leaders and Teen Cafe programs, providing positive and productive activities along with leadership training. Our We Run This City youth marathon program, serving kids in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and the Warrensville Heights City School District, had another successful year in partnership with the Cleveland Marathon. For all of our youth development programs, we provided need-based scholarships to make our programs more affordable. To determine how to allocate scholarships, we use several factors, such as the annual income of the applicant, the number of adults in the home, and the number of dependents.

Community Impact Sixty-two percent of our service delivery benefits individuals with low to moderate incomes. Over $600,000 in financial assistance was provided to 2,298 individuals. Our branches provided more than 104,000 servings of food to members of our communities. More than 1,500 senior citizens joined in our bus and air travel trips, helping us to fight isolation in the senior population. Community volunteers contributed more than 9,130 hours of time and talent to our Y. Every branch addressed local community needs in a variety of ways.