Young Men's Christian Association of Sidney and Shelby County

Healthy lifestyle programs - the ymca of Sidney & Shelby County strives to improve the quality of its community through a multi-faceted approach, by improving the overall level of health and wellness of its residents. This is accomplished through a comprehensive program that serves an extremely broad spectrum of the community. Example of programs and services offered include group exercise classes, individual workout opportunities, corporate wellness initiatives, community health fairs, (some conducted in collaboration with other not for profit organizations), lifestyle and workplace assessments, fitness testing accompanied by appropriate feedback and counseling sessions with trained staff, and rehabilitation services for cardiovascular accidents or orthopedic concerns. Through a partnership with our local hospital, we provide an on-site fitness trainer available to all members. Ymca healthy living programming is offered to individuals with chronic diseases, parkinson's, cancer survivors including an expanded water exercise and range of motion water class lift for those with limited mobility, orthopedic or arthritic concerns, and to better meet the needs of older adults. We also offer personal training, made up of 3 components: nutrition, cardio & strength, to help assist in enabling individuals to set and achieve specific goals, meeting individually with a trained staff member to help ensure success. In response to the pandemic closure, we began offering virtual classes to all in the community, not just members, receiving very positive feedback. Virtual classes are now a part of our permanent class offerings. In an effort to combat parkinson's, the ymca offers total health works parkinson wellness program. The ymca also seeks to improve the quality of health among children by providing a comprehensive menu of leagues, teams, classes and recreational opportunities including sports conditioning and classes that combine exercise with healthy diet education. The ymca also works collaboratively with a local retirement community to provide a wellness specialist to oversee their wellness center for residents. The ymca of Sidney & Shelby County supports the findings of the surgeon general on the effects of physical inactivity on the general population and thus, we make strong efforts to do what we can to support this national initiative. In 2022, the ymca provided 79,212 units of service in healthy lifestyle programming.

Youth programs - all youth programs are designed to stimulate intellectual growth as well as physical development and to build self-esteem along with discipline, goal setting and social interaction. In addition, all programs, but especially youth programs, incorporate the four values of the ymca's character development program: caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. We offer sports leagues (basketball, soccer, flag football and t-ball), gymnastics lessons (preschool to advanced) and all year competitive team, cheerleading lessons (beginner to advanced), acrobatic gymnastics lessons (beginner to advanced). We also offer parent child classes and a sensory friendly gymnastics class. Our goal is to create a nurturing learning environment that fosters teamwork, sportsmanship, skill development, and creates friendships and happy memories. Youth camps run every week jun-aug and programs with a wide variety of physical activities are involved. The ymca offers a very comprehensive program in the aquatics area. In cooperation with local school systems, the y provided lessons to 26 children from area schools during the year. As part of ongoing programming, swimming lessons are provided to participants 6 months of age through senior citizens; special emphasis is given to individuals with physical challenges. Special needs locker rooms as well as a pool lift and special stairs are provided to accommodate these individuals. Each summer an annual water safety week is held over 4 days. In 2022, over 272 participants learned lifesaving skills. During the year, numerous family events are offered. A significant portion of our youth work is done for Young people who cannot afford to participate otherwise. The ymca provided 17,892 units of service in youth programming and 10,776 in youth aquatic programming for a total of 28,668 units of service in 2022.

Child care enrichment programs - since 1984 the ymca of Sidney & Shelby County has provided child care enrichment programs for children 6 weeks to 12 years. In 2022, the ymca provided 41,929 units of service in child care. Over 69% of the children enrolled in the child development center in 2022 received financial assistance. This assistance was made possible through the ymca's community partners financial assistance program, Shelby County united way and the Ohio department of job and family services child care subsidies. This assistance is provided for parents who work or go to school full time and qualify for assistance based on their income, expenses and family size. Our mission is to provide the highest quality of care and education for these children through programs that offer a variety of components which include academics, social/emotional development, physical development, character development and recreation. Volunteer opportunities for parents and other family members are provided through field trips and special events throughout the year. The creative curriculum and teaching strategy gold tools are utilized in the preschool program to address kindergarten readiness. These children were assessed based on the 38 goals and learning objectives in the areas of social, emotional, physical and cognitive and language development. In addition to daycare services, we offer before and after school care, homework tutoring and summer day camp. In november of 2022, in partnership with the Shelby County commissioners and Shelby County united way, we opened the y child development center at fairhaven. This new center addresses the critical need for infant, toddler and preschool care in Shelby County by accommodating an additional 58 children. The child development center staff provides a loving, nurturing environment where children are supported as they learn and grow to become confident in themselves. We lead these children by example with care and respect. The ymca child development center employs a holistic approach and believes in the importance of balancing children though spirit, mind and body with a focus on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

There are small miscellaneous building rentals and other services for the year