Friday, December 31, 2010

New Y Newsletter

The New YMCA Capital Campaign December 2010 Newsletter is ready for you to see at:

http://bit.ly/gqZwZp to see the full newsletter

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Y Family Nights

Y FAMILY NIGHTS

The holidays are winding down, kids are back to school, and parents are back to the daily grind. Before you know it, your family is headed in a hundred different directions. It's so hard for families to come together and just hang out and get to know each other again after the hussle and bussle of the holidays. How do we get back to each other?

The YMCA helps families build the five pillars that support a healthy family home: EAT HEALTHY, PLAY EVERY DAY, GET TOGETHER, GO OUTSIDE, AND SLEEP WELL. By using these pillars you can make the first steps in living a healthier life.

A great way for families to come together and build on these pillars is Family Fun Night. Bring the whole family for a game of basketball, racquetball, and tennis. Don't forget to challenge each other in a game of Wii bowling or boxing! Our Family Fun Night is also a great way to escape the kitchen because we provide a pizza dinner. No dishes or clean up for you tonight!

Family Fun Night is held on the first Friday of every month at the YMCA Main Facility, 3000 Racquet Club Dr, Traverse City from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. The cost is FREE to YMCA members and only $15 per family for non-members. The next night is scheduled for January 7.

The YMCA Child Care Center, located on 1100 Woodmere Ave, Suite B, Traverse City, holds a Family Fun Night geared toward younger children on the third Friday of each month from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. The next night is scheduled for January 21.

The cost is the same for both Family Nights.

More information is available at our website at www.gtbayymca.org or contacting Katie Winslow at 933-9622. The Y is for youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.

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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Y CHRISTMAS CAMP

T'was the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. But at the YMCA all of our kids are stirring about with dreams of basketball, soccer, hockey, art, and more! Come join the Y campers as we celebrate a festive and fun-filled Christmas Break at the YMCA. We offer a fun, safe place for kids to hang out, play games, challenge each other on the Wii, and hike through our 40 acres of winter wonderland! We will be decorating cookies, making Christmas cards, and even making our own snow ice cream!


The YMCA's Christmas Camp is a licensed program. The camp is open to kids 5 to 15 years of age with the necessary paperwork on file. Christmas Camp will be held on December 23 & 24 and December 27 to 31 from 6:30 am to 6:00 pm. Camp on Christmas and New Year’s Eves will be from 6:30 am to 3:00 pm.

Registration forms and health appraisal forms can be downloaded from our website www.gtbayymca.org. Please bring a copy of their record of immunizations and their most recent health appraisal performed by their physician. Bring clothing for both indoor and outdoor winter weather.

The fee for YMCA members is $16 per day and for the public it is $25 per day. Contact the Y at 933-9622 or our website for more information.

Christmas Camp is a values-based program promoting the Y’s four core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility.

Y HOLIDAY CLOSINGS

Y HOLIDAY CLOSINGS

The Grand Traverse Bay YMCA will be closed at all its facilities on Saturday, December 25 and Saturday, January 1 in observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

The facilities will close “on the Eves” at 3:00 pm on Friday, December 24 and Friday, December 31.

The Y’s annual Christmas Camp will be held from December 23 – 24 and December 27 – 31. Call 933-YMCA (9622) for more information. A new set of programs will begin on January 3. Find more information on our website at www.gtbayymca.org.


My Y Experience

First published in the Grand Traverse Insider, 19 Dec 2010


My Y Experience
By Allison Knopp
YMCA Intern

I was an intern at the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA for the past three months. I was pretty excited when I was asked to share what I had learned in my role as the Marketing and Media intern for the Y these past couple of months. My only dilemma was how to condense everything that I have learned into a single newspaper column. I decided to take a cue from one of my favorite authors who posts a Friday Five each week on her blog. As it is not Friday, I decided on the Sunday Six. So here they are, the six most important things I learned at the Y, in my own words:

1. The Y is Multidimensional – The Y is not just sports. Or just daycare. Or just camp. The Y is all of those, and a lot more. Believe me, I know, I put together the program brochure last month and it took me forever. Did you know the Y participates in Michigan Youth in Government? Or that there is a complete circuit training room upstairs? Or that not only is there a sport called pickleball, but you can come here to play it? I didn’t.

2. The Y Cares – I know that sounds corny, but it is true. Everyone that works for the Y or with the Y works for the members, the people that participate in the programs every day, not for the bottom line. Even as a lowly intern I was treated with respect, and everyone worked just as hard for me as I did for them. I was offered advice, trusted with responsibilities and I was taught skills that will help me later in my career.

3. The Y Teaches – Sure, you could just come in an hop on a treadmill or pick up a racquet, but what fun would that be? At the Y lessons aren’t just for kids. And the lessons (at any age) don’t just pertain to the sport. They teach the Y’s four core values – Respect, Responsibility, Honesty and Caring – and also concentrate the Y’s areas of focus – Youth Development, Healthy Living and Social Responsibility. So you can have a lot of fun, and learn a little something extra.

4. The Y is for Everybody – As I sit at my desk throughout the day, I see everyone that comes in and out of the Y. In the early morning there are young moms coming in to do fitness classes, little kids in tow that get dropped off at child watch. A little bit later there are always a few from the retired set laughing and playing tennis. Lunchtime brings the businessmen for noon drop-in basketball, and in the late afternoon just as I am about to pack up and head out, the lobby floods with kids just out of school, ready for their sports lessons. There are fun nights for families, dances for teens… well, basically something for everyone.

5. The Y is Changing – And I’m not just talking about the logo. The Y changes as the community changes. As the popularity of a sport rises, they expand their programs. As needs, such as childcare, are expressed, the Y strives to meet them. More than once in the months of my internship I have had to go through and update links on the website because a 2nd grade section was added to a program, or a parent suggested a sport program the Y didn’t currently offer and the director thought it would be a good addition.

6. The Y Needs Your Help – They didn’t ask me to say that, I promise. Whether it is volunteering or giving, every member of the community can help. The team at the Y has big goals, and the more help they get the faster they can achieve them. The New Y isn’t just about getting a bigger, prettier building (although it will be pretty cool). It’s about having the space to do everything the Y is capable of doing, and impacting all the people that walk through the doors by giving them the best possible experience.

Most importantly, I have learned the Y is important to our community for all of these reasons. They don’t turn down anyone that would like to participate, whether they can afford it or not, with the help of scholarships. They help to combat youth obesity by partnering with Youth W.O.W. The Y helps keep people healthy, and families strong. The YMCA is truly a great organization, and I feel very lucky to have had such a great experience in an internship there.

Friday, December 10, 2010

New Program Brochure


New Program Brochure available for download by Clicking here.

New fees effective on January 1, 2011

Monday, December 6, 2010

Thanks to the anonymous donor

We would like to thank the anonymous corporate donor that ran a book drive with their employees this season. We thank you!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

JCPenney Customers Invited to ‘Round Up’ Holiday Purchases to Benefit Afterschool Programs at Grand Traverse Bay YMCA

Traverse City, MI – From Dec. 1-14, shoppers at the JCPenney at Grand Traverse Mall are invited to round up their holiday purchases to the nearest whole dollar and donate the difference to Grand Traverse Bay YMCA to support quality afterschool programs in their community.


The Y has partnered with the local JCPenney to provide children in need with access to life-enriching afterschool programs that foster social skills, provide opportunities to be physically active and achieve academic success in school.

“The availability of affordable afterschool programs continues to be a vital need for many parents and caregivers in our community,” said Dagny Monette, YMCA director of child care, families, and camps, “Support for JCPenney’s ‘Round-up’ campaign will help us enhance our efforts to impact the lives of as many children as possible after school with meaningful, quality programs.”

The Y believes that all kids deserve the opportunity to discover who they are and what they can achieve. Recent studies show that one out of every four children in the U.S. is unsupervised after school.* Afterschool programming at the Y provides children and teens with a safe and nurturing environment around caring adult role models. Combining play with academics, the Y’s afterschool program promotes creativity, a love for learning, social and emotional development, and character building. It also fills gaps in schools and in communities by offering enrichment through arts, music, physical education, sports and nutrition.

JCPenney’s December Round-Up campaign is the final afterschool fundraising event of the year.

Since 1999, JCPenney’s continuing support and commitment to the afterschool cause has made it possible for more children to participate in positive afterschool environments nationwide.
 
About the Y

The Y is one of the nation‟s leading nonprofits strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Across the U.S., 2,687 Ys engage 21 million men, women and children – regardless of age, income or background – to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the nation‟s health and well-being and provide opportunities to give back and support neighbors. Anchored in more than 10,000 communities, the Y has the long-standing relationships and physical presence not just to promise, but to deliver, lasting personal and social change. www.ymca.net . More information about the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA can be found at www.gtbayymca.org or its Facebook page.

About JCPenney’s Commitment to Afterschool

As the leading corporate advocate for the afterschool issue, JCPenney works to increase opportunities offered by afterschool programs in order to empower our nation‟s children with the tools they need to succeed in life. Through its legacy of supporting youth and charitable organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, YMCA of the USA, National 4-H, United Way and FIRST, JCPenney formalized its commitment to the afterschool issue by making it the Company‟s signature cause in 1999. For over a decade, more than $100 million has been distributed to afterschool programs across every JCPenney community thereby making it possible for more kids to participate in life-enriching programs that inspire them to be smart, strong and socially responsible. For more information, visit www.jcpenneyafterschool.org.

* Data from Afterschool Alliance 2009 report America After 3PM, commissioned by JCPenney Afterschool, is the most in-depth study of how America’s children spend their afternoons.

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