YMCA StoriesYMCAs of Cambridge & Kitchener-Waterloo

ymcacambridgekw.ca

Winter 2011/2012

Celebrating the Past and Preparing For the FutureIncreasingly these days it seems that we’re living our lives on fast forward. We feel we must do more and more. In part, technology is contributing to this sense of living life at a rushed pace with ever higher expectations. We are always on and always connected. There are few moments in our lives that don’t contribute to our feeling that we’re falling behind even if we’re working as hard as possible to keep up or even get ahead.

I believe the YMCA is an oasis in our rushed, connected world. When you make the YMCA a part of your life, you have a space in your life where you can grow at your own pace. I

hope you take advantage of the opportunities the YMCA presents to you to renew yourself so that you are better equipped to deal with what the rest of the world requires of you.

In 2011, our YMCAs capped off a period of unprecedented growth. We’re excited to see the Stork Family YMCA being met with such an enthusiastic response since it opened in September. We’re pleased that our strategy to re-establish a Family YMCA in Waterloo has been such a great success. Over the last year, we’ve also experienced the benefits of significant improvements to both the Chaplin Family YMCA and the A.R. Kaufman Family YMCA. We’re now serving Waterloo Region better than ever before through these excellent centres.

We’ve also seen major developments completed at YMCA Camp Wabanaki including a new waterfront and at the YMCA Outdoor Centre that is now prepared to give even more kids outdoor experiences year round. We’re now ready to move to a new phase of our continuous efforts to improve to serve you and our communities better. Work has begun on a new strategic plan that will be in place by this time next year. Our new strategy will be our road map for fulfilling our vision for our YMCAs starting in 2013.

We’re at a point of the year when we all reflect on where we’re at and where we’re going. I encourage all of you to give thanks for what you have and that you take time over the holidays to strengthen relationships that are important to you. Best wishes for a healthy 2012!

Sincerely,

John HaddockCEO, YMCAs of Cambridge & Kitchener-Waterloo

YMCAStrongKids.ca

Spread the SMILE.Invest in a Child Today.

When you make the YMCA a part of your life, you have a space in your life where you can grow at your own pace.

A Critical Role in Caring For ChildrenWhen Jade and Brooke Bordman were ready to start junior kin-dergarten, their parents Terry and Beata faced a dilemma. They needed to be sure that their twins received support and care for their type 1 diabetes. They required an adult to test their blood and if necessary to inject them with insulin. Naturally, they approached the school to help their children but it soon became clear that neither the school nor the school board were prepared to assist students with diabetes.

Then Terry thought that maybe the YMCA Child Care at the children’s school could help. After doing some due diligence the YMCA agreed to assist the Bordmans who enrolled their children in the centre’s after school program. The process is pretty straight forward and something that does not require any special medical training so Terry trained staff on how to check the blood and if necessary inject insulin.

The Bordmans faced another hurdle when they looked for accommodation from the school to assist their daughters with their celiac disease by warming up their lunches. Due to the nature of gluten-free bread, sandwiches were not a viable op-tion. At the same time, it was critical that the girls eat to keep their blood sugar up. Their solution was to send complex carbs in pasta or rice dishes that needed to be heated up. Again, the Bordman family looked to the YMCA Child Care to assist. Since the girls were already going to have their blood sugar tested, the centre was happy to provide this support.

Choosing YMCA Child Care has always been more than just a place to drop off your kids. Parents come because they

Kirsten Likes Helping People GrowWhen 16 year old Kirsten became a YMCA staff member in the summer, she was ready and knew that was what she wanted to be doing.

When not working at the Y, Kirsten can often be found at the Z Beside the Y, Youth Centre, where she volunteers as a Mentor with the Leadership Program. She says she enjoys doing it because she likes meeting new people, getting to know them and helping them to grow as individuals. It also keeps her busy! She also values the advice that she gets there and enjoys spending time with the friendly, helpful staff and other volunteers she found there.

Kirsten has been participating in our leadership programs for about five years. She credits that experience with helping her learn that she likes being a leader and helping others. Working at a Chaplin Family YMCA camp gave her a chance to use her skills.

Kirsten is a great example of how the YMCA helps kids grow into being successful young adults you then help other kids along the same journey.

value the quality care their children will receive and they stay because they value the relationships they build at the centre. But the Bordmans’ story shows how parents also look to the YMCA to be a partner with parents and schools in caring for their children.

Changes by Waterloo Region’s school boards to their policy on before and after school care mean that parents will no longer be able to choose a child care centre in their child’s school for this care. For most parents losing quality care by a community organization means higher fees and a loss of licensed care in the summer that meets their work schedules. Parents of children un-der four are concerned about increased costs and availability. But for families that include children with special needs, the stakes are much higher.

“They are taking our safety net away,” said Terry. “By doing so, our daughters’ lives are at risk. The school board will not sup-port children with diabetes. We need someone to make sure they eat their lunch and after school snack and that their blood sugar is in the right range. Who will provide this care if the centre needs to close? Who will be there for other families with special needs who look to community organizations, organiza-tions now located in their child’s school to provide it?”

The YMCA wants to continue to live its mission by continu-ing to support families like the Bordmans.

Parents come because they value the quality care their children will receive and they stay because they value the relationships they build at the centre.

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A Place to Belong and Get ActiveWhen the Stork Family YMCA started accepting member-ships, Jen Storm made sure her family was among the first to get them.

“After the project was announced and confirmed that it was going ahead a big hurrah went up in the neighbourhood,” said Jen. The Storm family has been living in Laurelwood for seven and a half years and has seen the west side of Waterloo develop. They knew the Family YMCA and Public Library would be a welcome addition and help make their neighbourhood complete and make it easier to live with a single car.

The Storm family is already seeing an increase in their activ-ity level. In previous years, the arrival of cold weather meant a more sedentary lifestyle. “We’re way more active just because it’s closer,” said Jen. “It’s made a huge difference in our lives. For example, we never did swimming lessons during the winter in the past but now with a short trip home we will.”

“Even better, one fee allows our kids to do so much! Before swimming lessons meant just swimming lessons, now they are also involved in other activities such as Junior Leader Corps. We’ve discovered a swimmer in our daughter Elizabeth who enjoys the Junior Lifeguard program and our son William is looking forward to the family badminton coming in the New Year. We like that they are getting stimulated intellectually as well as physically.”

In a neighbourhood with so many families, a family-oriented recreation centre was needed. While some other health and

fitness facilities have opened in west Waterloo, Jen said they didn’t consider them. “We only wanted an option for the whole family. We like that the YMCA has something for all of us. My husband James is a runner and he likes that he can now use the treadmill while our kids do their activities. I’m really enjoying the variety of fitness pro-grams offered weekday mornings.” “The people at the Y are fantastic,” said Jennifer. “We were a bit concerned about the transition for the kids but that was never an issue. In fact, when they walked in they were greeted by familiar faces they knew from YMCA Camp Ki-Wa-Y.”

The Storm family have found in the Stork Family YMCA a place that they belong. After only a few months, they are already seeing personal growth as a result of being active members. But their story has only just started and it should be interesting to watch it over the coming years.

We only wanted an option for the whole family. We like that the YMCA has something for all of us.

“...one fee allows our

kids to do so much!”

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460 Frederick St., Suite 203Kitchener, ON, N2H 2P5

YMCA of Kitchener-Waterloo

More Than Meets the Eye to Our New LookThe YMCA in Canada has a new look. The updated logo is a result of a national branding exercise. But our logo is not our brand, it is just a quick visual way to show who we are. While the YMCA of the USA chose a radically new logo a year ago, Canada has chosen to warm up the previous logo by soft-ening its corners and making it two shades of red.

When it comes right down to it, the YMCA is the sum of everything that we do and everyone that is a part of it. Our updated look is a result of what we have learned about ourselves. We are also updating how we talk about the YMCA and the messages we believe are important.

Our tagline “Building healthy communities” is a quick way to express what the YMCA is all about. What follows is a longer description that explains what the YMCA is and does that is captured succinctly by the tagline.• The Y is a charity that makes more than 1,000 Canadian

communities stronger by helping the people within them reach their potential.

• We are committed to nurturing children, teens and young adults, promoting healthy living and fostering social responsibility within the community.

• We have the passion, as well as facilities, programs and relationships with people and organizations to deliver.

• We are dedicated to building better communities, with healthy, confident, secure and connected children and youth and families.

How will your YMCA experience change?

The good news for you is that your experience with the YMCA will remain the same great, community-minded experience it has always been. The Y has always been great at living its mission. We’ve simply improved our understanding of it so that we can do a better job of talking about the YMCA and the impact that it makes upon people and the community.

Hopefully, by doing so, you will also learn more about what the YMCA is and does including additional opportunities and benefits available to you and others in our communities.

Be on the lookout in 2012 as we launch our Re:discover the Y campaign. Our membership centres have done some re:modelling and brought in some new equipment, and we are inviting people to re:discover the YMCA and all it has to offer. We want to offer opportunities for everyone in our com-munity to re:commit to their health, re:juvenate themselves and re:energize through their involvement with the YMCA. It’s time to get re:acquainted with the YMCA!

Re:discover