Erie, PA – The YMCA of Greater Erie’s Metropolitan Board of Directors held their annual meeting and employee and volunteer recognition luncheon today, Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 12 p.m. at the Avalon Hotel. More than 140 gathered to hear the Association’s 2010 Community Impact and recognize 64 employees and volunteers for their service to the Association – one employee and one volunteer marking 30 years.
Read a full press release.
Download the 2010 Annual Report.
Erie, PA – This summer, YMCA of the USA partnered with Walmart to expand the national Summer Food Service Program to get food to kids in Y programs and communities. The YMCA of Greater Erie, through a competitive grant process, has been awarded $30,000 to expand the Summer Food Service Program here in Erie. Eight new sites will be created and can serve as many as 125 children per day per location.
Currently, the YMCA of Greater Erie administers the Summer Food Service Program in partnership with the City of Erie and the Housing Authority of the City of Erie at 9 City of Erie parks and at four Housing Authority of the City of Erie locations. These recreation and summer foods program locations are free and open to the public. Meals are limited to children 2-18 years of age. Registration is NOT required. Current locations serving free lunch through August 20 include:
Monday-Friday, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Lunch served from 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
Bayview Park, West 2nd & Cherry
Burton Park, East 38th & Burton
Columbus Park, West 16 & Poplar
Frontier Park, West 6th & Seminole
Hillside Park, East 41st b/t Old French & Sunset
McKinley Park, East 21 & East Ave
Pulaski Park, East 10th& Hess
Rodger Young Park, Buffalo & Downing
Joseph Walczak Park, East 45th & Alan
Monday-Friday, 11:30-12:30 p.m.
John E. Horan Garden Apartments
Erie Heights
Bird Drive
Agnes R. Priscaro Apartments
Eight Additional locations (these are funded by WalMart) beginning Monday, June 20 through August 20 include:
Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Lunch served 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Haggerty Park, West 32nd & Schaper
Washington Park, West24th & Raspberry
Christian & Missionary Church Alliance, Union City
Monday-Friday, 4:30-6 p.m. Dinner served 4:30-5:30 p.m.
10th Street United Methodist Church, 538 East 10th Street
Monday-Friday, 6-7:30 p.m., Dinner served from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Glenwood Park Y Playground Pavilion, 3727 Cherry Street
Monday-Friday, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Dinner served during this time.
Downtown Y Helberg Room, 31 West 10h Street
Editors Note: A number of other community centers also offer the Summer Food Service Program (or a version of it). Confirmed locations are the Trinity Center and the Boys & Girls Club, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center, and Booker T. Washington Center.
Adam Brine excitedly jumped into the YMCA Eastside Family Branch’s pool Tuesday morning.
Tuesday, after all, was no ordinary day for swimming lessons.
It was a chance to make history.
Erie, PA – A rising number of children can look forward to excruciatingly boring school breaks this year as budget crises in places such as New York, Washington, D.C., Houston and Detroit rob them of the activities and programs that have long defined summer in the city for urban youngsters. Swimming pools are being closed. Recreation centers are locking their doors. Library summer reading programs are suffering. Openings for short-term jobs have evaporated. (Associated Press May 29, 2011)
In the City of Erie, collaborative public-private partnerships fund a very full summer of recreational programming throughout City of Erie parks (http://www.erie.pa.us/pdf/2011_city_recreation_guide.pdf).
Today, in a joint announcement among the City of Erie, the Housing Authority of the City of Erie, and the YMCA of Greater Erie, officials told neighborhood kids and families that the Rodger Young Swimming Pool would open again this summer for recreational swimming – and, be open five weeks longer than before.
Research continues to reinforce that what children learn before kindergarten affects their learning and success for life. The early years before kindergarten are unique; they lay the foundation for all future learning and social development and cannot be
duplicated later in life. When it comes to early learning, there are no “do overs.”
The YMCA of Greater Erie’s Early Care & School-Age Enrichment Centers will “graduate” 275 preschoolers to kindergarten this month; the YMCA is the largest provider of early care, preschool and school-age enrichment with 21 locations throughout Erie County. Preschoolers, in cap & gown, have prepared special songs and ceremonies for their families and friends.
“”There’s increasing evidence that children gain a lot from going to preschool,” says Jill Simmons, YMCA of Greater Erie vice president of Early Care & School-Age Enrichment. “At preschool, they become exposed to numbers, letters, and shapes. And, more important, they learn how to socialize — get along with other children, share, contribute to circle time.”
“Children who attend high-quality preschool enter kindergarten with better pre-reading skills, richer vocabularies, and stronger basic math skills than those who do not. Kindergarten teachers will tell you that the students who are ready to learn are those who come into school with good social and behavior-management skills. In fact, educators have so recognized the importance of giving kids some form of quality early education that about 40 states now offer state-funded pre-K programs, including Pennsylvania.”
Kids just don’t seem to play like they used to.
Decades ago, kids would take to the outdoors during the summer months. Today, many kids are more disconnected from nature and are less engaged in outside activities. According to the American Camp Association, children have lost 12 hours of free time a week over the last 20 years – eight of these lost hours were once spent in unstructured play and outdoor activities.
But getting outdoors is essential to developing the spirit, mind and body of school age children and teens, says YMCA of Greater Erie Vice President of Early Care & School-Age Enrichment Jill Simmons and camping is an ideal setting for doing just that.
Erie, PA – No cooking. No cleaning. No drama. It’s all about a peaceful weekend of renewal with other women at the YMCA of Greater Erie’s Women’s Wellness Weekend set for Friday, May 20-Saturday, May 21 at YMCA Camp Sherwin, 8600 West Lake Road.
A committee of health & wellness professionals from YMCA of Greater Erie branches tastefully program the weekend with a variety of programs to keep you busy, or choose to take some time for yourself.
“Women’s Wellness Weekend is a weekend of instructional and entertaining classes designed to help women grow in the health of their minds and bodies. Participants can sign up for a wide variety of instructional classes including yoga, training for a 5K, Zumba, nutrition classes and more,” says Robyn Parsons, fitness coordinator at the Downtown YMCA. “Our program includes a variety of indoor and outdoor activities, motivating guest speakers and lots of time for rest, relaxation, and fun.”
The Friday evening kicks off with introductions, dinner and an opening night wine party. Saturday morning includes a continental style breakfast and then activities such as morning sunrise yoga in the wide open spaces of Camp Sherwin, popular fitness classes for all levels of exerciser, beach and nature walks, canoeing in the pond and motivational topics of interest to women.
“This weekend offers it all for the woman who wants to get away for fellowship and spiritual renewal. Come and be part of this experience,” says Parsons.
The $95/person registration fee includes healthy meals and lodging in a comfortable, rustic cabin with heat. Private cabins are available for an additional charge as well as extended Saturday evening stay. Modern bathroom and shower facilities are also available. Cabins will be shared by groups of women.
About YMCA Camp Sherwin
Located the banks of Lake Erie, YMCA Camp Sherwin encompasses 70 acres of public campsites, cabins, a swimming pool, a catch and release fishing pond, playing fields and towering trees. Amenities include tent and RV sties, modern and basic cabins, hiking trails, bocce court/horseshoes, stairway to beach access, fully stocked catch and release fishing pond and more. To learn more visit, www.ymcaerie.org/camp.
On behalf of the families and individuals that will be helped through the YMCA’s annual scholarship campaign We Build People, we extend our deepest gratitude. In just 8 weeks, YMCA employees, volunteers, members and friends of the Y, rallied to raise over $103,000 in support of the kids and families in our community that need us most.
Our mission to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all, is realized for members of our community because of your generosity. It is through creating accessibility to YMCA programs which focus on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility that the YMCA, for 150 years, has worked in collaboration with others to respond to our community’s greatest challenges.
The Y is the unparalleled cause for strengthening community because we are the community. We believe that lasting personal and social change can only come about when we all work together to invest in our kids, our health and our neighbors. We work side by side with our neighbors in our community to make sure that everyone- regardless of age, income or background – has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.
Erie, PA – Swimming builds confidence with every lap. One in every 5 kids in Erie County learns to swim at the YMCA of Greater Erie. Whether it be through instructional swimming lessons at YMCA Membership branches or community programs at the Erie Housing Authority or City of Erie Parks & Recreation programs, the YMCA of Greater Erie teaches kids and families how to be safer in and around water.
Erie, PA – Brenda and Mike Wunch received a phone call from their daughter Sandra in January. Sandra, who is deployed to Afghanistan, had to take emergency leave from her military service to unexpectedly pick up her two children Cheyenne, 4, and Dakota,2, in Germany in order to remove them from a harmful situation. Sandra, with just 48 hours in the United States before having to return to Afghanistan, boarded a plane in Germany to bring her children safely to her parent’s home here in Erie. Within a matter of 24 hours, the Wunches found themselves becoming full-time grandparents and helping to raise Cheyenne and Dakota while Sandra fulfills her service.
The Wunches both work full-time and needed immediate childcare for their grandchildren. Staff at the Glenwood Y Early Care & School-Age Enrichment Center welcomed the Wunches and their grandchildren into their care. “At first, I didn’t know how we were going to afford childcare without taking out a loan. My daughter had applied for financial assistance through the Pennsylvania Child Care Information Services, but we found ourselves on a long waiting list and the cost was an unexpected expense. I just kept telling myself that God will provide,” said Brenda. “The Glenwood Y extended our family a scholarship to lower our cost and fill the gap until the State financial assistance comes through.”
Brenda says she stood and cried. “That scholarship made it entirely possible that our two grandchildren could go to the Y. They are adjusting so well. My granddaughter says, ‘C’mon grandma, let’s go to the Y.’ The people at the Y are fabulous – how they’ve treated us and all they’ve done to help us. I can’t say enough about the Y and the help they have given to our family,” says Brenda.
The sobering reality is that there are many families like the Wunch family who could desperately use a helping hand through challenging times. This is why the Y provides financial assistance through its We Build People scholarship campaign. Gifts to We Build People provide scholarships for Y programs and memberships for the kids and families that need us most.
Support for the campaign gives kids a safe place to belong where they can learn and build confidence; offer families opportunities to reconnect and grow together; and provide people of all backgrounds access to healthy living programs to help them in their wellness journey.
We encourage everyone in the community to join our cause. When we all pitch in and help our neighbors, we make a meaningful, enduring impact in the lives of children and families and ultimately strengthen our community.
To get involved in the Y’s We Build People community support campaign, visit www.webuildpeopleerie.org.