Tag: Member News

Stick With Us

Posted on | by Aimee Santos

Stick With Us Response Form

Dear Members,

 

This is a challenging time; unlike anything we have experienced. While we need to maintain social distance today, our Y community is strong and connected. We will get through this together and when we emerge from this challenging moment, we look forward to welcoming you and your families back through our doors.

We’re asking you to stick with us if you can. Your support ensures that the Y we know, and love will continue to thrive after this situation has subsided.

When you belong to the Y, you are not only a member of a health and wellness facility, you are a member of a charitable organization dedicated to strengthening our community. We are continuing to support our community while our facility operations are temporarily suspended. 

How we are supporting our community:

  • We have completed calls to a variety of children, families, and seniors to support and connect during this time of isolation.
  • We have strived to support our employees, who are your neighbors, friends, and colleagues while complying with CDC and federal recommendations.
  • We have completed deep cleaning and maintenance projects to enhance your member experience upon our reopening.
  • We are working to coordinate blood and food drives to support the critical needs of our community.

Your health, and the health of our community, continues to be a top priority for the Hobart Family YMCA. To maintain your health during this time we will continue to share healthful and helpful resources on our Facebook and Instagram and our Y Blog. We have also partnered with the Crossroads YMCA to provide you with virtual resources at no extra cost. They can be played from any device in the comfort of your home. Click here for virtual memberships.

If it’s your choice to support us with your fees – thank you.  If you would like to do something different, we are able to assist you. Please complete the Google Form below to inform us of your decision. 

Please notify us by 4:00 pm on Friday, April 3rd of your requested membership changes.

Stick With Us Response Form

Thank you for your continued support and prayers for our YMCA community, as well as our community at large as we all navigate through this together.

In service, 

 

Andrew Zimmer

CEO, Hobart Family YMCA

Keeping Communities Healthy

Posted on | by Aimee Santos

Dear Hobart Family YMCA Community,

Over the last week, you may have heard of the Coronavirus that is raising health concerns across the globe. According to Center for Disease Control (CDC), the general public in the U.S. is at low risk of contracting the 2019-nCoV.

As with any newly emerging infectious disease, knowledge evolves with time and recommendations are changing rapidly. We are closely monitoring information from public health officials and will follow their prevention guidelines to help keep our facilities clean and community safe.

Should this issue escalate in our community, the Y will take necessary precautions to ensure that our staff and community are safe. We’ve educated our staff and are practicing additional hygiene and cleaning practices to ensure that our facilities and program locations remain safe.

These general practices are also in place for YMCA staff and participants:

  • Frequent hand washing is encouraged and practiced with warm water and soap
  • Cough and sneeze etiquette is encouraged (cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash)
  • Common areas are frequently cleaned including frequent cleaning of door handles, fitness equipment, lockers, tables/countertops, phones and other common “high-touch” items in each Y facility.
  • Hand sanitizer is available in our facility.
  • YMCA staff, members and participants are asked to stay home when ill (and to remain home for 24 hours after symptoms have disappeared if the illness is flu-like or gastrointestinal)

If you would like more information on the Coronavirus, please refer to

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Please be sure to check in on neighbors to ensure they are ok. In times like this social isolation is more common. A simple phone call can go a long way. Thank you for working with us to ensure our community is safe and welcoming.

Sincerely,

Andrew Zimmer

CEO, Hobart Family YMCA

 

Be An Upstander!

Posted on | by Aimee Santos

October is National Bullying Awareness Month

Bullying is a key social issue that impacts many kids and their ability to reach their full potential. Whether the bullying is physical, verbal or online, those who are bullied can suffer negative effects, including depression, poor performance in school, physical illness and increased risk for suicide.

Everyone involved with young people has a role to play in preventing this damaging behavior. One way you can help prevent bullying is by becoming an “upstander” – someone who recognizes when bullying is happening and safely works to stop it.

Promoting positive behaviors like being an upstander can be art of the solution to bullying. At the Y, modeling positive behaviors is foundation to everything we do. Our core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility form the roots of our work, helping young people become the change makers our communities need to become stronger.

YMCAs nationwide work hard every day to provide safe spaces for children to grow and thrive. This is part of our commitment to helping develop and activate young people so they can transform communities today and in the future.

Three Actions Anyone Can Take to Prevent Bullying

1.) Treat Other Kindly & With Respect
2.) Interrupt & report Bullying Incidents
3.) Show support for the Bullied Person

Ways You Can Help Prevent Bullying

Any caring adult—parents, school staff, child care workers and others—can help prevent bullying incidents. This is what you can do, according to StopBullying.gov:

  • Help kids understand bullying. Talk about what bullying is and how to stand up to it safely. Tell kids bullying is unacceptable. Make sure kids know how to get help.
  • Keep the lines of communication open. Check in with kids often. Listen to them. Know their friends, ask about school, and understand their concerns.
  • Encourage kids to do what they love. Special activities, interests, and hobbies can boost confidence, help kids make friends, and protect them from bullying behavior.
  • Model how to treat others with kindness and respect.

The Tyler Clementi Foundation also has a number of ways individuals and entire communities can prevent bullying, such as the Million Upstander Movement Opens a new window and the #Day1 campaign Opens a new window.

Bullying Statistics

  • 28% of U.S. students in grades 6–12 have experienced bullying.
  • 20% of U.S. students in grades 9–12 have experienced bullying.
  • 9% of students in grades 6–12 experienced cyberbullying.
  • 15% of high school students (grades 9–12) were electronically bullied in the past year.
  • 55.2% of LGBTQ students experienced cyberbullying.
  • 30% of young people admit to bullying others in surveys.
  • 70.6% of young people say they have seen bullying in their schools.
  • 70.4% of school staff have seen bullying.
  • 62% witnessed bullying two or more times in the last month and 41% witness bullying once a week or more.

Source: Tyler Clementi Foundation

For more statistics and research, go to StopBullying.gov