Make a Donation

Your Gift will allow us to:

  • Tackle childhood and adult obesity
  • Provide safe places for youth & teens
  • Reduce chronic disease
  • Promote healthy living, youth development, and social responsibility
  • Be a beacon for collaboration, diversity and inclusion
  • Provide additional community programs
  • Expand our nurturing, affordable child care

FOCUSING ON HEALTHY LIVING

Making a Lasting Impact One Life at a Time

Preventing And Helping To Treat Diabetes
Healthy living at the YMCA is not just about physical activity; it’s about equipping our communities to prevent and fight chronic diseases such as diabetes. For a modest investment of $483 per person, we save Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurers $6,649 per person per year (from the American Diabetes Association).

The YMCA’s Activate Ohio program enables pre-diabetic and diabetic Ohioans to prevent and manage diabetes. Ohio employers lose $2.06 billion per year because of absenteeism, reduced productivity, and lost productive capacity due to early mortality stemming from diabetes

In the Fiscal Year 2010-11, we served 1,333 people, which translates to over $8 million in savings. Since our program’s inception in 2007 we have served over 2,700 Ohioans. That more than doubles our healthcare savings.

Working To Combat Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in Northeast Ohio, just as it has in communities across the country. At the Y, we have the tools and partnerships both statewide and locally to help change how children and families live. For instance, our We Run This City Youth Marathon program, designed specifi cally for children in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, encourages and promotes physical activity in inner-city youngsters. Recent data showed that nearly 70 percent of all students participating in the program felt better about their body image after taking part in the program.  Family support, especially around physical activity and healthy behaviors, is an important motivator for children to continue.  For the third year in a row (2010) program participants reported a significant increase in support for healthy behaviors from their parents.