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Stories in this issue:
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January means fun and fitness for members!
January is a great time to belong to the YMCA of Greater Cleveland! Adults can get personal training, participate in group fitness, join in a wellness program and much more. Kids can join Jr. Cavs, take swimming lessons or take advantage of kid-centric, branch-specific programs. Active Older Adults join in on adult programs and they can partake in offerings just for them. Families find quality time at our branches, time that can be so elusive these days. All you need to do is visit your branch’s location page to see what is on the calendar or ask at the desk. We want your membership to be the best value possible, so let us help you put it to great use! |
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Y staff pivots to keep child enrichment centers available
COVID-19 didn't just change how schools deliver educational services once; the rise and fall of cases in our communities required schools to oscillate from in-classroom to online education throughout the academic year. We are so proud of our child care staff, who quickly pivoted, often on short notice, to provide the child enrichment services kids in our communities need. Only a truly dedicated, innovative and compassionate staff could be so extraordinarily flexible to provide Y-quality enrichment in a seemingly ever-changing environment. We anticipate the rest of this academic year will require continued flexibility and we're up to the task. If you need the highest-quality child enrichment services, please visit our website and find the program and location that works best for you. |
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New, flexible personal training in-branch or at-home
Make 2021 the year you finally keep your New Year's healthy lifestyle resolutions! Our certified personal trainers have new ways to provide the support you need. We now offer personal training packages that you can customize. Want to train four days a week for an hour? We got that! Want to try it out and train just once for 30 minutes? We got that! Want to train from the comfort of your home? We have virtual personal training. Be on the lookout for more information at your branch and on our website in January. |
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Keep your new year's resolutions with Y Wellness Programs
Let’s face it. If change were easy, we would all do it. Many of us spend years developing habits that we can’t expect to change overnight. As a Y member, you’ve got change experts at the ready to help you in the safety of your home! Here is a sampling of our offerings:
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Record-shattering fundraising year strengthens our Y
Thanks to our staff’s and volunteer’s excellent work, especially during this challenging year, our Y received a record amount of charitable support this year, far exceeding any time in our history. Funders recognize we are addressing homelessness, addiction, hunger, prison recidivism, teen intervention, loneliness and isolation and many more issues affecting our community. Also, we provide more than $1 million in support each year so people in financial need can access our programs. The timing could not be better as our community’s needs are growing due to socioeconomic factors compounded by the pandemic. Even with this fundraising result, we have so much more to accomplish. We continue to seek support from members, donors, funders and other sources because there are many more people to serve who desperately need our help. MacKenzie Scott gives largest gift in our Y’s history
The YMCA of Greater Cleveland is grateful to be among the organizations that have received unrestricted funding from novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Her generous gift will be transformative for our Y. Ms. Scott awarded $4.16 billion in gifts to 384 organizations, including 42 other YMCAs and Y-USA. The gift is well-timed and much needed as Ys across the country have seen revenues drop by $1 billion since the pandemic started. While we do not know all the details behind our selection as a grantee, we are confident that our loyal member base and our donors’ commitment played a key role. Your dedication to our mission and our work to address our community’s needs did not go unnoticed. Other Major Funders in 2020
We also want to recognize several other funders who helped our Y deliver programs and services in our community this year. Anthem Foundation – This foundation has been a loyal supporter of our We Run This City marathon training program for Cleveland’s urban youth. The funding allows us to continue our partnership with the Cleveland Marathon, the YMCA of Greater Cleveland and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Cleveland Automobile Club – The Club’s grant provided scholarships to YMCA summer early childhood education program participants who could not otherwise afford to attend. This gift allowed the Y to provide financial assistance to 372 economically disadvantaged children across Northeast Ohio. The Cleveland Foundation – The foundation’s grant provided support for the YMCA’s Y Haven’s Rising Hope and Continuing recovery programs for individuals in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. This grant addresses opioid-related deaths in Cuyahoga County by advancing the development of its Continuing Recovery service which works to prevent relapses, overdoses and deaths among former Y-Haven residents. Healthy Lakewood Foundation – Thanks to this support, we were able to expand capacity at the YMCA’s Lakewood branch to provide school-day care to more school-age children, including assisting their efforts to learn remotely. Three Arches Foundation – The foundation’s grant allowed us to offer YMCA virtual programmatic support to enable homebound Lakewood seniors with education and interactive activities to address high blood pressure and balance issues. These are just a few of the many funders who helped us provide Y-quality services to many in our community in need. We are grateful for these and all of our donors. Please join them by contributing today. |
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Ready to Reset? Join our next challenge
2020 as a tough year by nearly any measure. Are you ready to RESET your life in 2021? Join YMCAs across the country as together we reset, reinvigorate and recharge. Here is a taste of what’s to come. |
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What to do if someone isn’t following our rules
Our members care about each other. They follow our rules because they know we institute policies and procedures with our members’ health and safety in mind. Sometimes a good member simply forgets to follow one of our rules and that person is quick to comply when reminded. However, some people who join our Y may not be as committed to our values as you. They may not care about our rules. We do not want people in our ranks who do not care about others. Repeat offenders will have their memberships revoked. If you come across a member who is not complying with our rules, please do not confront that person. Simply let one of our staff members know. We have procedures for dealing with noncompliance and we need to follow them. Your patience and understanding are always appreciated. The Y’s Code of Conduct can be found on page 6 in the Member Handbook. |
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Mission Moment: Love in the form of cookies is sweet!
It has been an especially difficult year for those fighting chemical dependency. The YMCA of Greater Cleveland’s Y-Haven program offers temporary housing and drug and alcohol treatment to those struggling with homelessness and addiction. The center offers an array of services to help participants recover from addiction, find good work and secure permanent housing. Y-Haven has an Advisory Board whose members wanted to do something for the residents and staff for the holidays. Two board members, Jack Breisch and Jeff Smith, took this idea to their church, Forest Hill Presbyterian in Cleveland Heights. No less than 50 members made four dozen holiday cookies each for people most have never met. On Dec. 21, Jack delivered 200 plates full of home-baked cookies for the residents and staff. As you can imagine, the recipients were delighted and grateful. But they weren’t the only ones. Jack said those who baked the cookies thanked him for the opportunity to help people in need during this time of isolation. As American author Leo Buscaglia once said, “It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of person-kind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.” By the way, this is the same church that donated $4,900 to Y-Haven which was used to purchase new smart-TVs in its eight group therapy rooms. If you would like to help those working hard to turn their lives around, please give here. 
Here’s to you, our members!
We cannot close out this year without a tribute to our members who stuck with us this year, even when we had to close our branches. You are the personification of our values and our mission. Yes, we are a provider of “gym and swim” offerings, but we are so much more, and you know it. Chance are you will not cross paths with most of the people we serve, so on their behalf, we thank you for supporting your community. We do not take your continued investment in us for granted. Please enjoy the Y’s Stay with Us video. |
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