Feb. 9 2011 was Officially YMCA Day

The Skagit Valley Family YMCA recently received an official proclamation, resolution and certificate signed by Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire and Secretary of the Senate Thomas Hoemann declaring that Feb. 9 2011 was YMCA Day!

The documents stated this designation was made because 2011 marks the 160th anniversary of the founding of the first YMCA in the United states and because of all we've done in the State of Washington! YMCAs have become the heart of community life in neighborhoods and towns across Washington State and serve citizens regardless of faith, race, ability, age or income. We also have more than 20,000 individual volunteers each year giving $6.9 million in time who work to strengthen their communities (wow)!

They go on to state that YMCAs in Washington State serve more than 320,000 adults and 290,000 children through health programs, such as chronic disease prevention, swimming, sports, and fitness programs. YMCAs of Washington also provide more than $40 million annually in funding scholarships, subsidies, partnerships and sponsorships.

With numbers and statistics like these it's no wonder the State of Washington (including State Senators Brown, Ranker, Swecker, Fain, Litzow, Shin, Prentice, White, Hill, Murray, Becker, Hobbs, Faser, Regala, McAuliffe, Kline, Chase, Kilmer Sheldon, Rockefeller, Eide, Hatfield, Kohl-Welles, and Roach) decided it was time to recognize the Y with it's very own day! We are proud of all we do and proud to have you with us as we work together to focus on Youth Development, Healthy Living and Social Responsibility!

If you happen to catch Bob in his office, he might let you sneak a peak at the official certificate, too.

Newsletter Sneak Peak!

Have you gotten your YMCA Today Newsletter yet? We are very excited about this edition of the newsletter because it features stories of your neighbors who have been positively impacted by donations you have given during the Step Up Campaign (going on now). 

See below for our front page story about the LaCroix family in Anacortes whose lives have been changed by Step Up funds and the opportunity to send Jaden to the Early Learning Center at Whitney Elementary School.

Four year old Jaden of Anacortes loves to get dirty. He also loves reading and sharing with his dad, Tyson LaCriox, what he learns each day at the Whitney Early Learning Center.

“[Jaden’s] enthusiasm for learning has grown since being enrolled in the program,” Tyson said.

YMCA Early Learning Centers are located throughout the Skagit Valley and serve children one month to six years old. According to Tyson, the YMCA ELC at Whitney Elementary School in Anacortes has had a big impact on the life of his family.

“The YMCA provided Jaden with an opportunity to socialize, learn and grow while receiving the child care that we need,” said Tyson. “This socialization dramatically helped improve his social and communication skills and has brought new levels of confidence to him.”

Sleep is not just for rest

Did you know that there are more than 90 sleep disorders that can cause health problems down the road?!

Murali Maheswaran from Skagit Valley Medical Center came to the Y on Tuesday, March 15 for our Brown Bag Lunch Series to discuss the importance of sleep and how sleep can cause, or cure, some health problems. It is amazing to think that getting quality sleep can help with depression, irritability, nervousness, fatigue, and aches and pains, and more! 

Although the quantity of sleep we get is important, the quality of sleep is essential for our well-being. “Sleep isn’t 1/3 of our day for nothing,” said Murali Maheswaran. "Sleep plays a huge role in our body function." 

2011 Step Up Campaign!

The lobby of the Skagit Valley Family YMCA is slowly filling up with stars...of the paper variety (even though we all know each YMCA member who comes through the lobby is a star, too).

The stars in the lobby each have the name of an individual or organization who has donated to the 2011 YMCA Step Up Campaign, the annual fundraiser that raises money to support our neighbors in need, which has officially kicked off!

In 2010, one in four Skagit YMCA members was a scholarship member, meaning that while they could not afford to pay for a membership to the Y, we were able to give them a membership at a reduced rate (based on what they qualified for)...all because of the funds raised during Step Up. Children, families and adults of all types needed and were able to take advantage of the Y scholarship program because, at the Y, we believe no one should be turned away from a healthier lifestyle because of their inability to pay.

Step Up funds also help children who wanted to play YMCA sports, go to YMCA Child Care and Camp Anderson. We know that the only way to make lasting personal change is if we work together to invest in our children and our neighbors. Last year, you showed you cared by helping us break the Step Up record: we raised more than $57,000! However, we also gave more than $140,000 in scholarships and the need is increasing, so we need your help more than ever.

Blog Winner!

Congratulations YMCA blog follower Linda! You are a winner just for following the Skagit Valley Family YMCA blog! What did she win?

• One "Y" t-shirt
• One"Y" bracelet
• One "Y" exercise bag
• One hour of FREE personal training!

Linda, please send an email to Marketing Director Vanessa Harrington at v.harrington@skagitymca.org by Friday, March 4 with your t-shirt size and we'll make arrangements for you to get your prizes! Congratulations!

We will do a blog-follower drawing again, so all of you who check the blog periodically after you receive our weekly email, do yourself a favor and become a follower!

National Safe Place Week

The Skagit Valley Family YMCA is proud to participate in its first ever National Safe Place Week taking place March 13-19. During this week, there will be activities and educational opportunities about Safe Place as Oasis aims to recognize participating volunteers and businesses while educating the community at large. Specifics about these events and activities will be announced at a later date.

The YMCA Oasis Homeless Teen Shelter runs one of only two Safe Place programs in the state of Washington. Teens experiencing abuse, family problems, or a crisis situation can call the Safe Place 24 hour hotline to speak with an advocate, find a safe place to sleep for the night, or connect to community resources.  Throughout the county, you can see yellow and black diamond shaped Safe Place Signs, found on local businesses and community buildings. These signs indicate to youth in need that the building is a trusted site with trained employees who can find the youth the help they need.  The youth will be connected to a Safe Place Volunteer who will arrive within minutes to help. 

The Safe Place Project is an example of how the Y continues to provide support to youth in our community. The program provides training resources, and support to impact change and bridge gaps to help our youth and our society to overcome obstacles. The Oasis Safe Place Program works to offer support for Sedro-Woolley, Concrete, Burlington, Mount Vernon, Anacortes, and La Conner. For more information regarding the site and locations, or emergency services for  teens, please call 419-9058 or our 24 hour hotline at 360-708-6450.  Go to the Oasis Teen Shelter page of our web site for all Safe Place locations and details.

New Web Site Preview!

The staff at the Skagit Valley Family YMCA are hard at work creating a new YMCA web site.

"The time is now because we need to reorganize our activities and change our look to match the new national re-branding guidelines," Marketing Director Vanessa Harrington said.

The new web site, planned to launch in mid-march, will have interactive calendars for each department/program that will allow users to see what activities are coming up filtered by each day, week, and/or month. It will also allow users to search for specific activities within that department. For example, someone interested in trying the Boot Camp fitness class, will be able to search for just Boot Camp classes on the fitness calendar. This will be the case for all registration deadlines, classes, special events, closures, and more!

The staff are very excited about the web site because it will allow them to make changes as they come up, post their own flyers/registration forms, and add events to the calendars without going through another person. This should reduce the amount of time it takes to update information on the web site...and the program directors will have no one to blame but themselves if the appropriate information isn't on the web site.

"We're so grateful for the web site we have right now; it was a huge improvement from the one we had before," Membership Director Cindy Lindquist said. "Before our current web site, we couldn't even put registration forms or flyers up without an ordeal. But now it's time to change again and we're hoping members and the general public will respond."