Greater Green Bay Ymca Inc

Healthy living: improving the nations, or more specifically greater green bay's health and well-being means building a healthy spirit, mind and body for all. The ymca is a leading voice on health and wellbeing. We bring families closer together, encourage good health and foster connections through fitness, sports, fun and shared interests. Ymca healthy living programs are medically based and stress the value of prevention through balanced efforts of good exercise habits and overall health including proper nutrition, stress management and health education. This is important as our nation struggles with an obesity crisis, families struggle with work/life balance and individuals search for personal fulfillment. Our programs are family oriented and offered at affordable fees, with financial assistance for those that are unable to pay the full fees; in 2024, we provided $839,023 in financial assistance to people seeking healthy actions and who otherwise would have faced economic barriers to participation. The ymca provides a variety of programs that assist our community with attaining healthier habits and includes fitness classes, family camps, cpr and first aid, lifeguard training, livestrong at the y, aquatic exercise, sports and swim lessons, indoor cycling, and senior social groups. The nature of these programs is to promote one's own self-worth by emphasizing skill acquisition & development, safety, cooperation and self-confidence, leadership & teamwork. The depth and breadth of ymca programs also serve all ages: infants, preschool, youth, adults, family and active older adults; all programs promote the desirable state of leading a healthy lifestyle through practice and education.in response to growing community health and wellness challenges and trends, the y's healthy living department provided educational opportunities, chronic disease prevention initiatives and programs to support people living with parkinson's, cancer and arthritis. Our health specialty partnered with bellin college's doctor of physical therapy to strengthen our exercising with parkinson's program and is a standing part of their curriculum that offers personalized workouts designed to enhance mobility and strength. The y continued to partner with the aging and disability resource center of brown county to provide the brain and body fitness program in the greater green bay community, an evidence-informed group exercise program for people living with mild to moderate alzheimer's disease and other related dementias. In 2024 the greater green bay ymca developed a program for caregivers to offer this group exercise guidance, mindfulness tips and support as they care for those in our programs.

Social responsibility or giving back and providing support to our neighbors means the ymca has been listening and responding to the green bay community's most critical social needs for more than 150 years. Our programs, such as safety around water (water safety for children), y night, and 21cclc afterschool programs are examples of programs that help strengthen our community and empower individuals to change and overcome obstacles. Our full circle program delivers a full circle approach to health and wellness, focusing on physical, social, and emotional growth. Children engage in activities tailored to their needs, fostering success and enjoyment in a nurturing environment. Both children and families are supported as they experience the benefits of wellness and recreation in a supportive, fun setting. In 2024, the opportunities of full circle expanded to include summer camp. Our day and resident summer camps provide emphasis upon increasing access to youth who might otherwise not be able to attend. Through a grant from brown county, we provided youth and adult mental health first aid. The skills-based training equipped participants to identify, understand, and respond to the mental health challenges that adolescents may face. The program emphasizes early intervention, teaching adults to recognize signs, provide nonjudgmental support, and refer individuals to appropriate professional services. As we grow with our community, we continue to meet the needs of families with special needs, help combat stress and anxiety by fostering deeper engagement with our members and educate our staff members to provide them with the tools they need to support these programs. Our team is dedicated to increasing local partnerships the work collectively as a community to help meet the needs of the greater green bay community. We provide a welcoming environment, integrating all participants in a fun and inclusive setting. Our programs provide holistic approaches to health and well-being in a welcoming and empowering environment for all.