For the YMCA, kids are the past, present, and future

By Jamie Swinnerton
Tompkins Weekly

 

For the YMCA of Ithaca and Tompkins County kids are an integral part of nearly everything the organization does. As part of the celebration of 150 years in the community, the YMCA has been creating activities, especially for kids, like coloring 150 shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day. This past Saturday it was all about the kids for the YMCA’s annual Healthy Kids Day, which also included more 150-anniversary activities and a slew of local vendors that want to help make the community a happier and healthier place to live.

The Healthy Kids Day event is a program of the national YMCA organization that local branches can hold at any time. Fun activities, healthy food, and tips to eat healthy abound. Frank Towner, CEO of the YMCA of Ithaca and Tompkins County, said the organization has been happening for about 20 years. This year, the event also included celebrations of the organizations momentous anniversary.

“Everything we do this year has to include a 150 something or other,” Towner said before the event. “This is the next biggest event where we’re going to celebrate.”
Some of the 150 themed ideas Towner said were being planned for Healthy Kids Day includes giving the 150th kid to come in a prize, 150 jump ropes or jumping jacks, or even bounces in the bounce house. All this year expect to find 150 in everything the Y does.

“This 150th anniversary of the Y isn’t about the Y, it’s about the community,” Towner said. “We’ve been in the community all these years and we’ve done things with and for the community.”

If the community wants to get involved, the event committee is still looking for volunteers. Looking to the next 150 years means planning for the future, and that means taking care of kids.

“Kids are the start of it all,” Towner said. “Kids are the best possible resource that exists.”

Part of the YMCA mission is to help raise productive citizens by teaching kids how to be healthy, intelligent, respectful, honest and caring. Through initiatives and events like Healthy Kids Day and Outdoor education Towner said the Y teaches kids how to work together to accomplish a goal and have fun while doing it.

Through research for the 150 anniversary, Towner said they’ve found that there are families in Tompkins County who have been involved with the YMCA for years. It’s a tradition he wants to see continue.

“I just happened to be here in this 150 year,” Towner said. “We’re not going to be here in 20 years or 50 years, at least not at the Y, and what’s going to happen next? It’s these kids and these programs that are going to be here Saturday that may be here.”

For the 20 years that the organization has been putting on Healthy Kids Day, Towner said the reaction has been positive. He’s seen kids work together to build sculptures or help teach each other how to play certain games. One of his favorite parts of community events like Healthy Kids Day is the international aspect of the patrons of the YMCA.

 

“We are truly in an international area,” Towner said. “Within a three-minute drive, we’ve got one of the biggest international populations because of Cornell University.”

Diversity is something Towner said the YMCA will be focusing on in the future, making sure that the organization is providing what the changing community needs.
“What are we doing to welcome these people?” is the question Towner said the organization is focusing on moving forward. “What are we doing to accommodate these people?… How much more welcoming can we be? Can I have someone at the front desk that speaks Japanese and Chinese and Korean and Thai?”

Towner said he’s unsure what role kids will be playing in this change, but they will be playing a role.

“If our kids can relate to each other now then they’re going to relate to each other later,” Towner said. “That could be as simple as just doing a project together, doing homework together. Not fighting.”

Currently, the YMCA provides after-school child care, as well as all-day care when school is out. It’s an opportunity for the kids to play, learn about nutrition, and give their parents a break for work, or a workout. Towner said the Y has three after-school locations, three on-site locations for infants to preschool age, and the organization serves over 250 kids a day. Plus, there is a waiting list for the after-school program.

Swimming lessons, family movie nights and holiday parties, open gyms, youth sports and sports tournaments, there are dozens of opportunities for kids to find entertainment at the YMCA.

“It’s a safe, healthy place, the YMCA is,” Rachael Jackson, Senior Youth Development Coordinator, said. “They can come in here and they’re free of judgment.”
For many, the Y feels like home. Through scholarships for memberships and program fees, those who may otherwise not be able to afford all that the YMCA can offer still have the opportunity to participate.

“We’re a safe environment,” Jackson said. “Kids can come here and know that they’re safe. They’re just having fun and they don’t need to worry about the outside things.”

Youth sports at the Y aren’t about winning or competition, Jackson said, they’re about having fun. Kids don’t need to be superstars to play sports through the YMCA. No pressure. The same message applies to Healthy Kids Days.

“It’s a community event where family and children can come and they don’t have to pay to come, you can just come and enjoy that quality time with your family,” Jackson said.