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Welcome to the YMCA of Central Kentucky!
It's where you belong
The YMCA is devoted to building strong kids, strong families and a strong community by providing programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all. If you want to get in shape, shoot hoops with friends, or enjoy recreational time with your family, the YMCA is the place for you.
Our Mission: To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.
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Click here to view the Connections newsletter
Click here to view the 2008 Annual Report
Click here to access YMCA of Central KY TV and Radio Ads
Teclea aquí para escuchar la nueva publicidad radial de YMCA.
Going on a trip? Click here to find the nearest YMCA.
Click here to view our 990
Please click here to read the Spring 2008 Keeneland Magazine article about the YMCA. Reprinted with permission from
Keeneland Magazine, published by Blood-Horse Publications, Inc., Lexington, KY.
Please click here to watch the Keeneland TV story on the YMCA, which aired on March 31, 2008.
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YMCA LEADS LIST OF 100 CHARITIES WITH STRONGEST BRANDS
The YMCA of the USA has the strongest brand among charities, according to a new report by the marketing firms Cone and Intangible Business published by The Chronical of Philanthropy. Click here for the complete story.
MILK AND BOOKIES TEDDY BEAR PICNIC JULY 10
Target and the YMCA of Central Kentucky will present the YMCA of Central Kentucky’s “Milk and Bookies Teddy Bear Picnic” for children ages 3-5 on Friday, July 10. The event, which will begin at 11 a.m., will be held at the North Lexington Family YMCA, 381 W. Loudon Avenue. The Teddy Bear Picnic, which is free and open to the public, will include food, games, crafts and every child will receive a free book. Children are encouraged to bring their teddy bear or other favorite stuffed animal. The event will be held outdoors, weather permitting, but space is available to move indoors if weather dictates.
Funded partially through a grant from Target, Milk and Bookies is the YMCA of Central Kentucky’s literacy program geared toward children ages 1-5.
Milk and Bookies is one of more than a dozen literacy programs the YMCA of Central Kentucky supports. In 2008, the YMCA of Central Kentucky helped distribute over 8,300 free books to children through various literacy-themed programs, collaborations and events.
For more information about Milk and Bookies or the Teddy Bear Picnic, please contact Wendi Keene at 226-0393 or wkeene@ymcaofcentralky.org. Please RSVP with food allergies to snelson@ymcaofcentralky.org or 258-9622.
YMCA BLACK ACHIEVERS PRE-REGISTRATION COOKOUT JULY 25
The YMCA Black Achievers program is hosting a Pre-Registration Cookout on Saturday, July 25 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The event will be held at the YMCA’s Center for Achievement, located in the Lex Linc building at 436 Georgetown Street in Lexington.
At the event, students ready to enter grades 7-12 will be able to pre-register for the YMCA’s Black Achievers program for the 2009-10 school year for $30. The first 50 students to register will receive a free cinch bag. Financial assistance is available for this and all YMCA programs and memberships.
The cookout will feature hot dogs and hamburgers for sale, with proceeds benefiting the YMCA Black Achievers program. There will also be a Salvation Army Lemon AID stand on site.
The YMCA Center for Achievement provides operating space for YMCA Black Achievers and also functions as a youth center with a computer lab and a small conference room. The Black Achievers program, which has been serving central Kentucky since 1985, is open to students in Fayette and surrounding counties.
YMCA Black Achievers endeavors to provide exposure to present and future educational/career opportunities, instill positive social values, ignite students’ thirst for knowledge, enable students to reach their full potential by creating opportunities for adults and the community to participate in their lives, and empower families to assist students in reaching higher goals.
Cluster sessions are held the second and fourth Saturdays of every month and will include topics such as arts and culture, business and finance, career and technical education, computers, education, engineering, medical and government service and law.
For more information, please call 226-0393 or visit www.ymcaofcentralky.org.
BEAUMONT CENTRE FAMILY YMCA TO HOST ANNUAL KIDS TRIATHLON
As part of the YMCA of Central Kentucky’s ongoing commitment to encourage active, healthy lifestyles in youth and teens, the 5th Annual Tri-Y Kids Triathlon will be held on Sunday, August 2 at the Beaumont Centre Family YMCA beginning at 7:30 a.m. The event is open to any children ages 7-14.. Early registration is underway and offers reduced fees of $15 for YMCA members and $25 for non-members. After July 10, the fee is $20 for YMCA members and $30 for non-members.
Children ages 7-10 will swim 100 yards, bike 3 miles and run half a mile. Children ages 11-14 will swim 200 yards, bike 6 miles and run 1 mile. All participants will receive a certificate and a t-shirt.
The YMCA is also offering clinics throughout July to help train for this event. For more information, please contact Beaumont Centre YMCA Wellness Director Erin Jones at 219-9622 or ejones@ymcaofcentralky.org.
YMCA PRESENTS VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARDS
The YMCA of Central Kentucky held its annual celebration honoring its volunteers of the year on Thursday, May 14 at the Embassy Suites in Lexington, Ky.. The Red Triangle Award, the YMCA of Central Kentucky’s top recognition for a volunteer whose actions exemplify the YMCA triangle of spirit, mind and body, was presented to Steve Hupman. For the past six years, Hupman has shared served on the High Street YMCA’s board of directors, helping to oversee building and renovation projects as well as fundraising efforts.
“It’s an easy mission to support,” Hupman said of the YMCA. “It’s great for the community, great for families and great for individuals and has a Christian component. Also, the dedicated, committed and hard-working staff make it easy to stay involved.”
The YMCA also awarded its Spirit, Mind, Body Award to Chris Leng, who has worked at the YMCA since 2001. The Spirit, Mind, Body Award is given to a YMCA part-time staff member who has been with the organization for at least five years and goes above and beyond in their service to the YMCA and its members. Leng serves the YMCA as a youth soccer referee and goes above and beyond in a variety of ways, including arriving early to prepare the fields for play and staying late to help clean up afterwards.
The evening capped with the presentation of the branch Volunteer of the Year awards to the following recipients for their dedicated service to the YMCA of Central Kentucky:
Beaumont Centre Family YMCA: Mary Cockriel
High Street YMCA: Kyle Whalen
Jessamine County YMCA: Shana Peterson
North Lexington Family YMCA: Charles Holloway
Scott County YMCA: Michael Prather
YMCA Community Development: Joy Harris
YMCA Child Development: Tiffany Lambroff
YMCA RECEIVES $11,280 GRANT FOR SUMMER CAMP PROGRAM
YMCA of Central Kentucky Child Development has been awarded a grant of $11,280 by the McDowell-Breckenridge Foundation. The grant is to be used at the YMCA’s Bar Y summer camp, with $10,000 designated for camper scholarships and $1,280 to conduct swimming lessons for non-swimmers.
In 2008, 55 campers received financial assistance at Bar Y and the YMCA awarded $37,619 in financial assistance to those children and families who otherwise might have been unable to afford YMCA summer camp. Overall, more than 3,000 children attended YMCA of Central Kentucky summer camps last summer, approximately 31 percent of who received financial assistance through the YMCA’s own Campaign for Kids as well as other funding such as the McDowell-Breckenridge grant.
YMCA PROVIDES SUPPORT TO MILITARY FAMILIES
As part of the new Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) and Department of Defense (DoD) Outreach Initiative, the YMCA of Central Kentucky will provide military families with access to youth development, family strengthening, and health and well-being programs. Membership fees will be underwritten by the DoD and administered through Military OneSource, an information and referral service for military families. YMCA of the USA, the national resource office for America’s 2,686 YMCAs, is helping launch the initiative at participating YMCAs across the country.
“The YMCA of Central Kentucky is happy to help meet the critical needs facing families of deployed military service members,” said Gail Glasser, President/CEO of the YMCA of Central Kentucky. “Families are the most affected when a loved one gets deployed, so we are deeply committed to providing them with the support they need.”
The ASYMCA-DoD Outreach Initiative responds to a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008, which requires the Secretary of Defense to develop a plan to support military family readiness and to ensure that military family readiness programs and activities are available to all deployed National Guard and Reserve families, and some active duty families in certain special categories.
Eligible military families participating in the initiative are eligible for YMCA memberships based on participation requirements. Those eligible to participate in the new initiative include:
All interested families of joint deployed National Guard and Reserves of all military branches
Families living in newly established Joint Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) bases
Active Duty Independent Duty station personnel and their families
Relocated spouses and family members of deployed Active Duty personnel
“The YMCA has a long history of supporting military service members and their families – since the Civil War – so it was natural for us to join this initiative,” said Glasser. “During this time of conflict, it is more important than ever that we continue providing services and support to these families in the absence of a deployed spouse.”
TIPS FOR DEALING WITH TOUGH ECONOMY
The YMCA of Central Kentucky offers encouragement and support to central Kentuckians during challenging and uncertain times, like those the community is facing right now as a result of the economic downturn.
“Like so many Americans, members of our community are feeling overwhelmed, stressed and powerless in these challenging economic times,” said Gail Glasser, President/CEO of the YMCA of Central Kentucky. “Now more than ever, we need to focus on the important areas of our lives where we have the power to make a positive difference—our health and well-being, our family and our community.”
This is a good time for families and individuals to renew their focus on three areas that the YMCA believes form the foundation for strong, healthy families and communities:
Physical exercise, even at moderate levels, can reduce the physical and emotional symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety. Over the long term, regular exercise can ward against the physical and financial toll of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Experts agree that investing in health and well-being always offers a positive return.
Family strengthening is equally important. Make family time a priority and include children in discussions about how to trim budgets. Eating dinner as a family or enjoying a Saturday afternoon activity together can bring families closer and reinforce the idea that family members support one another in difficult times.
Connections to community bind people together, offer support and give people an important sense of belonging. Getting engaged in one’s community, volunteering to help others in need and enjoying friendship and camaraderie enrich lives and make individuals, families and communities stronger and more resilient.
For more than 160 years, YMCAs have supported families and individuals in good times and during some of the most challenging periods in our nation’s history. Locally, the YMCA of Central Kentucky has been serving this community since 1853 and is committed to making its programs and services available to everyone, regardless of ability to pay thanks to financial assistance, funded largely by the YMCA’s annual Campaign for Kids.
“Times of change and uncertainty are not times to ‘go it alone,’” said Glasser. “We encourage members of our community to come together and support one another. Take a walk, get together with neighbors, volunteer, get active and involved through the YMCA.”
YMCA OF CENTRAL KENTUCKY EARNS 2ND CONSECUTIVE 4-STAR RATING
For the second straight year, the YMCA of Central Kentucky has received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America's largest independent evaluator of charities.
According to Charity Navigator, receiving four out of a possible four stars "indicates that your organization excels, as compared to other charities in America, in successfully managing the finances of your organization in an efficient and effective manner. This consistency in your rating is an exceptional feat, especially given the economic challenges many charities have had to face in the last year."
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Did you know...
The nation's 2,686 YMCAs serve 10,000 U.S. communities, uniting 21 million children and adults of all ages, races, faiths, backgrounds, abilities and income levels.
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