HEALTHY LIVING: INDIVIDUALS NEED TO CHOOSE AND HAVE ACCESS TO POSITIVE LIFESTYLES. DIABETES PREVENTION AND WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS NEED TO BE OFFERED.
The YMCA has addressed these critical issues through program offerings but we need to continue to ramp these offerings up even more. For Healthy Living we offered the Transformation Challenge where 36 people participated this past year. We offered "4 Weeks To A Healthier You" program to PSI, Inc in Wellman. They had 26 employees participate. We will also be hosting the Kewash Trail Half Marathon & 5K run on June 6, 2015, to give even more opportunities for healthy choices.
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT: YOUTH NEED POSITIVE ADULT ROLE MODELS.
The YMCA collaborated with the Washington School District to host a mentoring program with twelve (12) 5th graders and 12 adult mentors. The program ran November - May and was a huge success. We will now also offer this program with the Mid-Prairie School District and host it out of our Kalona site.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
CONTINUED COLLABORATIONS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY ARE NECESSARY AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH TO VOLUNTEER.
With social responsibility we continue collaborating throughout the county. We also provide opportunities for youth to volunteer. Just recently the Washington 8th grade came to the YMCA on May 13 to "give back". We had them help us knock down a wall to expand space for our day camp program. The kids really had a lot of fun and it helped us too!