August 11, 2020
 

Your Y's ability to adapt and pivot during a global pandemic has been tested time and again since March.
What coronavirus has shown us is our ability to extend our reach and help far more people than those we typically reach within the capacity of our 1955 building. Zoom fitness classes sometimes draw more than 40 people. Our partnerships with the city and school districts meant that we could serve hundreds of children in emergency child care programs last spring.

And now--- for the first time ever--- we are launching a completely online YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program designed to reduce risk factors for people with prediabetes to prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 Diabetes. 
Research shows that programs like the YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program reduce the number of new cases of Type 2 Diabetes by 58 percent overall and 71 percent in people over 60.

"Participants weigh themselves and track their food intake and physical activity daily," says Coordinator Kate Kevern. "The goal is for each participant to reduce their body weight by 7 percent and become physically active for 150 minutes each week. Our participants have seen tremendous success and results with this program--- reversing their risk of developing diabetes!"

Traditionally, this program meets in person at your Y weekly for the first four months, then every other week, then once a month during the last six months. 

By creating a virtual one-year healthy lifestyle program, your Y has eliminated typical obstacles for participants: distance to the Y, finding child care for dependents and, simply, leaving the house (and finding parking at the Y)!

The new class begins in early October, but participants need to complete an interview process with Coordinator Kate before orientation on Wednesday, Oct. 7.

What: Virtual YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program: Participants interact and receive support live, online in a group setting with a trained Lifestyle Coach.
Dates: First class Oct. 14. Classes run for a year.
Time: Wednesday evenings for an hour.
Cost: $35.75 per month for 12 months. (Financial assistance available but insurance not accepted).
Register before Oct. 1: prevention@eugeneymca.org or 541.686.9622
Your Y Launches Virtual Cooking Class Series

Keeping our Y Family healthy and well goes far beyond fitness. Your Y's new Virtual Cooking Classes with nutritious produce can help!

Join Health Coach Meg Orion for a fun, informative, hands-on class about simple household fermentation, and the benefits of eating a diet rich in probiotic food, which add beneficial bacteria and enzymes to your overall intestinal flora, increasing the health of your gut microbiome.

You'll leave with some solid basics and your own jar of sauerkraut to ferment on your countertop.  

What: Live Virtual Cooking Class with Meg Orion
Date: Tuesday, August 18
Time: 2 to 3 p.m.
Register by Sunday, August 16: Register online to receive a Zoom link and a shopping list for the class
Open to active members!

New Construction at the Old Facility: Your Y's Brand-New Outdoor Studio 

Your Y is constructing a brand-new Outdoor Studio just outside of the Tennis Center. Y Instructor Lisa will launch this new era of outdoor fitness on Friday, August 14, at 9:30 a.m. with Cardio Dance, which is sure to get you moving!
 
Your Y's Outdoor Studio is protected from the hot sun and the rain with a large tent. The ground is cushioned with artificial turf and the wall on one side is freshly painted!
 
This space complements your Y's Van Lot for outdoor classes. The van lot can only be used in the early morning to avoid bright sunshine and heat or--- when the weather turns--- rain. 

Join us as we break in this new outdoor space and a whole new era of outdoor fitness. Find the weekly class schedule HERE.
Help Your Y By Providing Your Insight!

Since COVID-19 and state guidance has changed your Y's normal operations, your insight is incredibly valuable. We need your opinions as we continue to evaluate current and future operations, programs and services.


Please help your Y by filling out this Triangle 2 survey.
Union Pacific Supports Eugene Family YMCA's Capital Campaign for the A New Y
Thank you, Union Pacific Railroad's Community Ties Giving Program, for a $20,700 gift to support the construction of its new flagship facility on the corner of 24th Avenue and Hilyard Street.
 
"Union Pacific and the YMCA are both long-standing drivers of prosperous and vibrant communities," says Danielle Uhlhorn, Chief Development Officer for the Eugene Family YMCA. "We are so pleased that Union Pacific is joining the community on this historic journey to build a flexible, modern new Y facility that will greatly enhance Lane County's community."

Your Y received the gift because of its demonstrated value as a special place that celebrates cultural diversity, artistic expression and the social interactions that enrich our lives.
 
"Union Pacific proudly supports organizations that improve the quality of life where our employees live and work," said Scott Moore, senior vice president-Corporate Relations, chief administrative officer and Union Pacific Foundation President. "Investing in high-quality, nonprofit programs like the Eugene Family YMCA puts our communities in a position for future growth and prosperity."
Zoom and In-Person Classes Continue and Expand

Keep an eye on your Y's class schedule if you are seeking variety! In-person and Zoom classes change weekly and some classes are moving to in-personAikido in the Movement Center, PiYo in the Y's Van Lot and Cardio Dance in the Y's new Outdoor Studio, for example.

If you are an active member and are not receiving the list of live Zoom classes, please e-mail wellness@eugeneymca.org to receive a new list of classes each week.

In-Person Class Schedule
Stronger Together Y Workout Gear Only Available Until Monday, August 17!
STRONGER TOGETHER 6' APART apparel is now available thanks to another partnership with Threadbare Print House and Angel McNabb-Lyons, one of your Y's Marketing and Communications summer interns. Angel, a graphic design major at Oregon State University, works remotely from Corvallis. She grew up in Eugene at your Y!

If you missed the I STAND BY MY Y apparel shop earlier this spring, you can shop now for a limited time. 

Building a new workout (or lounging) wardrobe is easier than ever and 50 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Y to support Y families with financial assistance so they can participate in summer camp. 

Your Y Invites Teenagers, ages 12 to 15, to Workout

The Eugene Family YMCA has opened its Health and Wellness Center to teenagers in an effort to encourage youth to find meaningful and healthy ways to spend their time this summer.
 
The new initiative invites 12- to 15-year-olds to train on the strength and cardio equipment under the supervision of trained wellness coaches.
 
"We want to open our doors so kids can prepare for a sport or just release some summertime energy," says Kim Miller, the Y's Health and Wellness Director. "We want to provide them with somewhere safe, comfortable, and healthy. The Y is the perfect place for that."
 
The Health and Wellness Center is supervised by two staff members, one of whom is a wellness coach who can provide tips about form, ensure individuals work out safely and answer questions. Y wellness coaches will be able to identify youth by bracelets issued upon their entry.
 
The Health and Wellness Center is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 to 8 p.m. It is closed for cleaning from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. On Saturdays, it is open from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Love to Ride Your Bike? Take on the Virtual Blackberry bRamble This Month! 

You can win a chance to ride the virtual Blackberry bRamble, a gorgeous choose-your-distance bike ride through the Willamette Valley. It's worth $45.
 
To win, comment on your Y's social media post with your photo on a bike (better yet: make a Y with your arms for the pic!).
 
Tickets awarded Aug. 14! Thank you Jane Higdon Foundation and Greater Eugene Area Riders for the tickets!

Find your Y on Facebook and Instagram!
Your Y Seeks Superheroes!

Your Y's Youth Development department is hiring teachers, substitutes and site directors for fall child care programs.

Applicants should be over 18, have college credit in early education, child development, physical education, recreation, or special education or have experience working in a child care or summer camp setting.

Apply today: eugeneymca.org/jobs
Invite Your Representative to Advocate for Nonprofits like your Y!

As Congress and the White House continue negotiations on the latest COVID relief bill, it's crucial that the Y's #Relief4Charities priorities are included.
 
It's time for YMCA advocates to make our voices heard and tell Congress: Nonprofits are doing essential work every day in Oregon and need relief NOW!

 
 
The need for nonprofits in our communities has grown, even as organizations are facing tremedous challenges. Your Y is working diligently to meet this need, but we need immediate federal support so we can be there for those who are relying on us.
Welcome Back, Y Family! We've Missed You Too!

Longtime Y member Wayne likens your Y's reopening with Christmas coming early. "The Y is the best part of my life," he says. Since that first day back, we've been so glad to see Wayne in the pool and in several different group exercise classes, including our new outdoor ones! 

Welcome Back, Wayne. We are so glad you are part of the Y Family!
Doubles Pickleball Begins in Your Y's Tennis Center

Your Y is so excited to open its doors for members to play Doubles Pickleball! 
Call 541.683.3410 to reserve a Pickleball court for doubles or singles at the following times:
Monday
12:15-1:30 p.m.
Tuesday
10:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Wednesday
1:45-3:00 p.m.
Thursday
10:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Friday
10:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
  • If the court is not reserved 24 hours in advance, it will be released for tennis reservations.
  • Masks are required at all times while playing pickleball indoors.
  • Bring your own paddles and balls. We are unable to loan any.
For more information about how to play pickleball safely during this pandemic, refer to USAPA safe Pickleball play.
Donate a Kid's Bike at Your Y Saturday, August 15

Your Y is helping kids be paired with the perfect bike through a special program called Free Bikes 4 Kidz Eugene-Springfield.

This event is the final neighborhood bike collection event for the summer and aims to complete Free Bikes 4 Kidz goal of collecting and distributing 300 bikes in summer 2020!

In collaboration with the Greater Eugene Area Bike Riders (or GEARs), bikes will be collected, restored and distributed to the kids who need them most. "We're already getting bikes fixed up beautifully and ready to give away to local families who are very excited to get their kids on bikes soon!," said Dwan Shepard of Free Bikes 4 Kidz. "We can't wait to see them pedaling away on their new rides."

What: Bike Collection Day
Where: Eugene Family YMCA
2055 Patterson Street, NE Van lot
Date: Saturday, August 15
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
More information HERE
Seeking a New Pick-Up Truck

Your Y's pick-up truck was stolen from our property last week. We used this vehicle to haul landscaping supplies, recycling and heavy pieces of equipment. Frankly, it's hard to maintain our old facility without a sturdy pick-up truck. 

Please consider donating your used pick-up truck to the Eugene Family YMCA for a tax-deductible donation. 

To make a donation, please email Danielle at danielle@eugeneymca.org.

Thank you!
Heard on the street: Your Y in the News
 
Open for Business, the Eugene Chamber of Commerce's quarterly magazine, features your Y's Rising To The Challenge (page 37) in response to coronavirus.

"There is no better way for the Y to step up than to care for the community's most precious members while their families stand on the front lines during a crisis. Even though the Eugene Family YMCA has never experienced a global pandemic before, the organization's 133 years of service prepared it for exactly this: a swift socially responsible reaction."
The Register-Guard ran a lovely feature on longtime Y member Mark Rauch, a force in this community!

"The Y has done a really good job of thinking through the safety of all of this and how they are doing distancing. They only have three lanes in the pool you know. Everything is pretty separated. They require masks indoors, things like that. At my age, I have committed to this kind of exercise. Body and mind, you have got to keep both."  --- Mark Rauch



The latest issue of NW50Plus, a monthly magazine found online or in a magazine box just outside of the Y's doors, features your Y's Health and Wellness Director Kim Miller and her story on strengthening core muscles
August's BlueChip Magazine, the monthly business magazine of The Register-Guard, showcases your Y in 3 ways:
 
Y CEO Brian Steffen's column on generative discussions and nonprofits surviving/thriving during this difficult time.

"The reality is this: nonprofit leaders and volunteers have never been as taxed as they are right now. The daily list of pressing crises is staggering," writes Brian. "With that said, it is impossible for nonprofit teams to react their way to success! The cascade of crises will not stop until leaders and volunteers recharge, refocus, and realign their efforts. Organizational leaders and volunteers must rally around more strategic and generative discussions. There is a bright, bold and inspiring future ahead; however, it is only achievable when our discussions focus outward, our efforts focus upward and our vision compels us onward."
 
Business news about the $15,000 in combined grant funds from U.S. Bank and Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation for your Y's afterschool programs in underserved areas.
 
The Telescope podcast called "Pre-K in a Pandemic" that features your Y's own preschool teacher Melissa Belnap and how she ran her classroom during the COVID-19 shutdowns. Listen here.


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STAND WITH YOUR Y HERE.
Thank you for your support!