YMCA goes to the community
YMCA goes to the community
Fairborn Daily Herald
AMANDA CROWE
7/13/11
FAIRBORN The Fairborn YMCA is looking for ways to improve their services by going straight to the community for advice.
In an effort to ensure that the YMCA meets the true needs of the community, they hosted three Community Stakeholder Meetings over the last three months. The small-group discussions focused on the Ys current programs and feedback from business owners, local organizations and, of course, Fairborn residents.
We want to make sure people understand what we think we are doing and get feedback about what they think the Y is doing, said Executive Director Tim Short. It is our intent to discuss the needs and how through the efforts of collaboration, the YMCA can better serve this great community. Through such collaboration, we believe we can avoid duplicating services and increase what is offered to the citizens of Fairborn.
The Fairborn Y currently has just over 1,400 families with memberships, which is just over 3,900 people.
The Y touches about 7,500 people annually but we want to continue to figure out how to reach out to the community and do more, Short said. We want to find what people are desiring and meet those needs.
Juanita Kline of Osborn Optical, who attended the most recent meeting Tuesday evening, admitted that she knew about the swimming and exercise but not about the other services offered.
I know from being in Fairborn, communication is a constant struggle, she said. I am sure there are a lot of things you do that arent public knowledge.
There are currently more than 20 different activities or classes offered through the Y including youth and adult sports, swimming, exercise, childcare and more which focus on healthy living, youth development and social responsibility. Some of the specific aspects include a Child Care Development Center that offers not only childcare but a place where kids learn; Silver Sneakers exercise group for seniors and Kids Night Out events.
The Y has also developed partnerships with the City of Fairborn, Fairborn City Schools, St. Lukes United Methodist Church, the Fairborn Christian Alliance, Fairborn Senior Center and Fairborn Community Center to provide services to the community.
Our goal is to build strong kids, strong families and a strong community, said Short. One of the things we are proud of is the last two words in our missions statement, for all. We dont turn anyone away for inability to pay.
In 2010, the organization gave about $293,000 in scholarships to families who could not afford memberships, child care and activities such as youth sports and swim lessons. Through the 2011 Strong Kids Campaign, the Y raised $27,000 to cover approximately one month of scholarships. Some form of assistance is provided to 47 percent of the Fairborn Ys members.
Without the community involvement, the Y would cease to exist, Short added. Which is why we want to hear what people are saying about us so we can improve what were doing. We have gotten very good feedback from those who have come to the meetings.
A variety of topics were discussed at the meetings including providing more activities for the tween and teen age groups and more family-oriented programming with activities families can do together.
We need to encourage families to come together to make a better community. You have to strengthen families to strengthen communities, said Kline.
The YMCA staff will analyze the information collected from these meetings and will develop a strategic plan.
We will see what we can do with the limited resources we have to improve things, Short said.
For more information about programs offered through the Fairborn YMCA visit www.ymcaonline.org. The staff would still like to hear from the community they serve. Give them feedback by calling 754-9622 or email fairborninfo@daytonymca.org.