Rochester Area Family Y

Rochester Area Family Y Business Profile

For more information on all of the Y programs and services, visit www.rochfamy.org.

Belonging to the Y will strengthen much more than your body. As you exercise and relieve stress your spirit will soar. The time you spend with your family at the Y will create bonds to last a lifetime. And when you build relationships with your neighbors through YMCA programs and events, the entire community benefits. The Rochester Area Family Y has always been, is presently, and will continue in the future, to be focused on our community, offering opportunities for better health, learning skills and positive experiences to youth, adults and families. The Y is here to serve all people; from pre-school to older adults. From swimming lessons to water exercise classes, year-round family recreation and fitness is all possible at the Rochester Area Family Y. The Board and staff are committed to meeting the needs of our members and all non-member participants.

This year will bring more excitement as we get closer to the realization of expanding our facility. We will all be challenged with the transition that new programming and facility usage brings to us, but we look forward to that challenge. It will be an exciting year. Thank you for your support, patience and enthusiasm for the Y. As always we will continue to work hard to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities.

The Y offers a variety of services to the Rochester community. Here are some highlights:

• Y Day Camps - Discover Y, as well as Pre-School Camp, Teen Camp and Schools Out Days provide a safe, fun and active place for kids during the summer and year-round. When childhood obesity is on the rise, the Y remains a place that encourages physical activity while teaching core values.
• Y Tots Pre-school - Y-Tots Pre-school teaches and nurtures young minds, encouraging the joy of learning while teaching the basic skills needed for kindergarten. Offered for over 20 years, Y Tots is now seeing 2nd generation families, whose parents were Y Tot kids and are now sending their own children.
• Youth Sports - The Youth Sports offered at the Y continues to be a positive and popular activity, including T-Ball, Small Stuff Basketball, Soccer, Football, and Martial Arts. Youth Sports builds skills while emphasizing the core values and a philosophy where everybody plays.
• Swimming Lessons - The Aquatics program at the Y is strong and utilizes the full capacity of our facility. Offerings include parent/child Water Babies & Water Tots classes, Pre-school and School aged swimming lessons, as well as Adult classes, Swim Team and Technique courses. Skills, water safety, as well as the core values are built into all Aquatics courses.
• Family Activities - Events geared toward families of elementary and pre-school aged children are offered several times a year. Family Activities give parents and children an opportunity to engage in enjoyable activities like swimming, crafts, games and dancing together, thus strengthening the family bond.
• Fitness Center - From Safe Start to over 88 pieces of fitness equipment, plus free weights offered in the Fitness Center, we help members achieve improved mind and body health through cardio and strength training.
• Group Fitness Classes - Thirty-seven instructors teach 53 classes per week at the Y. Pilates, Step, Power Cut, and Cycling in our New Cycle Studio are a few of the popular classes that help keep members fit. Silver Sneakers is geared toward seniors and Teen strength training targets a young participant, because staying fit is a lifetime goal.
• Kid's Care - Member children play and have fun while their parents are participating in fitness and programming. Offered mornings and evenings, children look forward to Kid's Care as much as their parents look forward to their activities.
• Community Employers - As employers strive to maintain healthy employees, the Y has responded to the need of our community businesses by offering a “Corporate Membership Program.” Many of our community’s employers have enrolled in the program giving their employees a healthy opportunity in a positive environment.
• Insurance Company Programs - As part of another opportunity to promote a healthier community, the Rochester Area Family Y partnered with major health insurance providers in 2004. Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Health Partners now offer special incentives to Y members. A $20 reimbursement is given to the member when they work out a minimum of 8 times per month. We also partnered with Humana and Medica Insurance to offer the Silver Sneakers program to keep seniors active.
• Y Resource Center Psychological Services - Licensed counseling staff help clients find strength and hope through individual, couple and family counseling, offered on a sliding fee scale. Lives are changed.
• Domestic Violence Support Group - The “I Deserve Better” program utilizes licensed counseling staff who assist women in realizing they are not alone and that domestic abuse is not their fault. The cycle of violence is broken.
• LINK - The LINK program intercedes with youth who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness, and helps them learn the skills they need to become independent. When no one else seems to care or be there because a young person has "aged-out" of foster care or fallen out from family, LINK staff become the nurturing, instructional parent figures that reach teens and give them a hand up.
• Y Mentors - Y Mentors matches children, often from single parent families, with caring adults who provide a critical and positive connection to the community. When 65% are minority or immigrant children and 92% live in poverty, this adult connection helps integrate the children in a positive way, providing stability that may not otherwise exist.

Rochester Area Family Y Community Service Profile
Not only does the Y provide great services to member and non-member families, it also give back to the community in a variety of ways. Here are some highlights:

• Financial Assistance – The Y assists individuals, youth, and families in need. The Y builds strong communities when no person is turned away due to inability to pay. One out of seven members walking through our doors is there because of financial assistance.
• Volunteers - Members often serve as volunteers as well, because they understand the importance of the Y's mission. From mentoring to coaching, volunteers help strengthen our community.
• Collaboration - The Y actively collaborates with over 40 non-profit services in the community, because when we work together, we can all accomplish more. A few of the Y's 2004 collaborations include: PossAbilities -disabled youth, Gables - recovering women, Hiawatha Homes - limited income citizens, Inter-Faith Hospitality Network - homeless families and Rochester Senior Center - elderly citizens.

For more information on all of the Y programs and services, visit www.rochfamy.org.