Greater Green Bay YMCA

Youth development: youth development or nurturing the development of every child and teen means we believe that all children deserve the opportunity to discover who they are and to foster growth and development of not only the child but also the family. That is why we help young people cultivate the skills, values and relationships that lead to positive behaviors, better health, and education achievement. The Greater Green Bay Ymca has many programs for the youth division that offer a range of experiences that enrich cognitive, social, physical, and emotional growth. Expenses include subsidies and financial assistance to make sure participation is possible for those with a financial need. In 2024, $277,547 in financial assistance was provided to 5,174 participants. The Ymca continued to partner with brown county's largest school district as a community- based provider of enrichment programs to complement their robust full-day summer school programs in 2024. The Ymca has worked alongside local school districts to integrate literacy and social emotional learning into our youth programs and out-of-school time enrichment offerings. Our youth outreach department supports high school graduation rates in brown county through the y achievers mentorship program, supporting middle school youth along their educational and career pathways. In 2024, this program continued to grow, serving 630 youth from 11 schools, and has multiple community partners who work with the program. Additionally, at a time where civic engagement is so needed, the Ymca provides a youth in government program to teach middle and high school youth about the various dimensions of government and advocacy. There are 123 students from 9 schools that participate in this program. Additionally, we have embedded social emotional and academic resources into our out-of-school time offerings at five of our ymcas, camps and afterschool programs.education, encouragement, and modeling healthy behavior are important and necessary for the Ymca to facilitate lifestyle changes in youth. There are a variety of programs offered to youth: food & fun, teen adventure programs, preschool and youth gym and swim classes, dance classes, aquatic classes, gymnastics classes, martial arts, summer camps, gymnastics events and camps, youth sport leagues and clinics, fitness and strength classes, babysitting classes, special populations, 21st century community learning centers (cclc), school age child care, studio dance, competitive gymnastics, competitive swim team, sports classes, safety around water program, y nights, girl's night out, boys night out, power zone, full circle program for youth with neurodivergent disabilities and family engagement events.

Social responsibility or giving back and providing support to our neighbors means the Ymca has been listening and responding to the Green Bay community's most critical social needs for more than 150 years. Our programs, such as safety around water (water safety for children), y night, and 21cclc afterschool programs are examples of programs that help strengthen our community and empower individuals to change and overcome obstacles. Our full circle program delivers a full circle approach to health and wellness, focusing on physical, social, and emotional growth. Children engage in activities tailored to their needs, fostering success and enjoyment in a nurturing environment. Both children and families are supported as they experience the benefits of wellness and recreation in a supportive, fun setting. In 2024, the opportunities of full circle expanded to include summer camp. Our day and resident summer camps provide emphasis upon increasing access to youth who might otherwise not be able to attend. Through a grant from brown county, we provided youth and adult mental health first aid. The skills-based training equipped participants to identify, understand, and respond to the mental health challenges that adolescents may face. The program emphasizes early intervention, teaching adults to recognize signs, provide nonjudgmental support, and refer individuals to appropriate professional services. As we grow with our community, we continue to meet the needs of families with special needs, help combat stress and anxiety by fostering deeper engagement with our members and educate our staff members to provide them with the tools they need to support these programs. Our team is dedicated to increasing local partnerships the work collectively as a community to help meet the needs of the Greater Green Bay community. We provide a welcoming environment, integrating all participants in a fun and inclusive setting. Our programs provide holistic approaches to health and well-being in a welcoming and empowering environment for all.

Healthy living: improving the nations, or more specifically Greater Green Bay's health and well-being means building a healthy spirit, mind and body for all. The Ymca is a leading voice on health and wellbeing. We bring families closer together, encourage good health and foster connections through fitness, sports, fun and shared interests. Ymca healthy living programs are medically based and stress the value of prevention through balanced efforts of good exercise habits and overall health including proper nutrition, stress management and health education. This is important as our nation struggles with an obesity crisis, families struggle with work/life balance and individuals search for personal fulfillment. Our programs are family oriented and offered at affordable fees, with financial assistance for those that are unable to pay the full fees; in 2024, we provided $839,023 in financial assistance to people seeking healthy actions and who otherwise would have faced economic barriers to participation. The Ymca provides a variety of programs that assist our community with attaining healthier habits and includes fitness classes, family camps, cpr and first aid, lifeguard training, livestrong at the y, aquatic exercise, sports and swim lessons, indoor cycling, and senior social groups. The nature of these programs is to promote one's own self-worth by emphasizing skill acquisition & development, safety, cooperation and self-confidence, leadership & teamwork. The depth and breadth of Ymca programs also serve all ages: infants, preschool, youth, adults, family and active older adults; all programs promote the desirable state of leading a healthy lifestyle through practice and education.in response to growing community health and wellness challenges and trends, the y's healthy living department provided educational opportunities, chronic disease prevention initiatives and programs to support people living with parkinson's, cancer and arthritis. Our health specialty partnered with bellin college's doctor of physical therapy to strengthen our exercising with parkinson's program and is a standing part of their curriculum that offers personalized workouts designed to enhance mobility and strength. The y continued to partner with the aging and disability resource center of brown county to provide the brain and body fitness program in the Greater Green Bay community, an evidence-informed group exercise program for people living with mild to moderate alzheimer's disease and other related dementias. In 2024 the Greater Green Bay Ymca developed a program for caregivers to offer this group exercise guidance, mindfulness tips and support as they care for those in our programs.