Mahaska County YMCA

Youth development: early learning -our Ymca is committed to nurturing the potential of every child and teen. We believe all kids deserve the opportunity to discover who they are and what they can achieve. That's why we help young people cultivate the values, skills, and relationships that lead to positive behaviors, better health, and educational achievement. Our Ymca programs, such as child care, summer camp, swimming lessons, swim team, and youth sports, offer a wide range of experiences that enrich cognitive, social, physical, and emotional growth. Last year over 302 youth utilized our child care programs. Scholarships make participation possible for all youth in our community.

Youth development: summer camp- our Ymca is committed to nurturing the potential of every child and teen. We believe all kids have great potential and deserve the opportunity to discover who they are and what they can achieve. That's why we help young people cultivate the values, skills and relationships that lead to positive behaviors, better health and educational achievement. Our summer day camp Ymca program, offers a range of experiences that enrich social-emotional, cognitive and physical growth. Expenses include subsidies and direct financial assistance that make participation possible for 55% of the young people we engage. There were 93 total children in summer camp.

Healthy living: the y is a leading voice on health and well-being. We bring families closer together, encourage good health, and foster connections through fitness, sports, fun and shared interests. As a result, many people in our community are receiving the support, guidance, and resources they need to achieve greater health in spirit, mind, and body. This is particularly important as our nation struggles with an obesity crisis, families struggle with work/life balance, and individuals search for personal fulfillment. Our y programs, such as fitness classes, sports, and wellness educational programs offer community members opportunities to enrich their lives with healthy habits. We also offer an indoor swimming pool, youth and adult fitness rooms, locker rooms, and racquetball courts. Our programs are accessible affordable, and open to all faiths, backgrounds, abilities, and income levels. The y has over 2,247 members and over 3% of our members receive scholarships, this group includes the 56 members with disabilities, and the 34 middle school students who receive a free membership courtesy of grant support from united way of Mahaska County. Our snack program offers and packaged snacks to any child in order to address the food insecurity issue in our County. The snacks are free to the community and we estimate over 1,000 children are impacted. Nearly 32% of our members are under 18.

Youth development: before and after school -our Ymca is committed to nurturing the potential of every child and teen. We believe all kids have great potential and deserve the opportunity to discover who they are and what they can achieve. That's why we help young people cultivate the values, skills and relationships that lead to positive behaviors, better health and educational achievement. Our before and after school Ymca program offers a range of experiences that enrich social-emotional, cognitive and physical growth. Expenses include subsidies and direct financial assistance that make participation possible for 55% of the young people we engage. There were 80 children participating in this program.