South Shore Young Men's Christian Association

Youth development - over 40% of those served are children and teens. Through our child care, after school and camping programs, we provide safe, engaging environments where children learn, grow and thrive while parents are away from home working. In our leadership development programs, such as youth and government and leaders clubs, we are able to incorporate our ymca core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility to help guide the youth of today become the stewards of tomorrow. Through our aquatics, sports & recreation and health and well-being classes, we are providing important healthy activities to help address the nation's childhood obesity crisis.

Social responsibility - as a cause-driven organization our purpose is strengthening our communities. Through the development of partnerships and collaborations with other community organizations we work to identify and respond to community needs. At the germantown neighborhood center programs such as the women's domestic advocacy network, family emergency fund and food pantry, which is currently serving over 1,400 individuals monthly, provide essential services, programs and necessities to break the cycle of generational poverty and abuse. Through our volunteer program, we engage over 700 volunteers to provide assistance with governance on our boards, committees, programs and services. Additionally, our annual support campaign has over 750 fundraising volunteers who help to raise over $1.2 million dollars for scholarships and financial assistance. These funds help to break down barriers as we strive to ensure that no child, teen, adult or senior is excluded from participating in our programs or services regardless of ability to pay.

Healthy living - with a commitment to accessibility for people of all ages, abilities, backgrounds and incomes, we serve over 60,000 members and program participants with services and programs that build health of spirit, mind and body for all. As the nation's health crisis grows, access to programs that improve health and well-being is essential to creating healthy communities. Through programs such as our partnership program where volunteers partner with individuals with disabilities, family workout where children ages 7 and up exercise along side their parents, or through our transition programs such as arthritis aquatics, cardiac care or diabetes prevention we create safe, supportive, caring environments where healthy living is attainable.