St Cloud Area Family YMCA

Youth Development: Children and teens of all ages and backgrounds are welcome at the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA. We believe each individual child and teen is uniquely important and we are committed to nurturing their potential and permit them access to opportunities that will allow them to discover who they are and what they can achieve. The Y experience can start for youth as early as 6 weeks of age in our Kid Zone childcare room, and the experience can continue through adolescent and teen years by participation in youth sports, swim lessons, day camp, on-site birthday parties, rock climbing, home school physical education programs, or being a part of our Gator Swim Team. These programs promote lasting friendships, fight childhood obesity, and introduce youth to aspects of life that can support the development of skills such as creativity, literacy, physical and motor development, and social and emotional skills. The YMCA's Bernick's Family Fitness Series is another opportunity for youth and families to get active by participating in our 5K, 2 Mile, and Kids' Runs. In 2023: 188 children were able to engage in activities in our facility with their family while being safely supervised by our trained Social Services Staff 2,793 children participated in group swimming lessons 215 children participated in private/semi-private swim lessons 1,818 children participated in Youth Sports & Tae Kwon Do 1,857 children visited our Kid Zone drop-in care center for a total of 24,443 check-ins 164 children celebrated birthdays with their friends and family in our facility 192 children attended our summer day camp 186 children participated in School Day Out camp during school holidays 226 children participated in our Home School Gym program 92 children swam and competed through our Gator youth swim team From cradle to career, the Y provides all youth with the tools and resources they need to succeed in life. From the water safety skills taught in swimming lessons, to the teamwork principles learned in sports and the friendship network gained in Kid Zone and camps, the Y is helping our youth develop into healthy, engaged citizens, with the perfect amount of fun mixed in.

Social Responsibility: Memberships are available to families, adults, and individual youth. The Y does not turn anyone away due to their inability to pay and we provide financial assistance to qualifying applicants. Our financial assistance program helps those in need gain access to quality programming and membership opportunities to help them become more active, healthy members in our community. The St. Cloud YMCA is committed to helping these individuals reach their full potential. Qualified members can receive up to a 60% reduction on their membership and up to a 50% reduction on qualifying programs. In acknowledgment of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes, we have also launched the Safety Around Water (SAW) program for second grade students enrolled in St. Cloud Area School District 742. Drowning is the second leading cause of death and injury among children ages 1-14 in Minnesota and statistics show that 79% of homes with incomes less than $50,000 have little-to-no swimming ability due to limited access to quality swim instruction. The SAW program aims to equip kids with the tools they need to be confident in and around water. Our YMCA is the only Y in Minnesota (and one of only two in the nation) that provides an on and off-site Supervised Visitation & Exchange program through Social Services that meets our community's critical social need in a controlled setting where family vulnerability is greatly reduced. This program allows separated or fractured families a chance to reunite in a safe, nurturing environment while being professionally supervised by our trained Social Services staff. Along with the supervised visitations and exchanges, the Y offers parenting classes, community supervised parenting time off-site, transitional supervised parenting time off-site, sibling visitations, virtual supervised visitations, and parent coaching supervised visitations. The Y serves court-ordered cases from counties throughout the state as well as many private cases. We provide financial assistance to qualifying families if they cannot afford the services of social workers and the cost of the supervision required for the visits. 68% of all participants in court-ordered private visitations receive financial assistance through the Y. In 2023, the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA provided 886 supervised visits and 456 exchanges. Supervised Visits were subsidized by the YMCA in the amount of $8,328 in 2023. In addition to our Social Services department and programs, we also have an on-staff chaplain and volunteer pastors who are committed to inspiring a spirit of service by building relationships and uniting individuals from all walks of life to participate in and work for positive social change.

Healthy Living & Other Program Services: Our YMCA is committed to nurturing the spirit, mind, and body of every child, teen, and adult we interact with in our community. We assist our community members in three ways; First, we provide quality programs and membership opportunities targeted to support a healthy lifestyle. This includes partnerships and programs for those who struggle with chronic health issues, including multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and weight management. Through our partnership with the CentraCare Health System, patients recovering from cardiac-related health issues are transitioned to the Y for their cardiac rehabilitation program, and our partnership with St. Cloud Orthopedics allows us to rent out our therapy pool to allow them to host orthopedic rehabilitation programs. The second way we assist our community is through our financial assistance program. Qualifying applicants may join the YMCA as members based on their ability to pay by filling out a financial assistance application. The income limits for this application reflect the limits listed for free and reduced lunch in District 742. Applicants may receive either a 20%, 40%, or 60% reduction on their membership fees and either a 25% or 50% reduction on qualifying programs based on their current financial situation. The financial assistance program is entirely confidential in order to keep our members free from any possible social stigma. Our financial assistance program also assists students from local colleges and universities. During 2023, our YMCA provided 621 individual or family units with financial assistance for memberships and also subsidized the membership fees for 237 St. Cloud Technical and Community College students and nontraditional students, amounting to $289,821 in financial assistance for memberships alone. The YMCA also provided financial assistance for swim lessons, swim team, youth sports, summer and vacation camp, home school fitness program participants, and childcare in the amount of $39,449. The third way we assist our community is through partnerships with community non-profits and schools such as District 742 Schools, Anna Marie's Shelter, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, 180 Degrees, The Salvation Army, Terebinth Refuge, and various Preschool, Head Start and Early Childhood programs. Active participation in YMCA programs and facilities promotes social interaction, overall health, builds self-esteem, and develops social networking relationships. This is particularly important as our nation struggles with obesity, mental health, social isolation, chronic illness, and the struggle families exhibit with work-life balance. For example, our staff made thousands of calls during the COVID-19 pandemic to members as a well-being check. At the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA, we care about our members, and by making these calls we strengthened our relationships with our members and worked to decrease any mental health issues and to battle social isolation during a time when in-person social interactions and gatherings were strongly discouraged. We issue community outreach financial assistance, which provides free access to families or individuals in transition homes such as Anna Marie's Shelter and Terebinth Refuge, and community discounts to ensure our programs are accessible, affordable, and open to those of all faiths, backgrounds, ethnicities, abilities, and income levels. It is also our honor and privilege to provide free memberships for military (OIF/OEF) families while the service person is deployed to allow full facility and program participation for the service member and their families. In total, our YMCA provided over $1,350,000 of financial assistance and discounts in 2023. It is important to note that all members, including those receiving financial assistance, receive discounted program rates (usually $20 per program). We are committed to encouraging every one of our members and guests to fulfill their personal potential to be healthy, engaged participants in our community.