Glacial Community YMCA

Healthy Living: Great effort is continually made to offer a variety of programs for every age that promote a healthy spirit, body and mind. We continue to offer services and programs to engage health seekers throughout their health and wellness journey, as well as providing fitness programs for youth and teens in our communities. We offer our programs at affordable fees with financial assistance available for those who may need a scholarship. The Y partners with local schools to help expand the students' knowledge of sports in an encouraging, fun and energetic atmosphere, while promoting mental, physical and social development. More than 3,500 children came to the Y after school to participate in programs. We are fortunate to have many prominent Healthcare organizations in our communities. The Glacial Community YMCA has established strong partnerships with the hospitals, schools and assisted living and retirement facilities in our communities. Through these collaborations we are showing the Glacial Community YMCA's commitment to changing and improving, healthy and functional living in families and individuals in our communities. The following are our current partnerships. Roger's Memorial Hospital-Behavior Health Hospital We provide scholarship memberships to patients of Rogers during their stay at the hospital to aid in their recovery process. The Y helps facilitate individual treatment for patients to become independent in a fitness center setting. Adult Health Classes In 2023, we were able to provide over 12,000 classes including virtual, live, and aquatic fitness classes association wide. This allowed us to provide over 1,300 people per week the opportunity to improve their physical and mental health through physical activity. Youth and Teen The Glacial Community YMCA works closely with local schools and organizations to help students grow in leadership development and academic enrichment. Through programs at the Y such as safety & education workshops, Youth in Government, and other special events, the Y makes sure that youth have an opportunity to envision and pursue a positive future, and to take an active role in strengthening his or her community. Through volunteer projects such as the Thanksgiving Food Drive and Christmas Toy Drive, we involve local students from both the Oconomowoc and Watertown School Districts. Their volunteerism led to over 680 individuals receiving Thanksgiving meals for free as well as provided 2,500 items to the Oconomowoc Food Pantry and the Bread Basket Community Support Center in Watertown. The Christmas Toy Drive benefitted the Christmas Clearing Council and we collected over 131 toys to provide to this local organization. The students were then able to assist families who are less fortunate with Christmas gift shopping for their loved ones. Youth and Recreation The Y is committed to empowering kids & families to lead healthy, active lifestyles. We help expand the students' knowledge of sports in an encouraging, fun, and energetic atmosphere. From gaining confidence to building positive relationships with adult and kids alike, sports at the Y are about developing lifelong, healthy habits from the inside out. More than 3,700 children have been involved at the YMCA through the various programs we offer. From sport leagues, to sports clinics and camps, to climbing wall classes, and more... the Y has provided sports and recreation programming opportunities to youth and families. With affordable fees, and financial assistance, the Y believes in providing program services to all who desire to participate. Renew Active, Silver Sneakers, Silver & Fit The Glacial Community YMCA has partnered with United Health Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and other select insurance providers to provide the Renew Active, Silver Sneakers, and Silver & Fit programs. These are membership options that are based on reimbursement from insurance. Eligible seniors are provided a membership at no charge to themselves that opens up physical activity opportunities such as group exercise classes as well as social activities that ensure our seniors are not isolated in their homes. These programs have allowed over 4,023 seniors in our area to access the Y for free, contributing to their health in spirit, mind, and body.

Social Responsibility: Engaging our youth, teen and families is our full-time job. We provide a friendly environment with structure and willing mentors, who lead and teach a variety of activities, helping to form relationships, encourage communication and promote an enriched healthy life. Special Programs * Our Special Programs department provides programming for individuals with intellectual, developmental, physical, and social/emotional disabilities in the areas of recreation, physical activity and sports, socialization and community integration. Over 240 individuals with disabilities participated in programs at both the Pabst and Watertown branches. * Service without Boundaries program is a day program for adults with disabilities. The group is dedicated to doing service projects for community organizations and for the YMCA. The Service without Boundaries program has built relationships with the Oconomowoc Food Pantry, Zachariah's Acres and the Oconomowoc Public Library and volunteers bi-monthly at these locations. The group has also established a relationship with our childcare center called Difference Makers. Our adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities spend time with the students in our childcare center. They work on projects, play games, and have an amazing opportunity to get to know one another. Activities of daily living, social skills, physical activity, and a variety of learning opportunities are also a part of Service without Boundaries. This program meets a great need within the community that families had been asking for. They were looking for a place that could care for their adults with disabilities during the day that would be safe, fun, and would give them something meaningful to do. This program provides all of that and more. This program is running 4 days per week at our Pabst Farms location and opened in September of 2023 at our Watertown location 2 days per week. * Social Programs - Social programming offers respite opportunities for families while encouraging independence, social connections, and community integration for individuals with varying abilities. Participants partake in monthly events in the YMCA as well as summer programming opportunities. We provided monthly opportunities for socialization through Dinner and a Movie and Fun Friday. Summer programming offered a weekly hiking adventure day, and day trips twice a week to a variety of locations throughout our state. We also offered a variety of outings throughout the year to various sporting activities, water parks, and theater opportunities. * Adaptive sports programs and adaptive fitness programs provide athletes with varying abilities an opportunity to develop their fitness and sports skills while focusing on teamwork and sportsmanship. Adaptive Sports teams provided at the YMCA include softball, flag football, swimming, basketball, track and field, volleyball and bocce ball. For those who aren't interested in competitive sports or who are looking for additional opportunities to work on fitness both branches of our YMCA provide a weekly fitness program designed for individuals with disabilities. * Adaptive aquatics programming provides 1:1 swim lessons for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as individuals with physical disabilities. These lessons focus on swimmers of all levels from those who are just being introduced to water to those who are working to learn stroke development and increase endurance to participate in a swim team. Adaptive aquatics is an extremely important program helping individuals with disabilities to increase their water safety. In 2023 we started a developmental swim team for those who are ready to transition from one on one lessons to a group swim lesson designed to work on skills needed to be a part of the Special Olympics swim team in the future. Active Older Adults * Active Older Adults are an important part of our mission here at the Glacial Community YMCA. We offer both land-based and water-based exercise programs that enhance the lives of our seniors by increasing mobility and keeping them active. Not only do we offer programs for physical conditioning, but we also include a wide variety of social opportunities to keep the senior engaged spiritually and mentally. We have offered monthly bingo, a container gardening class, holiday gatherings, and a place to play the very popular game of Pickleball. The national support group for cardiac patients, Mended Hearts, has partnered with our Y to provide information and encouragement after a cardiac incident. We also partner with the Oconomowoc Area Senior Center to offer both local travel opportunities, as well as extended tours that take them to destinations around the U.S. We had 787 senior adults participate in these travel opportunities. In addition to these programs, you will find our seniors gathering in our cafe lobby, our whirlpool, the indoor track, and other areas of our facility for coffee, a snack, or a walk, connecting with others in conversation and laughter. We served 1,505 senior individuals in 2023 by engaging them in social programs. Spiritual Development The Glacial Community YMCA offers membership and community opportunities to strengthen individuals and families in spirit, mind, and body. In the area of spiritual development, we look to accomplish this through opportunities to develop and strengthen faith, service, and care for others. Weekly programs are offered through the Y such as Bible studies for men and women, small group studies on enrichment, times of prayer for staff and members in need, and avenues of service. Leadership development for all full-time staff is an important part of our culture. This is accomplished through quarterly training for staff, partnership with the Global Leadership Summit, and more. We also encourage our members and staff to participate through one or more of our mission trip experiences to our international partners of Esperanza Viva in Mexico or the YMCA of Valparaiso, Chile. To date we have sent two teams to serve our partner YMCA in Chile and we will send our sixth team to love, care and serve the children at Esperanza Viva in Puebla, Mexico this year. Our Y also has commissioned and supports a former staff member as a now full-time missionary at Esperanza Viva. She has served in that role since 2020. We also seek to provide local outreach and service opportunities in the communities in which we are located. This is done through programs like our Thanksgiving meal give-a-way. In 2023 we distributed over 200 meals in our Watertown and Oconomowoc communities to families in need. We have also partnered with area organizations like Feeding America, Milwaukee Rescue Mission, Loaves and Fishes and more to provide service opportunities for both staff and members. The Glacial Community YMCA is fully committed to our mission as a Christian organization by serving, caring, and loving the communities in which we are located.

Youth Development: Our YMCA nurtures the potential of every child through both full and part-time care options designed for the families we serve. Youth build meaningful relationships, lifelong memories, find a sense of accomplishment, and gain experience to discover the best version of themselves. Families and children across our programs learn how to build and enhance lives in our communities as strong kids, healthy families and capable citizens. Our early learning programs focus on holistically nurturing the child's development by providing a safe and healthy place to learn foundational skills, develop healthy, trusting relationships and build self-reliance through our five core values: caring, faith, honesty, respect and responsibility. On-site we offer accredited and licensed Child Care for children ages 6 weeks-6 years of age, Preschool Programs, Children's Movement Programs and Drop-Off Care for over 2,400 children. Off-site we provide a safe and engaging environment for school age children where they can explore nature, discover new talents, try new activities, gain independence, and make lasting friendships and memories for a lifetime. Serving 2,190 children, youth between 4K and 8th grade utilize our 17 state-licensed before and after school locations, 7 4K Wrap Around Care school locations, 3 Summer Day Camps, 6 Summer School Camps and Schools Out days programming. Our talented and intentionally trained staff are role models and professionals who serve with a caring heart. Staff complete value-focused activities with all youth while our inclusive care settings are centered on best practices for care and education for all.