WE’RE BUILDING STRONG FAMILIES YMCA
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT TO OUR COMMUNITIES YMCAs of Cambridge & Kitchener-Waterloo
PARTNERING WITH PARENTS TO CARE FOR CHILDREN. Placing your young child in someone else’s care is rarely an easy decision—even more so if it’s your first child. You want to be confident that quality care is provided, that the staff are competent and most importantly that your child receives the support, encouragement and opportunities he or she needs to learn and grow as a person. The best case scenario is to find a partner to challenge your child to dream and achieve. Parents tell us that YMCA Child Care is the partner that they seek. The feedback is that our centres are more than just a place to keep a child busy and safe, that they play an important role in building strong kids and strong families. One example is the Perrin family from outside Ayr.
We’re Building Strong, Healthy
ion Numbers
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250 Hespeler Road 3H3 Cambridge, ON N1R 519-623-9622
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Credits Editor: James Howe Nathan Robertson Graphic Design: Lisa Malleck Photos: right on back cover) and p. 6, p. 14 and middle Scott (except p. 1 small, Wendy Angel / Caryn Cover Illustration:
instead of virgin Rolland Enviro100 Print By using 994 lb. of Cascades footprint of: YMCAs’ ecological fibres paper reduces the 8 trees 537 lb of solid waste 5,067 gallons of water in the water 3.4 lb of suspended particles 1,179 lb of air emissions (cascades.com) gas 1,229 cubic feet of natural
“The YMCA has done a great job in ensuring that I am aware of what is going on in class, upcoming events the kids are talking about and Jackson’s progress. I highly recommend it. My husband and I can perform our jobs confident that he is in great hands, having fun and expanding his knowledge every day. I look forward one day to sending our baby Charlie there too.”
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YMCA Child Care
“Since being at YMCA Child Care, Jackson has gained unbelievable independence in numerous areas such as individual play, personal hygiene WE BUILD and crafts,” said his mother Kristi. He has STRONG STRONG ITIES gained great confidence in his abilities toONcarry ILIES COMMUN STR G KIDS FAM out numerous tasks and has great pride in his YOU CAN TOO! accomplishments. It is hard for me to describe how he has excelled as a young boy since he has been there.”
Communities
...By Building
Strong Families
LOO BRIDGE & KITCHENER-WATER YMCAs OF CAM MENT FOUNDATION K-W YMCA ENDOW
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Donor Insert - 30% Post Consumer Waste
The YMCAs of Cambridge & Kitchener-Waterloo are pleased to present highlights of our annual report to our communities. A PDF version of the complete Report to Our Communities including financial highlights and the 2008 Donor Report is available online. Hardcopies may also be requested at all YMCA program sites or by e-mailing ymcastories@ckwymca.ca.
kwymca.org ymcacambridge.com
MESSAGE TO OUR COMMUNITIES A common plan for the future
The last year has been an extremely busy one for the YMCAs of Cambridge & KitchenerWaterloo. We have been fine-tuning how collaboration works and planning for the future. We are pleased to report that this process is essentially complete and that we can now actively work to the benefit of the communities we serve. Essentially, collaboration means that two independent YMCAs have chosen to work together “as if ” they were one while retaining their status as separate legal entities. For example, our boards meet at the same time and place, but we vote separately on common issues and each board retains full control over policies specific to its Y.
Our most significant accomplishment has been to develop a common strategic plan that includes a common mission, vision and values. In order to enjoy the greatest benefit from our new relationship, it was critical that we share a common vision for the future and a plan for getting there.
We are already seeing the benefits from collaboration. For example, A.R. Kaufman Family YMCA now offers specialty day camps based on the Cambridge model and the Chaplin Family YMCA has a Newcomer Youth Program based on the model developed in Kitchener-Waterloo.
We are confident that we will live in stronger, healthier communities in three years time as a result of our YMCAs’ efforts. We will do so by being innovative and collaborative. We will strategically seek to:
We are proud that we have accomplished all this while continuing to be financially healthy and serving thousands of people in high quality, values-based programs.
• Do more by touching every family in the region. • Focus on expanding programs for seniors and newcomers to Canada. • Develop strategic relationships with other organizations that promote healthy communities. • Build organizational capacity that will allow us to achieve our strategic goals.
Over the next few years, our region will have many challenges and opportunities. We are confident that we are well-positioned to meet them and continue building strong kids, strong families and strong communities. Sincerely,
Bruce McDonough Chair, YMCA of Cambridge
Mike Stork President, KW YMCA
Chaplin Family YMCA Alex Thomson-Proctor loves his hip-hop class. He moves with enthusiasm and displays a growing sense of confidence as a performer. He gives his awesome instructor Mason a lot of credit for being so encouraging. At the same time, Alex’s sister Grace is participating in Kids Zone and his older brother Ryen Wilson and mother Maggie Proctor can use the cardio machines in the conditioning centre. It is a typical Wednesday night for the family at the Chaplin Family YMCA. They also enjoy badminton on Tuesdays and Mom gets to work out on Thursdays when the kids are at swimming lessons.
Alex at Hip-Hop Class
GROWING STRONGER AS A FAMILY.
“Having the kids involved in activities at the Y, helps me to get me there,” said Maggie. “I figure that I should get active too instead of just waiting for them, so I do!” By giving the Proctor family a chance to get active together, Maggie believes that her kids can build healthy habits that can help them throughout their lives. “ I appreciate the role
models they find at the Y and the values-based programming.”
Grace in the Kids Zone
But the benefits to the family extend beyond improving their physical health, “Spending this
time together, opens up the lines of communication,” said Maggie. “As a result, we’re stronger as a family.”
Maggie and Ryen exercising in the conditioning centre
Spend time at a Family YMCA any evening or weekend and you are sure to see a wide range of families. A similar sense of belonging and finding their family becoming ‘something more’ is a common experience as each family member grows healthier in spirit, mind and body.
MATCHING FAMILIES. SHARING WORLDS AND FRIENDSHIP.
The newcomer family Yesid Mejia, Yanin Molina & Nicolle Mejia get together with their host family Corena, Dane, Nate, Judah, and Asher (not in photo) Knechtel for dinner in Kitchener.
YMCA Host Program The YMCA Host Program has evolved quite a bit since it started in 1985. There is a Mentorship Program for internationallytrained professionals, an older adult program and friendship and tutoring programs for newcomer children and youth in schools. At its core though is what is now called the YMCA Host Friendship Program. This program matches newcomers to Canada with Canadian hosts. The emphasis is to use
social situations to help the newcomer to adapt to their lives in Canada while improving their language. Matches are carefully made so that there is a natural fit based upon interests, stage of life and professional background. So since some newcomers arrive as a family or have kids shortly after arriving, the Host Friendship Program matches them up as closely as possible with a Canadian family. Yesid Mejia and Yanin Molina from Columbia expressed the benefits of this program from the newcomers’ perspective,
WHO WE SERVE
64,766
Participants in YMCA Programs and Services including
33,120
participants under 18 YMCA of Cambridge
2,261 people received $593,517 in assistance Kitchener-Waterloo YMCA
5,066 people received $575,101 in assistance
“We share our customs and traditions and learn about each other. We also learn about Canadian culture and what we should expect living in this new community. Our volunteers always give us advice and it makes our adaptation process easier. They are very supportive.” Their host family also benefits. “Yesid and
Yanin are a delight. Having relationships with people from outside the West opens your eyes to how insulated we are against world events and the resulting quality of life most of the world endures. Our perspective changes and it affects how we live our lives,” said Corena Knechtel.
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3 Yes! I want to help the YMCA o
build strong kids, strong families and strong communities.
o YMCA of Cambridge
o KW YMCA
o K-W YMCA Endowment Foundation Gift Amount: o $50 o $100 o $250 o other___________
Or
FOCUSSING ON WELLNESS, NOT ILLNESS.
I would like to make a monthly gift of $_______________ on my credit card or via pre-authorized payments.
Contact Information Circle one: Mr / Mrs / Miss / Ms/ Dr Last Name: First Name: Business Name: Address:
The Grupp/Honeyford Family together at the A. R. Kaufman Family YMCA
City: Prov:
Postal Code:
The above address is a o Home Phone: H (
)
Phone: B (
o Business )
Email:
Methods of Payment o cash o credit card
o cheque o void cheque (monthly only)
Credit Card type: o VISA o MasterCard o American Express (Cambridge Only) Card No:
Exp. Date:
/
Name on Card: Signature: NOTE: If you selected void cheque for monthly payment, please enclose a cheque marked VOID from the bank account you with to access.
o I do not wish my name listed in publications o I have named the YMCA in my will Mail to: YMCA Financial Development, 460 Frederick St., Suite 203, Kitchener, N2H 2P5 By using 816 lb. of Cascades Rolland Enviro100 Print instead of virgin fibres paper reduces the YMCAs’ ecological footprint of: 7 trees 441 lb of solid waste 4160 gallons of water 2.8 lb of suspended particles in the water 968 lb of air emissions 1,009 cubic feet of natural gas (cascades.com)
YMCA Strong Kids Campaign Life sometimes takes unexpected twists and turns. Everything may seem to be going according to plan—jobs, marriage, kids—and then life takes an unexpected u-turn. Just when you most need things like support, stress relief, activities for your child and achieving good health through active living, they can appear out of reach. That’s where the YMCA steps in and connects people with what they need. By providing them with financial assistance, all families can afford these and other benefits that come from participating in YMCA programs and services. An important source of this assistance comes from the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign. The Grupp/Honeyford family knows first hand how unexpected events can change your life. When Bennett was about six months old,
Kim was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and Matt gave up his small business to focus on being a caregiver. Nearly three years later, Kim is adapting to a disability related to her cancer.
“Thanks to generous YMCA Strong Kids donors, we enjoy a family membership at the A.R. Kaufman Family YMCA. The welcoming, energetic environment is key to our well being as a family and as individuals,” said Kim. We look forward to one day supporting the campaign.” The family’s YMCA experience extends beyond the Family YMCA. Bennett attends a YMCA Child Care and a YMCA Day Camp. And Kim spent a decade of summers at YMCA Camp Wabanaki. All gifts to the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign stay in the communities each YMCA serves. To read more stories about the campaign’s impact, visit ymcastrongkids.ca.
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What is your YMCA story?
How has your involvement with the YMCA made an impact on your life? Share your story for possible inclusion in this newsletter or our e-newsletter, by sending it to ymcastories@ckwymca.ca
kwymca.org ymcacambridge.com The YMCA of Cambridge’s Charitable Registration # BN 11930 7098 RR0001 The Kitchener-Waterloo YMCA’s Charitable Registration # BN 10757 2687 RR0001