Take a Y Tour Online!

Posted on June 26, 2012 by ymcalouisvilleblog

Our YMCA tour videos are done and posted on our site and we are so excited to share them with you! Today we are featuring our Bullitt County Family YMCA.

Take a tour of our Bullitt County Family YMCA!

Vote in Kentucky–May 22

Posted on May 14, 2012 by bethbissmeyer

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your note is never lost — John Quincy Adams

If you want to get me riled up (and why would you want to do a thing like that?), you can tell me you’re not voting because your vote “doesn’t count.” Few utterances make me want to jump from my chair and shake a person like this one. When I turned 18, the most exciting thing for me was to register to vote, and I have voted in every primary and general election since. I love voting!

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that there is plenty that needs fixing in our electoral systems, from policies that disenfranchise citizens to confusion over what races to vote in, but even with these different problems, voting and having a say in who represents you in government is too important a right to squander. Seriously, I could go on and on and on about voting and the importance of civic engagement in and outside the polling booth (stop by the Southwest YMCA and maybe we can chat about it some more). Heck, it wasn’t all that long ago that women had to fight for the right to cast a vote in this country. That reason alone is compelling enough for me to vote–to honor the women who worked so hard to give me that right.

Kentuckians have a chance to exercise their right to vote next Tuesday, May 22nd in the state’s primary election. Voter turnout in primaries is often dismal, but this is an exciting year, especially for Louisvillians as many races for State House, State Senate, and Metro Council have multiple candidates running in both parties. If you’re unsure of where to vote, visit the Board of Elections site to locate your polling place and what districts you’re in. And take the time to educate yourself before voting. So often, especially with smaller local races, people may not know who is on the ballot until Election Day, so check out a sample ballot for your area and learn more about the candidates. I always appreciate this nonpartisan voter guide put out each election cycle that publishes candidates’ responses to surveys on issues impacting Kentuckians.

Polls are open 6am to 6pm next Tuesday, May 22nd–don’t forget to vote!

Philanthropy…What It Really Means

Posted on March 13, 2012 by ymcalouisvilleblog

Today we have a guest blog post from our fearless leader and CEO, Steve Tarver…

The last 10 days have been an incredible set of experiences both professionally and personally. Last Thursday, I returned from a 6 day trip to Hong Kong. I flew from Hong Kong to Boston and then drove to Newport, Rhode Island, where I watched my son graduate from Naval Officer Development School. Both experiences were unbelievable privileges to experience. In the middle of it all, our own community had to respond to the weather related needs.

I was able to spend time at the Hong Kong YMCA, a 110 year old organization with a rich history in this bustling city of 7.5 million people living in a very small area. It’s a very diverse city that has history, modern business, great wealth, and poverty all within blocks of each other. Hong Kong has the greatest wealth gap in the world.

I was there to share case studies on membership, youth development, and community health. (This was a result of the Louisville YMCA’s reputation in these areas. Thanks to all our staff and volunteers for allowing this to be the case.) Included in the group were representatives from the Asia Pacific Alliance of YMCAs made up of 27 countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines, among others.

During the presentation on community health, I was talking about diabetes, obesity, and tobacco policy, lifestyle for granted when the initial issues raised were malnutrition, malaria, and dengue (acute viral disease similar to malaria also called “breakbone disease”). The Y’s located there are doing amazing work in health, community development, education, and human rights.

Even in Hong Kong, I became aware of the severe weather rolling in. Fortunately, our immediate area was spared, unlike our neighbors just to the north. Our terrific staff began to look at ways to help before the wind stopped blowing. Laurie Madden from challenged us to help. Melanie Cox made contact with a local church in Henryville. Andy Pierce coordinated with the Red Cross. Within hours, each of our Y’s, had set up collection stations and lists of needed items. Many staff, members, neighbors, and volunteers contributed in many ways – communication, coordination, logistics, and delivery.

It started by providing 20 tables to a church so that meals could be served. Following were 3 trailer loads of supplies, mostly cleaning supplies and toiletries. One of our members, a five year old girl, however, donated her personal bible given to her as an infant…”I want those children to have it, Momma,” she said.

The Y family gave until being told that the need had been met. All done within about 72 hours. Do you see why I say so frequently what a privilege it is to serve with our staff and volunteers?

My son is now a Lieutenant in the US Navy. He will serve as an audiologist at the 29 Palms Marine Base in California. The Naval Station Newport is on a peninsula where it is very cold and windy this time of year. My son told of training in the “Rose Garden” (a sand pit) and highly regimented procedures, meal times, and great honor in the work that is done. I was able to observe some of the closing training activities including comments of the “Chief” – their drill instructor, and several of the staff officers. Even though the Chief had frequently kicked their butts, woke them with whistles and bullhorns (sometimes after only 30-60 minutes of sleep), and took them to the Rose Garden, they loved the guy.

I was touched by a couple of things. First was the amazing commitment that these men and women have to the protection of our freedom and rights – past, present, and future. There are regular references to the willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice in these protections. How many of us profess a willingness to die as part of our jobs?

Second were the comments made by Chief Hebert (pronounced a’-bear). He gave them 5 guidelines for success. The first was, “Integrity is everything. Without integrity, you have nothing and are lost.”

The second comment was, “There is no room for ‘drama’. You must maintain a focus on the MISSION!”

And this brings us to today. Our Annual Giving Campaign is not about drama. It’s about a passionate commitment to allowing those in our community that can benefit from a relationship with the YMCA to become part of the Y family. You have heard many stories of the impact of these experiences.

Philanthropy – from Greek, “to love people”. We are blessed to have such an attitude in our country. That’s all we are offering to our friends and colleagues –please focus on the mission!

Thank you for your PHILANTHROPY!

Y VENDING GETS A FACELIFT!

Posted on March 1, 2012 by ebrownlouisville

Let’s face it, the vending machine has historically been a dangerous place for anyone trying to limit their heart attacks to one per lifetime.

“Hmm…should I go with the Snicker’s bar or the Doritos? I mean, it was a pretty tough workout, maybe I should go with something like that Honey Bun.”

But, fear no more! The Y is helping its members choose healthier snacks with less effort! Not only are we applying a new, easy to read labeling system, but many branches are improving the very options they are providing. By decreasing the amount of total fat and added sugar in our vending machines and increasing the amount of natural energy sources like nuts, you will be provided with the nourishment you need during your daily visits to the Y!

Look for the green, yellow, and red labels coming to your vending machines soon! Stick to the green and yellow items for healthier choices!!!

Guest post by our Southeast Family YMCA Executive Director!

Posted on February 15, 2012 by ymcalouisvilleblog

Wow, January is over now. What an amazing experience working at a Y is for the month of January. The volume of people in and out of our facility is tremendous with new folks joining and other members committing to life changes.

What a wonderful opportunity our new and old members present to us. The YMCA of Greater Louisville has 3894 over 8000 people that are now part of our family. Those people chose to join this YMCA, chose to trust us with the responsibility to help them accomplish a change or improvement in their life. Let’s face it, everyone has a reason for joining or continuing to be a member of the YMCA. If you are joining you have a need or dissatisfaction that you think the YMCA can help you solve. For each of our staff and volunteers the responsibility of being that “solution” is very important to us.

We go about that in a variety of ways:

- We continue to be told via both surveys and anecdotal comments that we have the friendliest staff around and that is not an accident. We do want the environment here to be friendly, welcoming and genuinely supportive. But it is not just a staff thing, our members have in large part created that as well. Watching new folks embraced and adopted into the group is gratifying to see; it reflects the environment here.

- We are following up in writing, electronically and on the phone with all of our new members to check on the progress they are making. Also, we are encouraging each new member to have an individual appointment with a member of our staff team in an area they are interested in such as: aquatics, wellness, group exercise or family programming. These meetings will help set realistic goals and help our staff do a better job of following up in a personal and meaningful way. We really do want to help every one of our member achieve and succeed.

- New member survey’s and member satisfaction survey’s are a tool we really rely on to learn how people feel about the experience and what we can do better to help our members reach their individual measures of success.

Hopefully we can see continued success and many of our newest members will be with us for a long period of time and what we do the YMCA can help them.

A tour of the unknown

Posted on December 9, 2011 by jaclynacree6314

Giving tours is something that I do daily at the Southeast Family YMCA. I love giving tours actually and always jump to the opportunity to meet someone seeking healthy living. I noticed about four months ago, that some areas of our Y I didn’t really truly have an understanding for myself. So I challenged myself to learn more and use the facility more in all areas.

Now, as a front desk membership staff, I not only just use the treadmill for running. I challenged myself to lift more weights, use the cycles, as well as try out our elliptical machines to see which ones I saw the most results from. I asked my boss to change my schedule a little so that I could swim some evenings before I go home. Please keep in mind I haven’t been swimming for the last ten years, so my skills are a bit shaky. Through expanding my own Y experiences, when I give tours, I feel like I can offer more and really understand where people are coming from. It helps me to be more encouraging toward their goals, and to understand why they love to swim so much! I would like to encourage other people who are the “face” of the Y to seek healthy living ourselves to set an example. Through this little challenge, I have had the chance to meet more members who are making work an even greater place to come to each day. Work feels now more like I’m hanging out with my family all day. It’s a truly grand and rewarding feeling.

We have had a front desk challenge the last few weeks, and this is greatly strengthening our front desk team at the Southeast Y. We are preparing for January and want to be a knowledgeable and fun front desk staff, that will make our current members and future members feel great! We have all agreed to focus on what is at hand and performing at our best. The past few months working at the Southeast YMCA has been nothing but a joyous occasion, and we can’t wait for all our members to see the fun events we’ve planned for them in January! God Bless, and Merry Christmas!

Ryan tells his Y story

Posted on December 6, 2011 by ymcalouisvilleblog

Ryan needed a change and we were here to help…

Cheap Temptations

Posted on December 1, 2011 by joaniegillis

So, whose eyes have been scarred by the distaste of LivingSocial today? Can you hardly believe their national deal of the day is 50% off McDonalds; 5 Big Macs and 5 large fries for $13? Seriously?! By 11:30am (less than 12 hours after the deal was launched!) over 103,000 had already been purchased. *Hanging my head in shame.*

I don’t know about you but when this “beaut” came through my email inbox, my jaw dropped, I did a double take, and my blood pressure instantly spiked. Who do they think they are?! LivingSocial offers to companies worldwide the opportunity to sell their products or experiences at discounted rates to consumers who may not, given any other situation, notice or purchase their goods. LivingSocial consequently offers consumers the opportunity to save money, seek new opportunities, and support their communities. Seems like a win-win, yeah? Right, it normally is, except for when the world’s largest hamburger-chain restaurant decides to take advantage of LivingSocial’s influential marketing opportunity and contributes to the nation’s growing obesity epidemic. Thanks a lot, Mickey-D’s.

This week, Prevention magazine released an article listing the 8 most artery-clogging cities in America. Guys, we made the cut! Ugh. Yep, Louisville came in at #8. The article so disturbingly described how McDonald’s (coincidence? I think not) has more restaurants per capita in Louisville than any other city in America. Disgusting.

Here’s the kicker. I’m not personally opposed to McDonald’s selling their goods on a site like LivingSocial, but what I don’t understand is why they didn’t take such an amazing opportunity (LivingSocial reaches nearly 46 million people annually!) to market the good (nutritionally) options they’ve added to their menu! You know, the things they spend so much money trying to get people to realize they have in the first place! Think for a minute, where was the last time you saw a McDonald’s ad referencing a healthy option on their menu? I saw some apple slices and milk (which they apparently add to every ‘Happy Meal’ now?) on the back of a TARC bus just yesterday. This shows they’re trying. If McDonald’s had offered a LivingSocial Deal of the Day for their Fruit & Yogurt Parfait, apple slices, or a salad, even I would have considered purchasing it!

…And you know what? I bet more than 103,000 would have sold in the first 11.5 hours, too.

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