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August 2013
YMCA of Timmins’s MobYle Program Goes Strong in the Streets
The four University students forming this year’s MobYle
team pose with the truck provided by Timmins Honda.
In its fourth year of operation, the MobYle Program is going strong this
summer. The YMCA of Timmins sent the team back on the road to keep
young people active in different areas of the city.
Comprised of four undergrads from various universities in Ontario, the
MobYle team visits different spots for 90-minute segments where they
organize games and activities that involve hula hoops, balls and obstacle
courses as well as football dummies.
“We have more on order of these. The kids just tackle these dummies at
the end of the obstacle course and they love it,” said Wayne Bozzer, YMCA
of Timmins’s Executive Director.
The YMCA started this program four years ago when it noticed that
community programs faded away by not longer providing supervisors on
playgrounds to organize activities.
The city and local businesses are partners including Timmins Honda that
provided the truck carrying all the equipment from site to site. “We are just
trying to work in collaboration with as many people as possible to make
our children more active,” said Bozzer.
YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford: YMCA Wanakita staff members Shannon Blanchard, Sarah Bell and Kathy Peterson
received the Commissioner’s Citation for Lifesaving from the Ontario Provincial Police for their role in a heroic rescue after a man
and his dog fell through the ice. The women came across the incident in Norland, Ontario while driving to Barrie.
Read the story.
YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka: Huntsville Strong Kids Golf Tournament
The 2nd Annual Adult & Youth Golf Tournament benefiting the YMCA Strong Kids
Campaign took place on July 6th at the Deerhurst Resort in Hunstville.
Organized by the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka, this event is one of the few of its kind on
Ontario that get teams of adults and youth together for a day of golf.
Brent McIntosh, Job Developer at the YMCA Employment & Literacy Service in Hunstville,
took upon the role of organizing the tournament. In order to be prepared, McIntosh
attended philanthropy training at YMCA Gevena Park.
“Through this training, I kept hearing the phrase ‘strong kids, strong kids’ and it resonated.
The tournament had to be about kids, too,” he said.
Golf tournaments always are a challenge in terms of effectiveness and impact, but it was
a motivator. “When we came up with this, we knew it fitted our brand, and we worked with
the planning and philanthropy teams to build the business case,” said McIntosh.
It worked. This year’s event doubled the 2012 results by 25 per cent with 22 teams
registered from as far away as Toronto and Stratford.
YMCA Ontario News
The YMCA of Northumberland Makes a Difference
Daniel at the YMCA of Northumberland
during one of his numerous weekly visits.
The YMCA of Kingston:
Celebrating a Milestone
In June, The YMCA of Kingston
celebrated the 25th Anniversary of
Vicki Keith’s historic achievement of
swimming across all five Great Lakes
in a single summer.
More than 10 years ago, Vicki
formed a swim team (the Y
Penguins) at the YMCA of Kingston
for children with physical disabilities
and their able-bodied siblings. In
the Kingston community, there were
numerous recreational opportunities
for able-bodied children and Special
Olympics provided programs
for people with intellectual and
cognitive disabilities, but there was
a void of programs for children with
physical disabilities.
The celebration took place aboard
the Kingston 1000 Island Cruises
marquee boat, the Island Queen.
Guests were treated to a musical set
by Juno-nominated band the Great
Lake Swimmers.
The YMCA of Kingston was
pleased to honour not only Vicki’s
historic accomplishment, but also
her tremendous commitment to the
YMCA and her community. Proceeds
from the event went to the Y
Penguins that has grown to become
the largest swim team in Ontario for
children with disabilities.
Daniel suffers from mental illness, struggles with addiction and he had to
rebuild his life. The YMCA of Northumberland makes a difference in Daniel’s
life as it has given him a serene place with people to trust and where he can
manage his independence.
Every time Daniel goes at an Extreme Fit class at the YMCA, he reaches a
milestone. Daniel loves this class, because he describes himself as an extreme
guy that pushes himself really hard, so this class suits his personality. He
has overcome feelings of being an outsider and he is currently building
relationships with other participants.
Thanks to financial assistance from YMCA Strong Kids, Daniel also comes to
the YMCA once a week with transportation help from a local access initiative.
Daniel says that coming to the YMCA is a total change from his everyday life.
He really looks forward to his YMCA Fridays!
Outside of this weekly class, he also swims, and enjoys the showers and hot
tub. When Daniel is not at the YMCA, he spends his days volunteering at a
horse farm, market farm and the Warkworth Penitentiary amongst others.
The YMCA brings balance to Daniel’s life, making him feel that he makes
healthy choices, meet people and keep the addictions at bay.
YMCA of Western Ontario: Community School Programs Rock!
The YMCA of Western Ontario has been running Community School Programs
for over 13 years, and it has been so successful that more schools in St. Thomas and
Woodstock (thanks to United Way for their continued funding ) areas also started
benefiting from them.
These unique and literacy-based recreational programs are offered during recess,
lunch and after school hours. They are also run at a very low cost to support children,
who might not be able to participate otherwise.
It is the case for one of the child involved in several clubs such as floor hockey and
Summer Fun Club. He came into the program with a lack of social skills and anger
issues. When the programs started to be available near his home, he was able to
participate and over the years, he made a meaningful connection between adult role
models and the school environment. He also developed anger management strategies
and communication skills.
In 2012-2013, these programs provided opportunities for over 5,000 participants
across the region. A librarian in the Woodstock Community School noted that
circulation rates at the library had doubled in the first year of the Reading Fever Club.
Left: Vicki Keith
receiving her
own portrait
painted by Cyndy
Robinson, Manager
of Marketing &
Communications
at the YMCA of
Brockville and Area.
Right: Children
involved in
Community School
Programs run.
Credit: Alex Schmoll
2 - YMCA Ontario News
YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford:
YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford:
YMCA Wanakita’s 60th Anniversary
Building a Kitchen in the Canadian Wilderness
When teacher Sandra Mitchell takes student groups to YMCA Wanakita
each spring for a leadership retreat, she’s bringing the world.
Students attending the downtown Hamilton high school hail from over
72 countries and many follow the cultures, traditions and religions of their
homeland. They are prime examples of why the YMCA recently invested
$1.85 million into a massive kitchen/dining hall renovation at the camp.
The kitchen area tripled in space giving staff more room to prepare
meals for the thousands of campers, who dine there year-round.
Renovations also allow them to meet the culinary needs of the camp’s
increasingly diverse population with kosher, halal, vegetarian and vegan
dietary requirements.
Visitors with food allergies or who require gluten-free diets can also be
easily accommodated. The new kitchen equipment was funded by an
Ontario Trillium grant of $320,000.
Ms. Mitchell’s group consisted of 50 student leaders, and several of them
had halal dietary requirements where meat must be prepared in a way
that’s permissible according to Islamic law.
“Being able to serve all visitors is extremely important to the YMCA,
because we’re committed to being inclusive,” said Brian Posavad, Vice
President of Facility Development and Membership Operations at the
YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford.
Viewers watching CHCH TV’s Morning Live show on
August 19th will notice some significant changes to the
set that day. The YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford
recently finalized a partnership that will see the show
broadcast live from YMCA Wanakita. Sponsored by U.S.
Steel, the show is one element of a comprehensive
marketing and communication plan to support awareness
and ticket sales for YMCA Wanakita’s 60th anniversary
event in September.
The broadcast will be hosted by CHCH Morning Live’s
Annette Hamm, Bob Cowan and Lesley Stewart. It will
feature 16 segments, each 5 minutes long, highlighting
various elements of the camp as well as calls to action
at each commercial break directing viewers to the
YMCA website for more information. As part of advance
promotions, viewers had an opportunity to win passes for
four to New Year’s Family Camp.
The YMCA Wanakita communication’s plan also includes
a recently-launched facebook app and a 60th Anniversary
supplement published in June in The Hamilton Spectator.
The YMCA of Brockville and Area’s Strong Kids Video
Some of the local talents that worked together and appeared on the YMCA Strong Kids video.
Credit: John Porter & Andrew Kizell. © CJ Cochrane - used
with permission
The YMCA of Brockville and Area would like to thank the many hard working
individuals, who came together to make the Strong Kids “Reach” video a
success. Over one million world-wide views in the first month made it a star on
YouTube, and MTV News featured the video on its Facebook page.
The video was designed to help the YMCA gains awareness and funds for
the 2013 Strong Kids Campaign. Every time the video was viewed, a private
sponsor made a donation to the YMCA. It means that the average person
helped without paying a cent. Our team of youth volunteers had a fun time
participating in the making of this musical video that is now used to promote
the Strong Kids Campaign.
Many local talents worked together including the YMCA’s Tomorrow’s Leaders
Today youth group; Video Communication’s legendary video producer and
director, CJ Cochrane; award-winning local dance studio Broadway Dance
Academy; Gemini award-winning music producer Michel DeMars, and local
choreographer Kelli Gautreau.
What’s Happening
YMCA Ontario RDC Upcoming Events
t&OUSZ-FWFM.BOBHFNFOU5SBJOJOH4FQUFNCFSrd to 25th, 2013
t.JE-FWFM.BOBHFNFOU5SBJOJOH0DUPCFSth to 31st, 2013