When we think of family, it is hard to separate the important people who are closest to us, from the place where we feel belong with them – our home. While definitions of family and home are as varied as they are personal, it seems that the feelings we attach to the terms are the same. Safe, happy, a place where you belong and are accepted could be typical descriptions. At the YMCA of Simcoe Muskoka, we strive to ensure that every one of our health fitness and recreation centres provides our members with those feelings as well.
YMCA Health Fitness and Recreation Centres Provide a Place of Belonging
Beyond the brick and mortar, the facilities of the YMCA are home to youth and teens participating in leadership programs and camps, toddlers and children learning and growing in our childcare centres, older adults staying connected to their communities in fitness classes and adults staying committed to their health in our Wellness Centres. For many families, heading to the pool to spend a weekend afternoon swimming together, or connecting through a standing date to workout with your teen becomes a weekly event that families can look forward to together. The Y makes sure that families can afford access to a safe, happy place to belong and be accepted. The commitment to making sure individuals feel that sense of caring and belonging extends even further through our International Partnership with the YMCA in Sierra Leone.
Within our facilities, families get to experience and share in some of the defining moments of their lives, first dive off the side of the pool, swish of a basket after fifteen tries, meeting a lifelong friend or finally seeing the numbers you’ve been working towards on your bathroom scale. Each day, we have the honour of being part of our members’ families and are proud to be able to provide a place where every day moments can be celebrated.
On Family Day 2012, at the YMCAs across Simcoe Muskoka, families were able to celebrate by 
spending time together enjoying activities like swimming, Zumba classes, yoga and floor hockey. We welcomed hundreds of families across the area to our centres and were thrilled to hear the positive things families had to say about their day. You can share your experiences here by commenting on this blog.