YMCA Blast by the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati

Our Blog Has Moved

Thank you for stopping by. We hope that you will visit us at our new location. Our new YMCA of Greater Cincinnati blog is now located at http://learngrowthriveymca.com.

Also, we welcome you to follow us on Twitter @ymcagrcinti or on Facebook.

Let's Talk Diabetes...A Twitter Chat

 

Learn about our upcoming FREE YMCA Diabetes Self Management Education Program here.

YMCA Black & Latino Teen Achievers Program Gearing Up For School Year

We had a great turnout this past weekend for our YMCA Black & Latino Teen Achievers (college readiness) Program held at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. Thank you to all of our volunteers – and to the students and parents who will be participating in our 2010 to 2011 school year. 

If you couldn’t make it, it is not too late to enroll your student. Please visit www.myy.org to learn more about how we are inspiring young people to pursue their destiny through the Program.

 

M.E. Lyons YMCA Members Celebrate Their Instructor's Birthday

Always great to hear members tell us how much the YMC has impacted them. Connie Ganim wrote us about how her taking Lynn Montag’s pump & jump and body sculpting classes at the ME Lyons YMCA changed Connie’s life. Together with other classmates they surprised Lynn and all wore ‘Body by Lynn’ t-shirts in honor of their instructor’s 45th birthday. What a fun thought to celebrate strong bodies and spirit at the YMCA.

YMCA Camp Ernst Ends 83rd Season With S'More Festival

What better way to end the 83rd  season for one of the Tri-State’s largest residential summer camps, the YMCA’s Camp Ernst, than to invite the community for an afternoon of Camp Ernst-style fun – all for a good cause.

S'More Festival will be Sunday, September 12 (from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.). A week’s worth of camp will be packed into four hours of horseback riding, tractor rides, swooshing down a giant water slide, riding the banana boat or the zip line, practicing the climbing wall, eating snowcones, making s’mores and much more. And…only at S’More Festival will adults be campers for the day right alongside kids, and it’s going to be soooo much fun! The event will be held at YMCA Camp Ernst, 7615 Camp Ernst Road in Burlington, Kentucky.

Visitors will also be helping to raise funds so that 300 kids whose families have financial difficulties can participate in Camp Ernst next year. A small fee will be collected for each activity at S’More Festival.

More than 3,000 children and teens ages 6 to 15 attend the YMCA’s Camp Ernst in Burlington, Kentucky each year.

To learn more, please call YMCA Camp Ernst at 859-586-6181.

Participants Of R.C. Durr YMCA's Lose II Win Are Inspired To Live Healthier

Burlington’s R.C. Durr YMCA is currently accepting registration for its 2010 season Lose II Win 12-week program aimed at encouraging participants to lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle.

 

Now in its seventh season, last year’s R.C. Durr YMCA Lose II Win participants lost a collective 268 pounds and nearly 179 inches, and recorded over 2387 miles of steps. 

 

Women and men support each other with the nurturing guidance and leadership of a YMCA personal trainer in a fun environment. Participants meet weekly on Mondays for sessions that include nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle education; cardiovascular and strength training exercises; and a weigh-in. Additionally, participants are expected to commit to exercising independently either at the YMCA or in the community. There will be weekly prizes for weight loss and an overall prize at the end.

 

Lose II Win will meet Mondays beginning September 13 either from 11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. or from 6:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the R.C. Durr YMCA (5874 Veterans Way; Burlington, Ky 41005). Cost is $199 for members and $399 for non-members (the fee includes a three-month YMCA membership).  

 

For more information or to register, the public can call Lori Deutscher at the R.C. Durr YMCA, 859-534-5700 or email ldeutscher@cincinnatiymca.org.

P&G Employees Beautified Our Gamble Nippert YMCA

Seventy five Procter & Gamble Company’s North America marketing employees recently volunteered resources and their day to beautify and enhance our Gamble Nippert YMCA. Outside they landscaped and mulched, and cleaned and stained the preschool playground. Meanwhile other volunteers were busy painting rooms and the stairwell. In the Y’s preschool and childwatch area P&G staff replaced cabinets and counters, and event painted a mural on the wall.

The P&G Live, Learn, and Thrive corporate cause seeks to improve life for children in need ages 0-13.  This includes helping them get off to a healthy start, provide access to educational facilities, and build skills for life.  We are improving the lives of roughly 50 million children in need around the world with programs like Children’s Safe Drinking Water, Crest Healthy Smiles, and Hope Schools in China.  Please visit the Live, Learn, and Thrive website for more information.

YMCA Holding FREE Diabetes Self Management Education Program

With funding from the Ohio Department of Health, the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati is registering people who have diabetes for a FREE 10-week self management education program taught by a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator, as well as a YMCA fitness specialist. The Program will begin the week of September 14 and will be held at three Cincinnati branches.

Over the course of ten weeks, the classes will focus on healthy eating (includes cooking demonstration and grocery shopping), exercise, goal setting, and physiology of the disease. At the end of the program those who complete 90% of the classes will receive a FREE 6-month membership to the YMCA. NOTE: For a list of week-by-week classes, please see the graphic below. 

Pre-registration and a physician referral are required. It is open to adults age 18 and over who have diabetes. Participants can choose to attend classes at one of these YMCA of Greater Cincinnati branches:

Clippard Family YMCA in Colerain Township (8920 Cheviot Rd; 45251)
9/14 to 11/19
10:30 a.m.

Carl H. Lindner YMCA in Cincinnati's West End (1425B Linn St; 45214)
9/15 to 11/20
6:00 p.m.

Melrose YMCA in Walnut Hills (2840 Melrose Ave; 45206)
9/16 to 11/21
6:00 p.m.

To register or receive additional information, the public can call Amy Poetker, MS, RD, CDE, YMCA director of diabetes prevention, at 513-362-9622.

(NOTE: to see the full graphic, please click on it to enlarge)

Dana Ensley Is Campbell County YMCA's New Executive Director

Dana Ensley is the new executive director of the Campbell County YMCA. A strategic thinker and organizer, Dana sees the YMCA as a partner and collaborator to develop young people to their fullest potential, build healthier lives, and promote social responsibility.

Prior to joining the team at the Campbell County YMCA, she was associate executive director at the Clippard Family YMCA for five years. While there she supported the district vice president with day-to-day administration; and worked with members, the community and staff on a number of initiatives that have engaged people of all ages. She led her branch’s annual support campaign and directed Clippard’s unique YZONE Interactive Gaming Center prototype, was a Champion Team member for the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati strategic vision plan, and has provided senior leadership as co-chair for the association’s Health and Wellness Task Team. She has also directed the association’s Ohio State funded diabetes prevention program.

Dana has a bachelor of science degree with a concentration on exercise science and master of science degree with a concentration on adult fitness from Madison University; and has also earned YUSA organizational leader certification. In 2009 she was recognized as Association of YMCA Professionals (AYP) Chapter 32 director of the year, with an association leadership award and a program excellence award.

“Working for the YMCA has been a great way to make a positive impact in the community and in people’s lives. It is great to be part of a team at the Campbell County YMCA who is so committed to providing an environment where neighbors can connect and grow,” said Dana.

Blue Ash YMCA Recognized Cincinnati Scouts For Volunteer Work

The Blue Ash YMCA honored seven area boy scouts for volunteer projects they organized and managed as part of their Eagle Scout designation.

"All of these young men are wonderful examples of the great things our youth are capable of doing and the positive impact they have. Their additions and improvements to our Blue Ash YMCA campus will benefit our members and the community," said Sheri Schmutte, YMCA Discover Health director.

Beautification projects included:

From troop 674, Jake Varwig built a bridge across the creek to allow easier access to our Par Fitness Course and camp grounds, and Mike Roozo built a storage shed for sporting equipment.
Mac McKee from troop 243 built a dumpster enclosure, Chris Cooper of troop 502 built a traverse climbing wall for the Par Fitness Course, Ben Wulker of troop 258 rebuilt and designed another bridge, John Ernst of troop 502 built a gaga pit (an enclosure for YMCA campers used to play dodge ball), and Sam Perryman from troop 151 recovered entryway benches and built a new outdoor stairway from the tennis courts to the branch’s par course fitness trail.

Since the summer of 2006, 24 scouts have completed a total of 36 Eagle, campus improvement projects at the Blue Ash YMCA.  

 L to R,  Dave Myers, volunteer scout project coordinator, Sam Perryman of troop 151, Jake Varwig of troop 674, Ben Wulker of troop 258, John Ernst of troop 502, Mac Mckee of troop 243,  and Alan Geans, YMCA district vice president at the Blue Ash YMCA.