.jpg;w=960)
While normally the YMCA community report would be held in person during a Strong Kids Breakfast — and certainly, there was talk of how missed the pancakes were — there was much to celebrate for the YMCA of Northeastern Ontario (YMCA), even though some of the celebration was simply breathing a sigh of relief.
First, the YMCA of Northeastern Ontario is even more northeastern with the full amalgamation of the Timmins YMCA to Sudbury and North Bay’s YMCAs.
And though the YMCA lost $5 million in revenue because of the COVID-19 pandemic, those giving the report were thrilled the community-driven ‘My Y is Resilient’ fundraising program is already at 75 per cent of its goal in just eight months.
The staff is so pleased with the initiative that rather than announcing the total at the community report — as they would have done in the past — they have decided to wait for next year.
“We want to have a big celebration,” said Helen Francis, president and CEO of YMCA of Northeastern Ontario.
The community report also included other reasons for the staff and members of the YMCA to celebrate. Not only will the facilities have a chance to reopen as the province reaches Stage 3 of the reopening plan, but August 2021 will bring the YMCA’s At Home membership program to northeastern Ontario.
Featuring health and wellness tips, exercise videos as well as family activities, the program is to help members stay healthy and push back against some of the sedentary lifestyle forced on people by the pandemic. It is also aimed at helping combat the mental health crisis in this country.
The mental health crisis is one that Francis referred to as “the shadow pandemic.” It is affecting both young and older adults through the devastation of isolation, and the aim of the At Home program is to encourage wellness, activity and interaction with others in your community.
“We ended up healthier than expected,” said Francis at the Community Report Virtual event, “with more net contributions than expected. But we cannot underestimate the challenge that 2021-2022 will bring us.”
It was at this point that Francis echoed the previous presentations in thanking the frontline staff at the YMCA of Northeastern Ontario. Not only grateful for the staff of the day care, deemed essential services and doing challenge work throughout the pandemic, but also the new challenges the centre faced in Sudbury with the opening of the warming centre and shelter at the Durham street location.
The staff have also been fundraising. Francis announced that the staff have contributed $13,000 of their own funds to the My Y is Resilient campaign.
Francis closed the community report with a quote from Winston Churchill, one that she said would guide the way the YMCA of Northeastern Ontario as it moves into the future, one that is uncertain.
“Never let a good crisis go to waste,” she said.
The full version of the YMCA of Northeastern Ontario’s Community Report can be found here.
