Much 2021 Newsletter

STAUNTON- AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA

NEWSLETTER March 2021

P. 2: WHAT IS OPEN?

P. 3: THANK YOU PAUL OBAUGH FORD P. 4: THE WALK IS PART OF THE GIFT P. 6: THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME P. 8: THE GIFT OF BOOKS P. 11: MEET TAVIAN P. 12: GROUP EX SCHEDULE

?When I t hought of t he YMCA, I t ypically t hought of t he gym, t he pool or playing racquet ball. I never really knew how much t he YMCA did f or t he communit y.?

Roger Aldhizer, General Sales Manager Paul Obaugh Ford.

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WHAT IS OPEN HERE AT THE STAUNTON- AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA? Hours: Mon. - Fri. 5:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., Sat . 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. and Sun. 1:00 pm - 7:00 p.m.

Wellness Cent er - no appointments needed. Equipment is spread out in the weight room and on half of the basketball court. Available to members 15 and older.

We ask that members sanitize equipment before and after use.

Pool: Lap Swimming - by 45- minute appointments available on the hour Family Swim - by 45- minute appointments available on the hour Group Fit ness Classes - by appointment. Limited class size.

Virt ual Group Fit ness Classes (Wellbeat s) - by appointment. Limited class size.

Playroom - limited availability in 1.5 hour appointments for ages 2 years - 10 years old on Mondays and Wednesday: 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. - noon. Children are required to wear masks while in the playroom.

Raquet ball Court s and Basket ball Court s can be reserved for 45 minutes on the hour. For Individual or Family play. No competitive play. Please bring everything you will need.

Tennis Court is available for use. The water cooler has been removed.

Please make an appointment to play as times are limited. Please bring everything you will need.

The Teen Cent er is closed - Used for students enrolled in Student Support Center. Members 14 and under must be accompanied by a responsible adult member.

Family Locker Rooms are available.

Masks are required as you move around the building and in between pieces of equipment.

Social Dist ancing is 6 feet around the building. 10 feet while you are exercising.

We are t aking t he t emperat ures of everyone entering the building. We are also asking screening quest ions.

Wat er Fount ains are not available. Bottle Fillers are available.

Please not e t hat t here are new t raf f ic pat t erns around t he building.

Towel service is not available.

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THANK YOU PAUL OBAUGH FORD

The Staunton- Augusta Family YMCA was looking for a good deal on a replacement vehicle.

The Paul Obaugh Ford staff made sure the YMCA got the deal of a lifetime.

Roger Aldhizer, the general sales manager at Paul Obaugh Ford, dropped of a cherry red Ford Escape for the YMCA Wednesday morning. After learning of the YMCA?s intended use of the vehicle, Aldhizer said the dealership decided to let the YMCA use one of its vehicles free of charge for a year. ?It?s huge,? said Rhonda Shinaberry, associate executive director at the Staunton- Augusta Family YMCA. ?It?s a blessing, and it?s appreciated more than they will ever know.?

The YMCA?s old Dodge Grand Caravan is out of commission. Shinaberry began contacting local dealerships looking for a vehicle to purchase.

Shinaberry began explaining to Aldhizer some of the reasons the YMCA needed a new work vehicle.

The previous minivan had been used to pick up lunches daily for the students at the YMCA?s Y Clubhouse program, which assists over 60 kids with virtual learning.

The van was also used to deliver care packages for the Adult Respite Care participants. When the program was shut down in March, the Adult Respite Care staff has been finding alternative ways to support those families, including dropping off care packages. ?When I thought of the YMCA, I typically thought of the gym, the pool or playing racquetball,?

Aldhizer said. ?I never really knew how much the YMCA did for the community.?

The initiatives and mission outreach programs that Shinaberry explained to Aldhizer were causes the dealership wanted to support. ?We felt like at Obaugh Ford that if we could give back just a little bit to help the YMCA and the community as a whole, we wanted to do that,?

Aldhizer said.

Shinaberry knows the vehicle will be put to good use. ?It makes it so much easier for us,? Shinaberry said, ?to have one common vehicle.?

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"The walk is part of t he gif t " They give up something to give away something.

The personal checks that friends Jodi Tibbs and Cathy Ballew dropped off at the Staunton- Augusta Family YMCA had quite a backstory.

Each month, the two women choose something to give up. With the money they would have normally spent on what they had given up, they donate to a local non- profit.

In February, Tibbs and Ballew hand- delivered checks to the YMCA. ?With the money we would spend on that item ? what we would consider to be a luxury item ? we give up to the community,? Tibbs said. ?A little bit here and a little bit there every month. We try to pick charities and non- profit organizations that help kids, the homeless, animals and veterans.?

Tibbs had the idea about two years. The inspiration came from a story.

The story centers around a young kid that lived on a beach. He brought the teacher a stone. The

teacher recognized the that stone was only found miles away on the beach. The students told the teacher that ?the walk is part of gift.? ?That resonated with me,? Tibbs said.

About four months ago, Ballew joined Tibbs on the sacrificial giving journey.

The pair has given up shopping, hair appointments, nail salon trips and take- out food. ?There just luxuries that we took for granted,?

Ballew said. ?When you give it up, it hurts a little, but it makes you realize that there are people in worse shape than we are.?

Tibbs is an advisor with Valley Trust Financial Group. Ballew is a realtor with Kline- May Realty.

Neither friend has ever regretted making the sacrifice to give more. ?It makes me realize to be grateful for what I?ve got,? Tibbs said, ?and what I can potentially live without.?

Jodi Tibbs

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Cathy Ballew

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THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

By Chris Lassit er Matthew Donato is the ??Where?s Waldo?? of the YMCA. Prior to COVID- 19 precautions and restrictions, Donato traveled a lot. His career as an automotive diagnostic instructor had him on the road an average of four days a week. In his travels, Donato took advantage of the YMCA?s nationwide membership program, participating in YMCA group fitness classes in all of the cities where his job took him. ?I?d go from state to state,? Donato said. ?Typically, I?d arrange my travel one state each week ? Ohio one week, Maryland one week, Pennsylvania the next. When I did that, I knew the zip codes I was in. I?d go to ymca.org, pull up the zip code, pull up the YMCAs in that radius, look them up online and see what the aerobic classes were.?

Donato, who also ran the New York City marathon, estimates he?s been to around 50 YMCAs. The list includes YMCAs in the states of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York and North Carolina.

He?s had this routine for a decade- and- a- half, sometimes visiting the same YMCAs the same week every year for years. ?I enjoy the people interaction,? said Donato, who joined the Staunton- Augusta Family YMCA in 2004. ?Almost every Y is very accepting. I feel like a member of that Y after 10 or 15 years of going to the same Y ? with sometime the same instructors.?

It can be hard to maintain a lifestyle of fitness while traveling extensively ? a lot of people in Donato?s line of work gain weight - but Donato has found a YMCA routine that works. ?I?ve actually lost weight,? he said.

Of course, there?s no place like home, and Donato is a regular in the group fitness classes at the Staunton- Augusta Family YMCA as well. ?There?s some members that are really good friends of mine and have been every since I?ve been a member here,? Donato said. ?When they?re jumping up and down, that?s motivating me to do it more. And we joke and laugh and have fun.?

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Check out a sample schedule of our SAYMCA Wellbeat s Program!

book e c a F r u Vi si t o or t he Page f t ual r i V y l week at s e b l l e sW

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Recent Group Fit ness Changes Boot Camp class that was normally held on Wednesday evenings at 6pm at Staunton High School have been moved to Thursday evenings at 6pm? same location Reminder: Classes are filling up very quickly. If you cannot make your reservation time, please call the front desk to cancel the reservation. This allows someone else waiting to come to class.

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THE GIFT OF BOOKS

By Chris Lassit er Who couldn?t use more books?

As the SAW Tutoring Network staff worked diligently with local students to help grasp certain educational concepts, the staff noticed another need.

?All smiles,? Getsey said of the students picking up books. ?Lots of smiles.?

More reading materials.

It won?t be the last time SAW Tutoring Network offers the book giveaway.

Fun, exciting, riveting, relevant reading materials ?We noticed that kids were not having a lot of books to bring to tutoring,? YMCA tutoring coordinator Hillary Getsey said.

?We?re planning another bigger giveaway in May,?

Mendonca said.

SAW Tutoring Network is in the problem- solving business. Staff members quickly thought of a solution. ?We reached out to the libraries, and Stone Soup books,? SAW Tutoring Network founder Sarah Mendonca said. ?And we also used some of our own books.?

With the books gathered, the staff members then used a spreadsheet. The books were matched by recommended age range and student interest. ?It?s imperative for them to have high interest books handy,? Mendonca said. ?We know that kids will read more if there are books available to them that are compelling.? ?And any kind of reading builds their abilities,?

Getsey added.

Five books were stuffed inside of each yellow YMCA tote bag. Fifteen families signed up for the drive- thru book pick- up.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

WWW.SAWTUTORING.ORG 9

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MEET TAVIAN

By Maya Reyes out. Now he plays sports like tennis and pickleball.

James invited his son Tavian to play pickleball with him, but Tavian had his reservations.

Walk. Talk. Wipe. Repeat.

This is what a normal work day at the Staunton- Augusta Family YMCA looks like for Tavian Brown. But he hasn?t only worked here, he grew up here. In fact, Tavian has been coming to the YMCA since he was a toddler.

As he got older and explored more, Tavian enjoyed more. At first the Y was just a daycare that Tavian went to everyday.

It then became a place he could hang out with his friends, build a strong relationship with his dad, James Brown, and a second home. Growing up, staff members would joke about Tavian already living at the Y because of how often he was there. ?I thought it was funny,? Tavian said, ?and then I realized how close I was to the people here. We knew each other well, I would check up on them and they would check up on me.?

The Y is where people went after school to just hang out. It made students like Tavian want to come back ?It?s a place of comfort to relieve stress. It's just a place you want to go,? Tavian said. ?If I?m not at home with my friends, this is the place that I always feel I want to be at.?

He wasn?t the only one of his family members who benefitted from the SAYMCA. His father, James Brown, has been using services provided at the YMCA since the eighth grade. James is known for his physical ability playing dual sports like basketball and football, which he played in college.

?That?s meant for older people,? Tavian said, laughing, ?and then I got into it and the older people were whoopin?me!?

Sports were not the only way Tavian and James Brown would bond. Both men would spend time at the Y talking for hours. The YMCA?s sense of community has touched the lives of the Brown family. ?Discipline and positive people around them,?

Brown said of the YMCA. ?There?s structure and fun; problem solving, helping people who need to be helped.?

James Brown isn?t the only one of his family members that feels this way. His son shares a similar sentiment regarding the community of YMCA. ?They are always very caring,? Tavian Brown said. ?Very nice, very helpful, they go out of their way to check on me and talk to you ? you feel it from everybody.?

The people at the Y make the YMCA a family. ?It doesn?t feel like working,? he said.

This positivity from Tavian is reflected in his work.

Krystal Clark, the healthy living coordinator, and Tavian?s supervisor recognizes the thoughtfulness and expresses that he is an excellent employee. ?Tavian has a cheerful and positive attitude, day to day with co- workers and our SAYMCA members.?

Krystal said. ?He notices what is going on around him while cleaning, demonstrating equipment and making our members feel important.?

But James wanted to enjoy more and he branched 11

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