STAUNTON-AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA MAY NEWSLETTER

STAUNTON- AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA

NEWSLETTER MAY 2021

FEATURES: P.2 - WHAT'S OPEN? P. 6 - BOBBY FITZGERALD P.8 - SWIM SURVIVAL P.9 - MEET CELIE COLLINS P.10 - JOY IN JUNE P.12 - YVC EARTH DAY P.16 - MAY GROUP EX SCHEDULE

First annual Bobby Fit zgerald Day on April 20t h recognized wit h a commemorat ion. Read more about Bobby's st ory and t he donat ion t o t he SAYMCA on Page 6.

WHAT IS OPEN HERE AT THE STAUNTON- AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA The Y is Open: Mon. - Fri. 5:30 a.m. - 8 p.m., Sat . 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Sun. 1 - 7 p.m.

You can make appointments on the SAYMCA website. SAYMCA.org.

Nat ionwide Members are welcome!

Wellness Cent er: No appointments needed: Capacit y of 45 Equipment is spread out in the weight room and on half of the basketball court. Available to members 14 and older. We ask members to sanitize equipment before and after use.

Pool: Lap Swimming and Family Swim - by 45- minute appointments available on the hour Group Fit ness Classes and Wellbeat s - by appointment. Limited class size: Classes on Basketball Court: Max. of 25 Classes in Cardio/Strength Studio: Max of 14 Classes in Mind/Body Studio remains at maximum of 6 Pickleball - New hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays - 7:30 am - 3:15 pm / Wednesdays - 1:30 - 7:15 pm. All by appointment.

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 by appointment. The water cooler has been removed. Please bring everything you will need.

Playroom - limited availability in 1.5 hour appointments for ages 2- 10 years old on Mondays and Wednesdays: 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. See Guidelines on next page. Additional Playroom hours will be added

st art ing May 17t h: Mornings: Evenings: Tuesdays and Thursdays Monday - Thursday 8:30 am - 11:30 pm 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm The Teen Cent er is closed - Used for students enrolled in Student Support Center. Members 13 and under must be accompanied by a responsible adult member.

Men's, Women's and Family Locker Rooms are available. Please practice social distancing while inside.

Masks are required unless you are using the showers. Leave your locker open when you leave to be sanitized. Staff will sanitize locker rooms at least once an hour. Locks available at the Front Desk for day use.

St eam Room and Saunas: Steam Rooms and Saunas will be available by 45 minute appointment on the hour.

Masks are required as you move around the building and in- between pieces of equipment Social Dist ancing is 6 feet around the building and 10 feet while you are exercising.

We are t aking 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.

Towel Service is not available 2

Playroom Guidelines: The Playroom hours are expanding on May 17t h.

Playroom will be open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings f rom 4:30 pm- 7:30 pm.

Also, t he Playroom will be open Tuesday and Thursday mornings 8:30 am - 11:30 am st art ing May 18t h. Appoint ment s are st ill required for all days.

Parent /Guardian will need t o sign up t he child online for t he dat e and t ime t hey wish t o bring t heir child t o t he playroom. Time Limit is 90 minut es.

Maximum number of children is 10 per t ime slot .

The Playroom Ages are 2 Years old t hrough 10 Years old and Face Mask are required for all children while t hey are in t he Playroom.

Parent /Guardian will have t he child t emperat ure checked at t he f ront desk and will wait wit h t he child at t he hallway where designat ed for a playroom st af f t o meet t hem and st af f will t ake t hem t o t he playroom.

To pick up your child, Parent /Guardian will wait at t he double doors leading t o t he gym area in f ront of t he hallway t o t he playroom and a playroom st af f will bring your child t o you at t he end of your scheduled t ime.

Parent /Guardian will not be allowed t o come int o t he playroom. If a playroom st af f person needs t o have a child picked up for any reason during t heir assigned t ime t he parent will be paged and will meet t he playroom st af f in t he hallway wit h t he child at t he double doors leading t o t he gym area.

Toys are limit ed t o it ems t hat can be disinfect ed and clean easily.

The Tunnels are not available at t his t ime. But if your child wishes t o bring in t heir own t oy t o play wit h t hat would be f ine.

Please visit our websit e at www.saymca.org or call us at 540- 885- 8089 wit h any quest ions.

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COMING THIS MONTH! Wellness Cent er capacity increased f rom 35 t o 45!

14- year- olds are also eligible to utilize the Wellness Center, as well as the ent ire facilit y, independently.

Adult Respit e will begin May 17th!

HAPPENING NOW!

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Membership Ref erral Program starts now!

PRIZES f or May: Gift certificate to Depot Grille Breakfast at Hotel 24 South 5

McCue introducing commemoration.

Bobby Fit zg

By Chris Lassiter It couldn?t provide closure, but Bobby Fitzgerald Day did provide healing.

Friends and family of Fitzgerald ? a devoted STAUNTON-AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA member ? gathered to commemorate him on April 20th.

The date is Fitzgerald?s birthday. ?I think it went beautifully,? said Joe McCue, a friend of Fitzgerald?s and a lifelong advocate of the YMCA. ?So many of his friends showed up.

We got tremendous support from his friends.

Today everybody is happy. There?s been some resolution. But we?re sad, because we don?t know where Bobby is.?

A YMCA member who visited the North Coalter Street facility daily, Fitzgerald?s disappearance in 2012 made national news. A 60-year-old outdoorsman in extraordinary shape, Fitzgerald has been missing since 6

returning to Shenandoah Mountain?s Confederate Breastworks Trail to retrieve a cell phone he lost on a hike.

Recently, Fitzgerald?s family decided that the reward money raised for information on Fitzgerald?s case should be dedicated to his favorite organization ? the STAUNTON-AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA. Patricia Yacisin, a close relative of Fitzgerald?s, came down from Harrisburg, PA, to attend. ?I?m overwhelmed with the friends that showed up and showed him support,? Yacisin said. ?He was very loved. That was great to see. It?s a bittersweet day. We?re honored that he?s going to be honored every year at the YMCA.?

Rhonda Shinaberry, Associate Executive Director of the STAUNTON-AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA, said Fitzgerald used to come in around

Shinaberry sharing a story about Fitzgerald.

gerald Day 4:00 pm every day, as soon as he got off of work.

Like everyone else in attendance, Shinaberry had a whirlwind of emotions.

good turnout and good attendance. It felt like closure, but we don?t want closure this way. We also have the assurance from Joe that his friends aren?t giving up.?

?I thought today was great,?

Shinaberry said. ?We had a

Patricia Yacisin with husband, Gary.

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SWIM SURVIVAL CLASS

By Chris Lassiter A new YMCA class is making quite the splash.

After having swim lessons having been paused for a year because of COVID, the aquatics staff wanted to offer something to help families prepare for a summer full of water fun. ?With summer approaching, we know that means kids will be around more oceans, lakes and pools,? said Beth Valentine, the YMCA?s Aquatics Director.

The inaugural water survival course has been met with rave reviews. ?It?s been fabulous,? Valentine said. ?Our parents and kids have loved it.?

Kwado Donkor wants his kids to have fun in the water.

He also wants his children to feel safe.

That?s why Donkor and other parents in the community have taken part in the class. ?My kids love taking the survival swim class at the YMCA,?

Donkor said. ?It was great increased their confidence in the water, and it allows us to spend quality family time during the pandemic.?

Tori Guertler instructs the class.

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?We focus on basic skills such as floating, basic strokes, jumping in the water and being comfortable,? Guertler said. ?We haven?t been able to do swim lessons in a while, and we wanted to be able to do something to prepare the kids for summer.?

It?s also been a great class for Guertler to instruct. ?It?s so much fun to get in the water and help the kids out,? Guertler said. ?It?s been a really good experience.?

The four-week class will be offered again in May, but the class will not be taught over the Memorial Day weekend. Interested families can sign up at the STAUNTON-AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA.

DATES: Sat urday Mornings May 8 May 15 May 22 June 5

SWIM SURVIVAL CLASS DETAILS TIMES: 3yrs - 5 yrs 9:00 - 9:40 am

RATES: Member: $42

6 yrs - 12 yrs 10:00 am - 10:40 am

One adult will need to be in the water with the child and will aid the instructor in teaching skills

Non- Member: $55

Sign- Ups open t hrough May 4t h! *Classes will be taking the place of Pike/Polliwog for the time being.

MEET CELIE COLLINS

By Chris Lassiter As a dancer, Celie Collins knows there?s a certain rhythm to life.

A time to dance.

And a time to rest.

When she stepped away from dancing for a season - ultimately declining an offer to dance professionally due to health ? she hoped to find a job that provided her a creative outlet.

She found that creative outlet in the marketing and communications department at the STAUNTON-AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA. ?It?s been really fun,? Collins said. ?It?s my Cinderella slipper.?

Collins learned to dance as early as she learned to read. Growing up, she studied tap, ballet, hip-hop, modern and other disciplines. She?s always been a quick study. By the time she was 10, she was choreographing.

At the YMCA, she?s poured that creativity into photography, videography and graphic design. ?I don?t know if I can pick a favorite,? Collins said. ?All these side hobbies I?ve been interested in,

but didn?t have time to get into.

It?s so cool with the right guidance and resources, I?m taking professional looking photos and videos. And I?m like, ?it was there (inside of me) this whole time.?

Just as in dance, Collins has been a quick study. The YMCA had partnered with the Blue Ridge Community College to create a series of career exploration videos just as she arrived. ?It?s important for us to onboard people properly,? said Chris Lassiter, Marketing and Communications Director at the YMCA. ?But it wasn?t soon after that I realized that Celie was ready to take over the project, and she did a great job with it. She?s really done a good job of picking up on the photography, videography and graphic design. We?re 9 certainly glad to have Celie at the YMCA.?

JOY IN JUNE YMCA'S YOUTH DEVELOPMENT DEPT. PARTNERS WITH STAUNTON CITY SCHOOLSThe

By Ch r is Lassit er The STAUNTON-AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA is partnering with Staunton City Schools to provide an enrichment program for the month of June.

It?s an extension of a previously existing partnership between the two organizations.

Since 2018, the YMCA and Staunton City Schools have worked collaboratively on the Summer Learning Loss Program, a model that featured an academic setting in the mornings and a YMCA Summer Day Camp-type experience in the afternoon.

That model will expand from approximately 60 students in 2019 to approximately 320 students in 2021, with all three Staunton City Schools elementary sites being used. The program runs from 8:00 am ? 5:00 pm June 7th through July 2nd.

The program is by school invite, and the schools will also provide meals and transportation to and from A.R. Ware, Bessie Weller and Thomas McSwain. ?On Monday through Thursday, they 10

(students) will be in some sort from class from 8:00 am until 12:00 pm,? said Nicole Kozikowski, Day Camp Director at the Staunton-Augusta Family YMCA. The focus of the academic portion will be on mathematics and literacy. ?In the afternoon, from 12:00 pm, the YMCA will be providing a camp-like program,?

Kozikowski continued. ?We?ll have games, activities and fun things to do. And then Staunton City Schools will bring kids home on the bus.?

Fridays for the collaborative program will be fun days, with no academic portion in the morning.

Additionally, the YMCA will offer an on-site program for middle schoolers at the YMCA. That program will be for students who have completed sixth, seventh or eighth grade and have yet to start high school.

The middle school program runs 7:45 am ?

5:30 pm from June 7th through July 23rd.

Registration for the middle school program is through the YMCA.

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LOOKING FOR A SUMMER JOB?

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Rest ore Our

Eart h

Challenge YM CA's YVC Gr ou p com plet es t h r ee-par t Ear t h Day Ch allen ge

By Chris Lassiter Thanks to some local students and ?Friends,?

Lewis Creek is a whole lot cleaner this spring.

The STAUNTON-AUGUSTA FAMILY YMCA's Youth Volunteer Corps teamed up with Friends of the Middle River for a three-part Earth Day project revolving around cleaning the stream bed at different parts of the Lewis Creek.

On April 8th, around 10 students worked hard to clean the stream bed in Landes Park in downtown Staunton. On April 15th, the same students cleaned the stream bed around Montgomery Hall Park. On April 22nd ? Earth Day ? ten students cleaned the stream bed between Commerce and New Hope Road. ?Working with Youth Volunteer Corps was a great collaboration for Friends of the Middle River,? said Kate Guenther, watershed administrator for Friends of the Middle River. ?They helped our organization connect with a younger portion of the community doing trash clean-up, which both helped our local

environment and also exposed the youth to good values of stewardship.?

YVC follows a model where students participate in an icebreaker, service learning and end-of-project reflection time in addition to the actual volunteer work. It was all led by YVC Program Coordinator Stephanie Mason.

Guenther also enjoyed YVC?s format. ?I was impressed with the added structure they brought to the activity by circling up for a relevant, quick story to set the tone for the work followed up with an integrating chat amongst the group at the end,? Guenther said. ?The youth were engaged and helpful throughout. Kudos for a great program. It?s well run.?

The students enjoyed the project as well. ?I enjoyed volunteering,? said Zander, a freshman at Staunton High School. ?It was fun, resourceful and informative.?

Kendall, a fifth-grader at Wilson Elementary, agrees.

"It's great to see all that stuff in trash bags," Kendall said, "instead of on the ground."

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Our cont inual grat it ude f or t he year- long use of a vehicle is f elt every day since it s donat ion in February.

THANK YOU, MESSER LANDSCAPE INC.!

For landscape work around our Y!

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