2026 marks 175 years of the YMCA’s commitment to every child’s potential.
PLAY
defined as a state of being when sense of time is suspended.
It can be silly. It can provide joy. It is most certainly imaginative. Nevertheless, it’s the best way to
learn.
Our Process
YMCA branch leadership teams presented potential opportunities to strengthen branch performance and impact.
Every project aligned with our Youth Development focus.
The YMCA Board of Directors chose projects that were guided by a comprehensive evaluation matrix grounded in our:
• Strategic Plan
• Financial Viability
• Service-area needs
“The Play Project is rooted in what we know to be most true: play is essential to healthy child development.
Together, we can create spaces where children belong, families are supported, and potential is realized every day.”
Ricki Wimmer, CEO
7 Reimagined Play & Learn spaces
2 +
New Outdoor Play Spaces
Play & Learn is our largest and fastest growing program with a 17% growth over the last 5 years
What is Play & Learn?
Our Play & Learn centers are an extension of our commitment to support every child’s opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.
Play & Learn o ers children ages six weeks through ten years a safe, nurturing environment for up to two hours while caregivers focus on their own wellness, work, or daily responsibilities.
Creative, curious, active, and a little mischievous, these two fennec foxes will guide learning through YMCA Play & Learn programs.
Our New Curriculum
Through Tulsa Regional STEM Alliances’ MOMENTUM program, our littlest children in Play & Learn will begin the journey of exploration in the fields of STEAM.
MOMENTUM badges recognize the skills children develop today while linking them to pathways that let them explore, deepen, and apply those skills tomorrow.
A program, traditionally only available to middle and high schoolers will now be accessible to early childhood and school-age children through the YMCA Play & Learn.
The Play Project reimagines these Play & Learn spaces at 7 YMCA locations:
Tandy Family YMCA
Owasso Family YMCA
R.C. Dickenson Family YMCA
Okmulgee Family YMCA
Daily Family YMCA
Y at East Central
W.L. Hutcherson Family YMCA
New Play & Learn spaces include
Duplo Lego and LEGO®
Imagination Playground
Learning Press
Children's Factory
Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance
Education Science & AI products
Big Blue Blocks
All About Reading Curriculum
Interactive wall games
Maker Spaces for older kids
And of course, Pip and Lilly, our two fennec foxes.
Learning is fun at the Y!
A vibrant court at the W.L. Hutcherson Family YMCA will provide opportunities for supervised, outdoor play and family gathering space.
Access to safe, engaging recreational spaces provides opportunities for physical and social connection.
Children only spend
4-7 MINUTES PER DAY
in unstructured outdoor play.
The Play Project will provide community-building spaces:
Basketball Court W.L. Hutcherson Family YMCA
R.C. Dickenson Family YMCA Tennis Court
4 Pickleball Courts 1/3 Mile Track
Basketball Court
children participated in YMCA Youth Sports in 2025
hours volunteered in 2025 with YMCA Youth Sports equivalent to $525,232 in paid time
“Join us in ensuring all children have access to these awe-inspiring spaces.”
Ricki Wimmer, CEO
Play & Learn Spaces ($340,000 each)
• 70% construction
• 30% curriculum & supplies
Outdoor Sport Courts & Community Spaces ($1,260,000 each)
• 100% construction
TOTAL $4,900,000
Phase 1: Design & Development Early 2026
Phase 2: Construction begins mid year 2026 with completion early 2027