This is what we do:

I've had a few people ask me recently what the "Strong Kids Campaign" is all about. While many of our members and friends know about all of the sports, fitness and aquatics programs, fewer are aware of the great work the Y does making sure that no one is turned away from our programs based on his or her financial means. Here's a story of what we do, and how it works:

In the spring of 2008, as Summer Camp season approached, our assistant youth director, Jeff, was busy planning camps and checking camp rosters, and he noticed one name that had been on camp lists for quite a few years was conspicuously missing. "Sarah" was enrolled in the Y Afterschool program and had been a faithful summer camp attendant for a few years running. But this year, she wasn't signed up for any weeks of camp. Jeff made a few phone calls, including contacting the parents of the child, and the story he heard was heartbreaking:

Seems that within a few weeks, the child's family had dealt with more than one challenge. First, Sarah's father had been diagnosed with cancer. The subsequent medial treatments and planning had put an increased financial burden on the family and required Sarah's mom to work even more hours. That would be enough for any family to handle, but shortly after that, Sarah's grandmother was forced to move in with her when the grandmother's house was lost in a fire. Once again, increased burden for a family. Sarah's mother was left with no choice but to determine where the family could cut costs. She was trying to determine whether or not Sarah could go to camp when Jeff called.

It only took moments for Jeff to know what to do. He immediately contacted the appropriate directors and secured funding from our Open Doors scholarship program so that Sarah could go to camp. He contacted Sarah's mom and told her that there was no reason Sarah would need to change her summer plans, and that the Y was going to make sure she got to attend Camp Clearwater. Through the generosity of our members and the community, the YMCA was able to help Sarah and her family when they needed it most.

That's what we do. It's often said that the Y is here to be what you need when you need it. I get to watch these things happen every day right here in our building, and it's a privilege that constantly reminds me to be thankful for blessings. For more information on what the Y does, or to be a part of it, you can contact me at glee@chcymca.org.

The funding for our Open Doors scholarship program comes from donations from our members and community. Each year, those funds are used to help hundreds of kids right here in our community take part in afterschool, summer camps and programs. It also helps adults, seniors and families. To learn more or to make a contribution to the Strong Kids Campaign, visit our website.

Exercise - a Family Affair

There are a couple of families who come into the Y that I notice and sometimes stop and watch when I'm walking through the building. Whether it is their intention or not, they impress me with the way they seem to purposely play together as a family. Watching them play together, and as a result, take part in a healthier lifestyle, it strikes me that we are fortunate to be in a community with so many opportunities for families.

Whether you and I realize it or not, kids are looking to us as role models, even from the perspective of a healthy lifestyle. Liz Neporent, personal trainer and fitness consultant, talks about the importance of setting an example to our families in the way we approach fitness. "If you spend most of your time plopped on the couch and rarely exercise, you can expect more of your clan to do the same. So pack up the kids, leash the pooch and make exercise a family affair," says Neporent.

Some suggestions she makes:

• Always make exercise fun and enjoyable for everyone. Try activities that will raise heart rates, such as a game of family touch football or sack races. Even consider taking a family cycle around the neighborhood.

• Take a family stroll around the neighborhood. Empower your kids by letting a different child choose the route each time. Consider choosing a theme for each walk, like pointing out wildlife.

• Once a week, go to the park for a family affair. Play games, swing on the jungle gym and explore trails. If you go with several other families you can play team activities such as kids vs. adults to promote teamwork and make friends.
  
  Neporent's last comment got me thinking about how great a community we live in and how many (FREE!) opportunities we have to take advantage of as families. There are so many options within a short drive that I dare say it would take weeks to duplicate any trip.
  
  Here are a few of my favorites: (All titles are links to more information)
  
  
• The Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area: Located off Cole Mill Road in Durham, this park features the highest point in Orange County at 867 feet. It covers 190 acres and has nearly 3 miles of trails, including a few high bluffs that provide great views of Hillsborough during the winter when leaves don't impede the vista.
• The Trails of Carolina North: Covering over 750 acres, this land is also known as the Horace Williams Tract. It's rich in historical and archaeological significance. UNC Chapel Hill's Grounds Services Department does a great job of maintaining the land and there are miles of trails, some wide enough for groups, some designed for single track running, biking and hiking. This is also the home of the YMCAs annual Pumpkin Run.
• The Coker Arboretum: The UNC Arboretum was first developed in i1903 by Dr. William Chambers Coker as an outdoor classroom for the study of native North Carolina fauna. It covers 5 acres and is abundant in learning opportunities.
• Umstead Park: Though a bit further away, Umstead Park is a true treasure. It covers nearly 5,600 acres and offers the opportunity to disappear into wilderness. The park offers 20 miles (!) of trails and range from short strolls to extensive hikes. There's also camping, boating and educational events.
• Last but certainly, not least, there's your very own Chapel Hill - Carrboro YMCA! We work every day to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities. We offer open family gym time, recreational swim, family strengthening programs like YGuides & Princesses and you can even volunteer to coach your kids soccer, basketball or Tball team.

Regardless of what you choose to do, go ahead and get out as a family. Play, explore, learn and have fun! There's so much to do, and so much of it is free, which in this economic climate, is an added bonus.

What's your favorite local family adventure? Share it with us here. And as always, thanks for stopping by!

Christian Conservation - thoughts on Human, Technology and what we're doing to our planet

Today's guest blogger is Nicki Smith, the Aquatics Director of the CHCYCMA:

I have never written a blog before but I am guessing it’s like a diary that everyone can read. Interesting; so, now you will get a glimpse of the battle I have in my brain as I drive the interstate home most days.

There is something out there called Christian Conservation. I am sure you have heard of it; it is becoming more popular in mainstream churches attended by younger people. Excessive consumption and disregard for our environment has left us empty and devoid of feeling toward those of God’s creatures that have no voice and cannot compete with the works of man, his bulldozer, and his lust for “things” and his pollution.

My husband and I watched the BBC’s documentary Planet Earth a couple of months ago. It is amazing, the landscapes, climates and animal diversity that has been God’s creation for millennia captured on film for us to view. The unfortunate conclusion after watching such a documentary series seems to be that the hands of man pollute the beauty and purity of the earth. How sad that some of the creatures we watched on this video, in time, will disappear forever from the planet and our children will only be able to see digital imagery of what once was. Perhaps we need to go back and read the Old Testament: The very land itself becomes polluted by the sins of its inhabitants (Jer. 3:1-3), and its beauties are destroyed by human pride (Is. 2:12-17). There is a Christian responsibility for nature that has been forgotten that we as a people, with our intelligence and resources need to reclaim.

Forget the polar bears not being able to swim from ice shelf to ice shelf and drowning; forget the primates of Africa, our closest relatives, becoming extinct; I hope to one day see these creatures of strength and resiliency for myself but for now let’s come back to my drive home every night; this is the season that the DMV and other agencies remind drivers to watch out for deer. I know that many regard deer as vermin, like rats, and I know they like to eat everything out of the garden; but I also know that they were here first. How can they compete with hulking mass traveling down an asphalt roadway at 65 miles per hour? Sometimes I wish we could just press pause on the recording of life and take a look around to what we have done to our earth.

So, when I drive the interstate at night, the lights of the vehicles brightly, weaving and winding on the path, like snake on course to please its desires. I look on the grassy banks and see groups of deer grazing, then a little while later a corpse. Does anyone stop and think about the spirit of this creature, that God made, where does it go? As a society we keep pets on our terms. In nature, we corrupt and spoil the land so creature and plant cannot survive. What would happen if we as a people redirected our frantic forward movement to technological advancement was redirected preserving our planet? Perhaps in the future the thread of the idea of Christian conservation will continue to develop within the body we call church, true harmony to pass on to generations to come.

a cure for the common control freak

I'm that type of person who always gets worried when projects I start at work have to be put in others hands.  For whatever reason, I suppose I'm a bit of a control freak and would just as soon deal with things on my own because I know I can depend on me.  In my years of experiences before working for the YMCA, I think I must have gotten "burnt" on more than one occasion, which lead me to take this stance.  Or not.  Who knows.  

The refreshing thing since joining the YMCA is that I'm discovering some interesting things about how things can work and should work when the right people come together.  This week is National America on the Move Week and YMCAs across the country are trying to walking 10 billion steps.  The idea is that if we can encourage each other to walk 2,000 extra steps a day and eat 100 less calories a day we can start to move people toward an "energy balance" and make a dent in the obesity epidemic in our country. 

At our YMCA, we have a goal of 6 million steps.  We've planned a great week and the events have started, including some special classes like Zumba and fun programs for kids at our afterschool program, seminars for families and other great stuff for our members.  Our members have responded to the challenge with great excitement.  We have nearly 200 people signed up, which is more than I can ever recall being involved in a fitness challenge at our Y.  

So the deal is, I'm in an airport in Birmingham, just finishing up a conference as I write this.  I'm hundreds of miles away, completely not in control of the event.  I've left it in the hands of our Membership Director, our Health Enhancement Director, and our Youth Director, each of whom have only been in their positions for a matter of weeks.  Here's the cool part - it's going GREAT!  As of this morning, our YMCA had walked 3.8 million steps.  Our introductory fitness classes had great attendance.  Our seminars had really good attendance numbers.  The Afterschool Program has contributed almost 1 million steps.  The Health Enhancement Director just sent this great email out to the staff that was so well stated and encouraging, it made me so proud I wanted to cry (corny).  

It's so refreshing and invigorating to be working in a place where so many of my co-workers passionately believe in our mission.  It's eye-opening to know that I'm not alone working to achieve the goals we have in place.  You see, what I've realized is this - all those other times, I was in the wrong place.  The times I was let down, it wasn't a clear representation of what all people were like, only those around me at that moment.  In other words, when you can put together the right people, with the right set of beliefs and convictions, and similar drives and dedication, and they really are all working for the same reasons towards the same mission, what I've discovered you CAN trust them.  And that's what it's all about really.  We all want to surround ourselves with people we can trust, no matter what the setting.  It feels so right to be a part of the YMCA as a staff member, and it's my hope that our members can trust that we're trying to do the right things for our community each day.  I want you to be able to trust us too.

Special thanks to Darcy, Abby and Ryan.  You guys are rocking the YMCA world.  Great job!!  Thanks everything!  Till next time....

-G

"Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community."

--Anthony D'Angelo

Building a better world, one relationship at at time

I'm writing today from a conference in Birmingham, Alabama that is hosted by the software company we use at the YMCA and that several other YMCAs and JCCs use throughout the country. Each year I get to come to this conference and learn about the latest technologies offered by the company and how they might help us as a YMCA. I also get to catch up with and network with old YMCA friends from Y's all over the place. We have to the chance to talk about best practices and challenges that we each face and about ways to better serve our communities and deliver the mission of the YMCA. It really is a good conference and I always enjoy it.

This year, the hosting company, Daxko, took a step to bring in some great speakers to speak on some really interesting topics. One of the speakers was Shane Benson, of Chick-fil-a. He spent some time with us and talked about how his company has been so successful and what they do intentionally to find and keep great people who deliver such great service, and in turn, deliver their mission on a daily basis.

He talked about the basic desire that people have - one of wanting to be a part of something bigger than themselves. I think this is a true statement in that we all work, whether consciously or unconsciously to be a part of a collective "thing" that is bigger than us, that makes a difference, that shapes and changes the world. He also talked about trust and how trust is really why people choose one company. It's that they trust that company just a little bit more than the others.

So the question he posed to us was: How do you establish a relationship of trust? Chick-fil-a does it by Connecting, Discovering and Responding. I've thought about this today and I really like this philosophy. The really interesting thing is that it's what we should be striving to do each day at our YMCA and even something that I want to strive to do each day as a person. Here's what he said to us:

Connect: Get to know people. Now for our discussion, he focused on customers and talked about not being afraid to begin a dialogue, a conversation. As I sit here right now, I'm wearing earphones and listening to iTunes (James Taylor if you're wondering). I find that more and more, the technologies that are designed to set us free are becoming roadblocks to the converstation Shane was talking about. We should talk more. And I don't mean debate, or argue, or try to impress. What I got from Shane is that we ought to talk, and find out about each other. That seemed to be what he was getting at with his second point.

Discover: Become someone's problem solver or promoter. We ought to focus daily on discovering what goes on in peoples lives. What challenges or issues or successes they're experiencing right now, and if we can, how we can help. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Again, for his purposes, he was relating these points to the business of Chick-fil-a and how they've worked for them, so he gave this great example of a store owner (called an operator) who approached some customers one evening and started a conversation as they had dinner. He discovered that this group of 3 young women were college students at the local community college and that they were there to celebrate one of the girls birthdays. It was her favorite restaurant. So - he'd connected to them simply by engaging them in conversation - not for any gain, but simply to Discover something about them. Now he wished her a happy birthday, but here's where his third point came into play and what I think really makes the chain such a success and what we can learn as an organization and what I can learn as a person from them.

Respond: Leverage your unique assests in a personal way that can impact that person. Once that operator had discovered that the girls had come to the restaurant for a birthday, he responded this way - he invited the girls to come back the following night to celebrate "on the house" and to invite as many people as they would like to the restaurant. I know, right? To most of us, that would be a pretty risky thing to do, considering how easily and quickly word can spread electronically these days. 55 people showed up the following night and they all ate and had shakes and brownies and danced and had photos made with the Chick-fil-a cow and had a great time. That owner/operator even passed out free sandwich coupons and had the kids promise to use the coupons to bring friends back to the restaurant.

He found out that of the 55 kids there, only 12 had ever been to the restaurant before. So the question was then posed to us: Do you think he earned any new customers that day?

Shane went on to tell more stories of employees and owners leveraging their unique assets to become someones problem solver, like the owner who discovered one of his customers was in financial troubles and her washing machine had quit. He got the money together to buy and deliver her a new one. That customer came to him in tears when she found out. That's huge and not only did it represent the company well, but it impacted someone's life on a level that is beyond a typical retail relationship.

I've always been impressed with Chick-fil-a's philosophy and stated purpose -"That we might glorify God by being a faithful steward in all that is entrusted to our care and that we might have a positvie influence on all the people that we might come in contact with." The insight I got today really revealed to me a couple of things. First, how they do it. How it's not something they take lightly or hope to do while selling a lot of chicken sandwiches, but how it's their purpose and how they try to put it first, and allow the rest to happen. Second, how the values they as a company have are very similar to those we strive for as an organization and those I view as admirable and worth striving for as a person. Wouldn't we all want to be a part of a group like that? One that we can believe in and be proud of? It gives me more to work for as a person and more to work for at our YMCA. Special thanks to Shane for sharing and prayers that we can use his lessons to make the world a better place. Until next time...

-G

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

--Addison Walker.

Valencia 826 - Dave Eggers

I just finished watching Dave Eggers on TED.com. Dave wrote the book "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" which won critical praise and was a New York Times Bestseller. Eggers currently teaches writing in San Francisco at 826 Valencia, a nonprofit tutoring center and writing school for children that he co-founded in 2002. I have to highly recommend this video. I'm amazed when I am exposed to people who not only know what our roles in the community are, but go out and give to the community they are a part of. The concept of 826 Valencia is fascinating, and in the video, his recollection of idea strikes me at first as serendipity, and then as a concept that was perhaps meant to be. I think it's a perfect example of what's possible in any community. I am particularly impressed with the fact that it was all locally designed, financed, and supported. The following video is pretty long, but it is one amazing example of what's possible when the right people come together with a mission and the right way to deliver it. You can find out more at 826valencia.org or at onceuponaschool.org. Enjoy.

Courage

The news was heartbreaking to me. Last Thursday, according to CNN.com, a tornado swept through the Little Sioux Ranch in Iowa and killed 4 boy scouts. They were Josh Fennen, 13, Sam Thomsen, 123, and Ben Petrzilka, 14, all of Omaha, Nebraska; and Aaron Eilerts, 14, of Eagle Grove, Iowa.

According to one scout, the boys were sitting near the entrance of the camp near a bluff at the time of the storm, and they saw the tornado come around the corner of the bluff. The scouts immediately activated the tornado siren at the camp. The scoutmasters there ordered all of the scouts under tables. One scout said it was over quickly and he saw a scoutmasters car tossed 150 into the air.

One scout recounted his experience on the Today Show and described trees bent completely horizontally to the ground. Once the F3 tornado, carrying 135 mph winds blew through, no tents were left standing - they were torn apart and thrown into trees. A chimney from a building had collapsed on some scouts trapping them. The scene was, no doubt, utter chaos.

Then, among these young teens, something truly remarkable happened. As those injured and trapped cried out for help, the boys who could, stood up and moved into action to try to help their friends and fellow scouts. The strongest boys worked as best they could to free those trapped. They set into action first aid training and performed CPR. They set up a triage to treat the most seriously injured first.

Imagine - 12, 13, 14 years old. Pure terror of being trapped in a major tornado - outside mind you, in the elements, with no more than a table to protect you - and then, without thinking, they got up and only thought of what needed to be done to help the people around them.

That's Courage, with a capital C. The initial shock of hearing this story turned to inspiration and amazement as I read about their actions, and I wondered what it was that moved them into action, that lead them to do the things they did, in the wake of disaster.

I think my favorite example of courage from the Bible is the story of David and Goliath. For many of us, this story is one we could paraphrase from memory pretty quickly, but I think it bears really looking at to realize how courageous David was in battling Goliath. The first thing to remember is that David was only a teenager when this happened. He was maybe the age when most of us were getting our drivers license, or getting our first part-time job. Now Goliath-according to the Bible, he was over 6 cubits tall. That puts him somewhere between 8.5 and 11 feet tall. That's freakishly, scary big, right? Now here's how the battle went down, according to The Message, 1 Samuel 17: (A foreword - The Message takes some liberties in what some of the dialogue between the two men would have been and goes into clear detail on what some of the details of the battle may have been.)

32 "Master," said David, "don't give up hope. I'm ready to go and fight this Philistine."

33 Saul answered David, "You can't go and fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced—and he's been at this fighting business since before you were born."

34-37 David said, "I've been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I'd go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I'd grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or bear, it made no difference—I killed it. And I'll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive. God, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine."

Saul said, "Go. And God help you!"

38-39 Then Saul outfitted David as a soldier in armor. He put his bronze helmet on his head and belted his sword on him over the armor. David tried to walk but he could hardly budge.

David told Saul, "I can't even move with all this stuff on me. I'm not used to this." And he took it all off.

40 Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.

41-42 As the Philistine paced back and forth, his shield bearer in front of him, he noticed David. He took one look down on him and sneered—a mere youngster, apple-cheeked and peach-fuzzed.

43 The Philistine ridiculed David. "Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?" And he cursed him by his gods.

44 "Come on," said the Philistine. "I'll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I'll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice."

45-47 David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day God is handing you over to me. I'm about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn't save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God—he's handing you to us on a platter!"

48-49 That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine. David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed, facedown in the dirt.

50 That's how David beat the Philistine—with a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. No sword for David!

Pretty impressive right? A couple of images jump out at me. The first is in verses 38-39, when David is wearing all of this armor. I get this image of a thin, gangly teenager, with a bronze helmet falling down over his eyes, stumbling about under the weight of this armor. It's a humorous image. The second is in verses 48-49. As Goliath, this 11 foot giant of a warrior begins to move toward David, you'll notice that without hesitation, he too begins to move too, running toward Goliath. There's no note of hesitation or fear, because David, in that moment, was filled with courage. He never considered doing anything but facing this giant. That's an amazing image to me, and it must have been such a strange sight in that moment. I imagine what the other soldiers on the battlefield must have been thinking as they watched this small, maybe frail-looking teenager and this huge giant of a man racing toward each other in that moment.

Eleanor Roosevelt said this about courage - You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. I really like this quote. I appreciate the fact that Roosevelt recognizes that courage doesn't mean not being afraid, but rather recognizing that fear and grasping what growth you gain by facing it each and every day.

Now most of us will never face the type of fear or be required to summon the same kind of courage David or the Boy Scouts in Iowa did, we shouldn't discount that we're called upon each day to summon courage in simple, daily tasks. Maybe it's having the courage to stand up for a personal belief that doesn't jive with something going on where you work. Perhaps it's being willing to stand up to someone mistreating a co-worker, family member or friend. Maybe it's being brave enough to be honest with a loved one, no matter what the consequences may be. I'd say that these little moments of courage are what give us the ability to summon courage in the wake of crisis. As a community, its important that we support each other in the little moments of courage, because without support every day, we won't have the opportunity to build that courage we may need in moments of great fear.

It's my hope that every day at the Y, people find it easy to have the courage to do what's right and say what's right every time. We are working to sustain an environment and create a community where courage is a cornerstone of its citizens. Through our mission, we strive to help build strong people, and part of that strength is courage.

I get my strength through many places, the most important being my personal relationship with God and my ability to lean on His word in every situation. I also recognize that every persons source of courage is different, and so I hope your fountain never runs dry and that in some way the YMCA is a place to renew that source for you. That is so important to us and we'll continue to work toward making the YMCA a place that will do that for everyone.

In the aftermath of the Iowa tornado, the courage of the scouts involved was heralded as those impacted mourned the loss of those lives taken. Surely several factors led to that courage, including those young men's families, hard work, belief in scouting and the influence of their community. For some it may have been how they believed God was acting in their lives. Thomas White, an 18-year old Eagle Scout who lay on the ground through the storm with several younger scouts said "The grace of God helped us for sure."

hmmm...Grace...that's for another day.

So may you find strength - strength from God, from your community, from your family or from each other. And may your source of courage never run dry so that you can face the giants in your life and defeat them and be healthy and strong in spirit, mind and body.

If you get the chance today, stop and be still, and say a prayer for the families of those four boy scouts, and hug your kids.

I'll see you at the Y...