When a lot of us were complaining about snow, Cheryl Hamond walked among ruins and rubble in what millions have to call living conditions.

Hamond, a Mankato Family YMCA program director, was among a small group of Y officials across the country who visited Haiti and saw how, one year after the country's massive earthquake, the YMCA d'Haiti in Port au Prince served its people.

The impact of that trip will be with her forever, she says. Yet among the desperate and shocking aspects of life in Haiti, she also found determination, pride, and resilience among those who have lost everything -- except hope. And she saw the YMCA playing a central role in any hope for the children who attend the Y after-school programs in the newly constructed (and first hurricane- and earthquake-proof) building in Port au Prince.

At the Y in Haiti, educating children is the priority. A new facility, a CyberCafe ("You aren't going to see another one of those in Haiti," Hamond said) and programs that resemble the Mankato Y's Discovery preschool all add up to a surprising air of resilience among the children and their families.  

 That resilience has its obstacles: According to its government, more than a quarter million people died in the earthquake while 1 million became homeless.

"Kids there are incredibly happy, more so than kids in the U.S.," Hamond said. They're incredibly resilient and pull together as a community and a culture."

Hamond traveled on Port au Prince streets that were lined, landfill-like, with endless stacks of plastic coolers, electric fans, buggies and appliances set out for sale by families living in tents. She met children whose dark eyes were sagging and cloudy because they were dying of cholera. She saw families showering in the street or walking in shallow rivers strewn with garbage.  

And still, she returned home with a renewed appreciation for the  YMCA organization overall and its commitment to social responsibility -- with each facility's offerings tailored to the unique needs of its community.

"To think we're present in so many countries and we're reaching so many people - it's amazing," Hamond says.  

How will a trip to Haiti translate to her work in Mankato? Hamond says she'll focus on being a more transformational leader, seeking ways to ensure the Y here is zeroing in on the needs of this multi-cultural community.

"What are we doing here for immigrant children, for instance," she said. "Lets look at the needs of our community and do our programming around that."

 

February in Mankato, Minnesota. What more (or less) could you want from a triathlon than indoors and mini?

Sign up for our non-competitive Saturday, Feb. 26 indoor Mini-triathlon. Swim for 15 minutes, bike for 20, run for 20 and call yourself finished!

Participants receive a T-shirt and are eligible to enter a raffle for a larger prize. (Shirts will be guaranteed to all who register before Feb. 14).

All Mini-Triathlon activities will take place indoors using the Y's pool, cycle bikes and treadmills. Individuals will be assigned to a heat, with first heat starting at 7:30 a.m. and check-in 30 minutes prior to heat time. Specific heat times will be mailed out after registration deadline.

Registration deadline is Feb. 14 and the fee is $18. Register at the Y's front desk.

New Discovery preschool class added for ages 2 and 3.

 

Cheryl Ballard will teach the new Discovery class opening in fall 2011.
 

This fall, the Y will offer a class for 2-year-olds and younger 3-year-olds. Age requirement is that the child be 28 months by Sept. 1, 2011.

As with all the Y's preschool classes, this class will give children opportunities to develop in areas of social/emotional behavior, cognitive, physical, and language/literacy development.

Discovery preschool days involve games, gym time, music and movement, stories, snacks and art. Special events include swimming, holiday parties and guest speakers.

The class will meet Monday and Wednesday mornings from 8:30 to 10:30 between September 2011 and May 2012. Cost is $72 per month for members and $88 per month for non-members.

The class instructor is Cheryl Ballard, a longtime Discovery teacher who in 2009 was recognized as Minnesota Early Childhood Teacher of the Year.

For more information, contact Margo Dietz at 345-9805.

"I will talk about my journey from the back of the aerobics room to the front of the room on the stage," says Schull.
  

She'll discuss the emotional advantages of exercising routinely -- how it led to the kind of health in body, mind and spirit that allows her to be of inspiration to others -- like those runners who were in the "Class of 2010," many of whom ran half or full marathons for the first time in the fall.

The skills developed at the Y helped Schull "start living life and stop watching how others live," she said.
 
The Women's Retreat is from 9:30 to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Y. There are still openings available for the event.
 

Yoga, pilates, dance fitness, massage and nails are on the agenda for the morning. The event concludes with a light lunch and Schull's talk.  Cost is $25 for members, $50 for non-members. For more information, contact Joy at 345-9813.