Busy schedules and life's daily demands can make it difficult for parents to ensure that their children are practicing healthy habits on a regular basis. According to the YMCA's Family Health Snapshot - a survey of parents that gauges their children's activity levels during the school year - less than 20 percent of the nation's children get 60 minutes of physical activity, read books for fun, and eat at least eight fruits and vegetables every day.

 

On Saturday, March 9, the Hobart Family YMCA is celebrating YMCA's Healthy Kids Day� with a free community event to get more families moving, learning and living healthier. Healthy Kids Day, a national initiative of the Y, takes place at 1,900 Y's and features fun, educational activities such the glow germ, swimming, water games, obstacle course, challenging games, family-walk, free-throw challenge, jump-house, photo kid's ID, face painting, kid's tattoos, health screenings, giveaways, door prizes healthy snacks and much more!

 

Healthy Kids Day is supported locally by Strack & Van Til Mega Mart, Pepsi Cola General Bottlers, Hobart Kiwanis Club, and Chick-fil-A.   The Hobart Family YMCA is proud to host representatives from
the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, Miller's Merry Manor, North Shore Health Center, St. Mary Medical Center, MDWise, Accurate Hearing Aid Services, Lewyckyj-Taglia-Felton Eye Clinic, East Wind Acupuncture, Ridgewood Dental, Children's Dental Clinic, Accord Chiropractic, Broadway Plaza Pain Relief Center, Walgreens, Brickyard Pediatrics who will be conducting health screenings, taking blood pressure readings, hearing exams, eye tests, chiropractic screens and spinal massages.

 

 

At YMCA's Healthy Kids Day, we are focusing on health and education to ensure fewer children are at an increased risk for childhood obesity and more children succeed in school. It's not just a single day of fun, active play and learning - it's a kick off to helping parents get a jump on creating a healthier summer."

 

During summer, many children lose exposure to out-of-school activities that keep their minds and bodies active, leaving them at risk of falling behind academically and gaining weight twice as fast as they would during the school year. Following are five ideas for activities families can begin doing now and throughout summer to stay healthy.

  • Begin planning now for summer activities. Check with the Y or the local parks and recreation for opportunities with day or resident camp, swimming, arts and crafts, or sports.
  • Start a book series and read together each night as a family. Reading at night keeps the brain buzzing and young minds active!
  • Drink water. Have fun with flavor, give it some pizzazz with a slice of lemon, lime, orange, or even cucumber.
  • Take a walking "staycation". Map out a new neighborhood or hiking trail in your area and get your family to explore on foot. It's a great way to make Saturday a healthy, active start to the weekend.
  • Next time you get "I'm bored!" give your kids a jump rope! It's an awesome way to have fun and keep moving. They can go solo, or get others in on the fun.
  • Start a "Words I Want to Know" notebook for the entire family. When there is an unfamiliar word, write it down, look it up, and add it to the family's vocabulary. You can even keep track of these on the refrigerator.

Plan to attend this fun event with your family at 601 West 40th Place from 10 a.m. to Noon.


Michael and Andrea Rogers love that the Hobart YMCA provides a great sports program. They especially appreciate the low cost so they can have their kids participate in a variety of sports year round.

 

Growing up Michael and Andrea both were raised going to the YMCA.  When they started their own family, they knew Justin and Jordan would be a part of the YMCA. While participating in soccer, flag football, and swimming, Justin and Jordan like making new friends.  Playing sports for the Air force Academy has provided Michael with the experience to take on a leadership role as a YMCA coach.  This Y family is a great example of how the Hobart Y Sports programs help families grow together.

 

The YMCA Youth Sports program emphasizes sportsmanship, fair play and teamwork; emphasize the values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility; keep winning in perspective; enable all participants to play in every game; include family involvement; include coaches and officials training; emphasize safety and age-appropriate progressive skill development; emphasize using volunteers as coaches and officials; and are open to all segments of the community.

 

The youth sports program has added a 12 to 14 yr old division to our Winter Basketball program this year. It's a great way to keep those kids who thought they would have originally aged out of our program still be able to play. We are excited to give middle school aged children an opportunity to stay healthy, develop as basketball players, and have fun. This gives our community another opportunity for those children to stay active.

 

 

Indiana YMCA Youth and Government (INY&G) Program is a three-day experiential learning conference in which students participate directly in the state's democratic process.  Acting as Senators and Representatives, students write, debate, and vote on legislation that affects them.  As candidates, pages, or members of media, students experience the rich spectrum of activity that constitutes our political process.  As advocates and justices, students argue and judge legal cases in the actual Supreme Court chambers of Indiana.  Officers elected by students serve as Governor, Chief Justice, Speaker of the House and other conference leadership.

INY&G offers students the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of issues, develop critical thinking skills, and articulate their beliefs while engaging constructively with those who hold like and opposing views. 

 

Thirty teens from Hobart High School participated in the Youth and Government program this year.  Each teen researched a topic that was important to them, wrote and proposed a bill for consideration by the House and Senate.  Our teens served as delegates in either the House or Senate.  Several of our teens were elected officers, leading the Model Legislature.  Colin May, a teacher at Hobart High School and Sharon Tarry, Sr. Program Director from the Hobart YMCA  attended the conference as Y&G advisers.   

 

Y&G develops a relationship between government and individual young adults.  It teaches them how to change things later in life.  Whatever their roles may be in getting things done, they understand the process of change.  The program encourages lifelong responsible citizenship through the study of public issues, debate of public policy, writing legislation and experiencing the state government process. 

 

Governor Daniel Cruz, a senior from Hobart High School, commented about his experience this year, "INY&G has enabled me to define my character as a debater, as a leader, and as a person.  I have learned a lot about servant leadership and how to use it to reach my goals, as well as help others reach their own goals."

Lieutenant Governor Marc Lind, a junior from Hobart High School, shared what Y&G meant to him.  "It's totally different from most extra-curricular activities.  It gives people the opportunity to grow in their public speaking skills while being surrounded by people they know, yet at the same time have a great time.  It also lets you express your opinions and gives you a feel of what it's like in the government."

 

Speaker of the House Ralph Glen Bernardo, a junior at HHS, remarked that, "INY&G is a program in which individuals can build intellectual relationships with one another.  Through this program, leadership, integrity, respect, and public speaking are brought forth to better the skills of everyone in a profound way."


Are you interested in taking over the Indiana State House with the Hobart YMCA delegation?  If you are or know of a high school student interested in an amazing opportunity to practice leadership and the democratic process while having fun with friends, contact Sharon Tarry by calling the Hobart Family YMCA at 219-942-2183 extension 14 or email at [email protected].

 

 

 

Initially when people think of yoga, flexibility is the first thing that comes to mind. Connecting with and knowing the body plays a huge role in yoga and children of all ages can really benefit from it. Children tend to have a lot of mobility and little stability. They yearn for movement and sensory/motor stimulus. With the age groups I work with the kids are still very supple, flexible, and have a low center of gravity. Many of the things they can do, adults may consider impossible. It's a great age range for them to build up their body awareness, coordination, and self control. Because yoga is not a competitive activity and it is done all at once as a group, the children can focus more on their bodies and less on a performance. The kids come into the room and love to play and make shapes with their bodies. I have also noticed that they tend to build better body confidence. By the second class the kids who begged their mom to stay for class will be shooing them out the door telling them they can do yoga on their own.

                                                                        -Lizet Zuniga

 

IN THIS ISSUE
Healthy Kids Day 2013
Making Families Strong!
Indiana Youth & Government
Children's Yoga
 
ENJOY THIS ISSUE?

Feel free to share this newsletter with anyone who you think may find it useful.
   
 
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on TwitterFind us on Pinterest
 
 
 Hobart Family YMCA Launches Annual Community Support Campaign

Funds raised will help residents of Hobart and surrounding communities learn, grow and thrive!

 

Everyday, the Hobart Family YMCA serves as a gathering place for the community. Kids arrive at after-school sites to play, to do homework, to connect!  Seniors meet every day at the Y or exercise, group activities and to connect with one another. Families come to the Y to exercise their minds and bodies, play, learn and socialize.

 

To ensure that the Y can continue to provide our residents with life enhancing services, the Hobart Family YMCA is launching its' annual "Changing Lives" community support campaign.

 

As a leading non-profit for strengthening community, financial gifts to the Hobart Y will help advance programming and services that support youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. More importantly, gifts to the Hobart Family YMCA make a direct impact on residents' right here in our community.

 

Last year, financial support made it possible for elementary age kids to have a safe place to learn and build confidence after school and at summer day camps; for families to reconnect, get healthier and grow together; and for seniors to access educational, social and wellness programs to reach their full potential.

 

"We all need the Y because our organization works every day to nurture the potential of kids, improve health and well-being and help neighbors support one another," said Dale Polomchak, CEO. "With our Changing Lives  Campaign, we want more people to understand that we are more than a place to go to exercise or swim - and that we rely on their financial support to do our vital work."

 

This year, the Hobart Family YMCA hopes to raise $40,500. Funds raised will support memberships for individuals and families, vital programs including youth sports, water exercise classes, arthritis classes, preschool and school-age childcare.

 

To learn more about how you can support the Y's cause, please contact Dale Polomchak, CEO at (219) 942-2183, ext. 13, email at [email protected]

 

Please click the links below to view: 

Changing Lives Campaign Brochure

 

Changing Lives Campaign Pledge Card

 

 

Caring Heart, Open Arms Childcare and Development Ministry at 3440 W. 61st Ave. in Hobart wants to thank the Hobart YMCA for allowing our children the benefit of attending swimming lessons at your facility.  The parents are very appreciative to us for taking their children to learn not only swimming lessons but lessons in various types of water safety. The children are thrilled to know it is swimming day and the parents love the fact that we can assist them in obtaining this life-long skill during the day while they are busy at work.  The parents are also very appreciative to see their child's progress with the assessment that goes home at the end of each session of lessons. The staff at the YMCA is encouraging and helpful to encourage even the most timid child! Thank you again, Debbie Rubio and staff for allowing us to bring our children to learn a skill that will serve  them for a lifetime!

 

 



 
Developmental Preschoolers from the 3 year AM and PM and the Pre-K AM and PM classes enjoyed playing with their families at the Y's preschool family night, Friday, February 22nd.  The fun began in the Y's intergenerational room as preschoolers and their families chowed down on pizza, salad, drinks, a variety of snacks and cookies.  The next stop was to the Y's gymnasium for games, games, games.  The first game was the egg toss.  Each family chose one child and one adult to participate.  The child stood on a solid line and never moved.  The parent started on line one and let child throw the egg to them.  The parent then handed the egg back to their child and stepped back to the next line.  For scoring purposes the line they ended on was the amount of points awarded.   The next challenge was the basketball free throw contest.  Again one child and one adult from each family were given five shots each.  The score was then combined for their final score.  On to the Minnow races--one member from each family dropped a minnow in the racing tracks built by the Gniadek family.  Everyone cheered for the Minnows, "Go, go, yeah, go," was the cheer.  Yes, there were more fun games to play. The preschoolers and their families participated in the potato sack races where each family chose a child to begin the race.  Each child hopped by themselves or with assistance from a parent to the blue line and back.  When reaching the blue line the children would switch off with another family member and they would race to the blue line and back.  The points were awarded based on their standings.  The last organized game was the toilet paper roll races.  Each family had one child and one adult compete together of this race.  One person held the rod with the toilet paper attached while the other member tried to unravel it as fast as they could.  The overall family relay was enjoyed by all participants and spectators.  The winners from each class competed against the other class winners from all the games played to have an overall winner.  Luke Zormier's family won the overall prize.  All first place and second place teams took home a prize.  But the fun wasn't over yet; on to the locker rooms to change into bathing suits for a splashing good time in the Y's pool.   What a way to end a most perfect Friday evening with your family!

 

On January 26th the Hobart Family YMCA Aquatic Department had its January Splash Fundraiser.  The January Splash is a fundraiser where participants collect pledges for each length they swim or jog. With the success of this fundraiser every year we have purchased a lifeguard chair, backstroke flags, backboard, rescue tubes and a variety of exercise equipment, music, and toys all to make our programs enjoyable and successful.

Dale Markus has done the Fundraiser every year because he believes in the Y and wants to give back. He enjoys swimming and likes to see new items purchased through fundraising. Dale has been our top fundraiser every year.

 This year the Splash was not only a fundraiser but a competitive challenge to some participants.

Swimming the Most Distance this year was Stan Jarosz. In December last year one of the Y lifeguards told me about the January Splash fundraiser, and I liked the challenge. In a 2 hour period I wanted to complete 2 � miles and ended up swimming 2 � mile and I couldn't believe how well I did." Stated Stan.

 As time for the annual Fundraiser neared Barb Kline, Carol Sullivan and Nina Falatic challenged each other to give it a try. Carol who only learned to swim 4 years ago at age 70 was so proud to declare that she swan enough lengths to equal her age, but when she heard that she was only six lengths from matching Barbs swim she challenged herself and accomplished 80 lengths. Carol stated that she can take the January Splash off her bucket list. Nina stated "With the support of Carol and Barb I was able to build my confidence to participate in the January Splash. Participating with my Y friends made it a fun challenge for us! 

 

 
 
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on TwitterFind us on Pinterest
 
 

CURRENT JOB OPPORTUNITIES

  

For more information click here!