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We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and over the next few weeks you will continue to make fond memories with family and friends.
Make sure to check our hours for Christmas and New Years later on in this newsletter!
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In March of this year, we asked the Spokane community to vote online and lend support in our efforts to secure a LIVESTRONG Community Impact Grant. Receiving this recognition was a prerequisite to obtaining the great privilege of offering LIVESTRONG at the YMCA. We want to formally thank all friends of the Y who participated in this voting campaign. We received the grant in April and have been working hard for the last 6 months to build capacity and train staff for a successful and sustainable roll-out.
LIVESTRONG at the YMCA is a 12 week program whose mission is to empower adult cancer survivors to improve functional capacity and to increase their quality of life through an organized program of fitness and strength. Post-treatment cancer survivors work together in small groups to regain physical, emotional and spiritual balance. LIVESTRONG at the YMCA Coaches, who are specially trained in supportive cancer care, facilitate the program in a safe, non-clinical environment. Small class sizes with a maximum ratio of seven participants to one coach allow for program protocols to be personalized in a way that honors and respects the unique journey of each participant.
Seven survivors are currently participating in our pilot program which launched on November 7th. They will meet as a group two times per week for a total of 24 classes over the next three months. In March, the program will be available at all three of our branches. We hope to enroll and graduate 125 participants in 2013. For more information on LIVESTRONG, contact Nicole Manus at nmanus@ymcaspokane.org or at 509-777-9622 ext. 119
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North Spokane YMCA
Saturday the 8th, Bonneville Power will be replacing the wooden power poles located in the middle of the main parking lot. During this replacement, no one will be able to come within 100 ft. of the lines, which blocks access to the entire parking lot.
Additional parking in the dirt parking lot will help with some of the temporary parking issues. Thanks for your patience, and everything should be back to normal on the following day, Sunday the 9th.
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 Are you still looking for a Christmas tree to decorate? We have one for you. We have Christmas trees for sale at the Spokane Valley YMCA. All proceeds benefit the Youth Investment Program, so decorate a tree and help change the life of a teen all at the same time.
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Click the image below in order to view our Group Exercise Holiday Schedule. Also, our 3 facilities will follow this schedule:
Christmas Eve: 5am-4pm
Christmas Day: CLOSED
New Years Eve: 5am-4pm
New Years Day: Central
CLOSED, North and Valley
OPEN from 5am-4pm
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For a chance to win a $10 gift card this month to either Starbucks or Emerald City Smoothies, simply click the link below and answer the question about your favorite wintertime activity! 
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Dec 15: Santa's Workshop
@ all three Y facilities (5:30pm-9:30, ages Preschool-12 years)
Dec 19: Registration Deadline for the annual Holiday
Basketball Jamboree
Dec 20: Family Fun Night @
Central Y (6:00pm-8:00pm)
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As we enjoy and give thanks for having family and friends around the table during the holiday season, we might consider making family meals together more of a regular occurrence.
Despite busy schedules and competing priorities, sitting down together to share a meal and the events of the day is valuable time to connect, show genuine interest in and care for one another, create and share traditions, and appreciate one another's company.
Eating together is also an opportunity to talk about and model healthy eating habits like eating a wide variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables.
* Start with one meal a week
* Try breakfast or brunch if dinner is difficult to schedule
* Keep the menu simple, but healthy and hearty. The point is to be together
* Turn off the TV, phones and other electronic devices
* Prepare the meal together and divide up tasks like setting the table and doing the dishes
* Plan meal dates, put them on the family calendar, and enjoy 'dressing' for the occasion
* As a family, search out a new healthy recipe, prepare it together and then have everyone grade the recipe - it may become a monthly regular
* Take your time. Relax and enjoy the food and each other's company!
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Volunteer Spotlight:
Sheldon Nevens Sheldon Nevens came to the YMCA on unusual terms. "I came to Spokane without a clue, no sense of direction, and completely alone."
Sheldon, a native of Compton, California began his trek four years ago in the city of Seattle, Washington. "As a kid I always dreamed of a place where I could live in peace away from all the violence and chaos that my environment brought."
Sheldon decided to move to Seattle where his father stayed, in hopes of a better life. What he found were the same circumstances that influenced him most of his life. "I couldn't believe it; it was like I never left LA." Bad choices eventually led him in to poverty, where he suddenly had an epiphany.
"I realized that it wasn't my environment or people that were to blame, but me - I was responsible for my own choices, and I was the one that needed to make the change."
An old friend, persuaded him to move to Newport, Washington, to work for the company he was working for, but there was still something missing. "I was still feeling sad, depressed and undervalued, but I didn't know where it was coming from."
He decided to move to Spokane and check into the Spokane Union Gospel Mission. Sheldon later joined their 18 month Life Change Recovery Program.
As part of the program's business practicum, under the guidance of Tiffany Riddle, he was placed at the YMCA's corporate office as an office assistant, where he has become an important asset to the volunteer department.
"I am grateful for the experience, everybody here is just so encouraging towards me and towards each other - I am still getting use to it."
"To me it was a matter of getting healthy and God revealing his truth about me, knowing that I could really start living for the first time in my life." Thank you Sheldon for all your hard work and for all you have brought to the Y!
For more information about volunteering for the YMCA please contact Tony Manley at nmanley@ymcaspokane.org
or call 777-9622 ext.479
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