This Week's Mission Moment
Tomorrow, the South Shore YMCA will host our annual Healthy Kids Day®, encouraging families to take a moment to help kids be kids and set them up for a summer of success. The day-long event will feature activities such as bounce houses, games, “Touch-a-Truck” with local emergency and construction vehicles, arts and crafts, camp and swim lesson information, healthy snacks, and even Family Farm Fun Time – all to motivate families to be active with their kids and develop healthy routines at home.
At the Y, we believe in the potential of all children and each day we work to help kids find that potential within themselves. Healthy Kids Day is a fun, free community-wide event to kick off summer and remind us all how important it is for kids to stay active physically and mentally throughout the summer.
Our new Quincy YMCA Executive Director, Katelyn Szafir, a mother of two herself, shared her team’s excitement at the return of Healthy Kids Day this year. “We are so excited to have this event back after it had been cancelled during COVID. It feels like a breath of fresh air and a return to 'regular' family life for our Y kids and community.”
Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Healthy Kids Day is the Y’s national initiative to improve health and well-being for kids and families. Our Y hopes to use the day to get more kids moving and learning, creating healthy habits they can continue while they’re away from the classroom. When kids are out of school, they can face hurdles that prevent them from reaching their full potential.
Research shows that without access to out-of-school learning activities, kids fall behind academically. Kids also gain weight twice as fast during summer than during the school year. Healthy Kids Day is a reminder to families that we can help ensure all children have access to what they need to reach their full potential, even during out-of-school time.
And because being active and learning outside in natural surroundings is beneficial for kids in spirit, mind and body, we are incorporating some environmental and farming fun into the day with a Family Farm Fun Time at our South Shore YMCA Family Farm, Located at 1075 Washington Street Hanover (behind our Early Learning Center on Route 53). From noon-2pm, families are welcome to dig and play in the dirt, learn how we grow delicious, healthy produce, and enjoy some fun farm activities. We offer this every weekend, so mark your calendars this spring and summer!
Healthy Kids Day takes place tomorrow, Saturday, April 30, at Quincy YMCA and Emilson YMCA from Noon-1pm and features fun, active play and educational activities for the entire community. We hope to see you there to kick off a summer of fun and good health for our Y kids.
- Touch-a-Truck with emergency and construction vehicles
- Bounce Houses & Obstacle Course
- Healthy Snacks
- Y Camp & Swim Lesson Information
- Family Farm Fun Time (Noon-2pm, South Shore YMCA Family Farm, 1075 Washington Street, Hanover)
- And more!
Join us for this FREE community event, and bring your friends!
