Your YMCA is Here, and
We Miss You!
Dear Dow Bay Area Family YMCA Members,
We miss you! Our building has now been closed to the public for 26 days, and it has been both eerie and lonesome without our smiling, active members here to liven the YMCA.
Yesterday, we have received word from Governor Gretchen Whitmer to keep our facility closed until at least April 30th. Though this comes as no surprise, we are still saddened by the news. If you recall in our last member letter (sent March 18th), we have not pulled any membership dues in April. We continue to evaluate information from state and federal governments, and make decisions regarding your membership with your best interest in mind. If you have a phone number on file with us, you will also be receiving a phone call this morning reiterating our community engagement at this time, and reminding you to continue following our updates online.
If you would like to speak with someone from Member Services, please call us at 989.895.8596 Monday to Friday from 11:00am to 3:00pm or Saturdays from 11:00am to 1:00pm.
This news can be stressful for many, and can warrant feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, depression, nervousness, and anger. The American Red Cross has released Steps to Help Cope with the evolving pandemic. If you are experiencing these feelings, we are with you, and would like to share a quick Mindfulness Exercise courtesy of the YMCA of Greater Flint.
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Continuing to Strengthen Our Community
Though our physical facility may be closed, our staff is still working diligently to provide meals for our county's youth, food boxes for families in need, and a virtual community where they post videos of workouts, positive thinking, and activities to do with your families.
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Emergency Food BoxesOnly a handful of our staff continue coming in to the Dow Bay Area Family YMCA. Their job is to package and distribute Emergency Food Boxes and Free Youth Food Program meal bags to families in Bay County.
Emergency Food Box hours are Mondays through Fridays from 11am to 3pm and Saturdays 11am to 1pm. We have distributed 253 food boxes since our building closed on March 16th!
We have Hidden Harvest, the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, 211, United Way of Bay County, and the Bay Area Community Foundation to thank for providing funds, meals, support, and partnership to make this project possible. We would also like to thank all of our members for donating and supporting us as we continue feeding our community!
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Emergency Food Box Delivery
On Monday, March 30th, we began providing Emergency Food Box deliveries. Families or individuals with limited mobility may now choose to have their Emergency Food Box delivered to them rather than pick it up at our YMCA.
To participate, individuals should dial 2-1-1 to receive a food box or pantry referral. (Call during our food box hours to be referred to our Y!) Once referred, the individual will arrange a pick-up time or request the delivery.
We would like to thank Sunrise National Distributors for donating the use of a truck to our YMCA so that we can accomplish these deliveries. We are so grateful for the continued support we have received from businesses and organizations in our community!
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Free Youth Food ProgramMondays through Fridays from 11am to 3pm we serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner to anyone 18 years old and younger. Anyone who meets these requirements receives a meal bag filled with all 3 meals all at once at anytime during this time window. We also serve breakfast and lunch to youth on Saturdays from 11am to 1pm. Stop by during that time frame to receive breakfast and lunch for both Saturday and Sunday. Since our building has closed on March 16th, we have served almost 9,000 meals to youth in our community through our Free Youth Food Program.
Breakfast and lunch have been made possible by an extension of the Summer Food Service Program in partnership with the USDA and the Michigan Department of Education. Dinner has been made possible in part by a generous financial donation and a donation of Ziploc bags from SC Johnson. We have also appreciated the donations of apple slices and milk from McDonalds, milk from Burger King, and the work of our dedicated staff in administering this much-needed program.
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Dow Bay Area Family YMCA on the Go!
On Monday, March 16th, we created a private Facebook Group for all of our members and community members to join. There, we have been posting and encouraging collaboration from our staff and friends to share how they are surviving this pandemic. Follow the link above to join and watch videos of work outs to do at home from your favorite Personal Trainers and Group Exercise Instructors, as well as other helpful tips from your friends at the Y!
Don't have Facebook? No problem! We are also sharing information, workouts, nutrition tips, and other videos on our website. Included is a great Healthy Aging at Home workout from the YMCA of Greater Flint for our senior friends! Find us on YouTube as well to watch all of our published workout and daily tip videos.
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The Childcare Staff Misses You!
It's been awfully quiet on the playground. We hope that you are all enjoying more time together as a family right now, but we can't wait until we can see all of you again! In the meantime, there is a very cute No-Sew Sock Bunny craft linked below that we would like to share just in time for Easter. All you need is a sock, rice for stuffing, string, scissors, and a marker! YouTube video tutorial is linked in the image. Good luck and have a happy Easter!
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Virtual Easter Egg HuntAs we are all preparing for another holiday spent physically apart, find a way to get together virtually on Easter and check out this virtual Easter Egg Hunt! Prepare one Easter Egg Hunt at home, and video call a family in another home to find all the eggs! Read this article for all of the steps and more information.
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Have a Happy Easter!Our Baskets may be a little lighter this year, and our tables a little more roomy, but we are staying safe. With your help, your Y is also making a positive impact on your community. Thank you for #stickingwiththeY. We are grateful for you today and every day. And remember, "God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power” (1 Corinthians 6:14). This time may be difficult, but He has a plan. Have a wonderful Easter.
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Keep Sharing, Keep in Touch, & Stay Safe
Though we aren't together in person, we are together in service. Please continue sharing the valuable information that we are posting to Facebook. We are here to strengthen the foundations of our community, and we need your support.
Remember to stay home and stay safe. We hope to see you all again very soon.
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Member of the Month
Ryan Boon
"My wife and I have been Y members for about 17 years. We love everything about our Y from the friendly staff to the outstanding facility. It has been difficult to be without our home away from home but we look forward to getting back to normalcy soon and the comraderey we feel with the staff and members."
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Employees of the Month
Food Program Staff
The Dow Bay Area Family YMCA can not thank the current Food Program staff enough for continuing to come in to the Y Monday through Saturday to provide this necessary service to our community's families. You embody and exemplify our Cause and we are especially grateful to have you on our team during this difficult time.
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