Addie's Column: YMCA helps youth with confidence and self-improvement
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Working to better oneself is a commendable and rewarding path. It can seem like an impossible mountain to climb at times, seemingly pointless even to attempt alone. Since its inception, the YMCA has set out to aid in community improvement, seeking to support and offer what the community needs.Although there is a membership fee, all the money obtained goes back into sustaining and developing the YMCA, such as paying employees and providing services. With the help of charitable donations from individuals and organizations such as United Way, the YMCA can offer programs that promote healthy living and development while also reinforcing core values of respect, kindness and responsibility.
Founded in London, England, in 1844, as the Young Men's Christian Association, the YMCA was not primarily a fitness and wellness-based institution. It started as a movement of sorts, built upon the principles of masculine and traditional Christianity, seeking to promote and spread the religion and humanitarianism. Although at its core the YMCA is still a faith-based organization, it has shifted towards a primarily wellness and community-centered focus. Providing benefits like youth activities, athletic facilities and classes all to help people in need, all to improve one’s “mind, body and spirit.”
Physical and mental health are two aspects of life essential to living happily and growing and flourishing as a person. In today’s society, it can almost feel like happiness and wellness are unattainable, with goalposts continuously moving farther and farther than what is in one’s range of capability. The YMCA aims to remedy and support folks in their journeys with their own mental and physical health. They offer physical activities and services, such as aquatic exercises, aerobics, yoga and more, along with wellness activities, such as personal training, mind and body studios and youth classes.
In my experience, the J. Smith Young YMCA offers an enriching and nurturing environment within its childcare and wellness programs. Throughout elementary school, I was enrolled in the YMCA’s afterschool program. I was provided an environment in which I could simply learn at my own pace and figure out myself and my surroundings. Admittedly, I was quite socially awkward, yet at the YMCA I was never judged or bullied, I was embraced and I flourished because of it. I have fond memories of being at the YMCA. I remember interacting with my peers, playing board games, watching movies and making friends. It truly was an amazing opportunity from which I benefited, helping me develop social skills, interests and identity. The YMCA programs not only helped me and my development while growing up but also helped some of my senior family members. The YMCA offers a yoga class that my family member signed up for after experiencing some medical problems that hindered their mobility. The consistent movement and routine helped them a lot, as well as the simple joy of socializing with others with the same goal of self-improvement in mind.
The YMCA in Lexington offers countless amazing opportunities and programs. Aquatic lessons and activities, youth sports, yoga and more! Available to all ages, from children to tweens to elders. All in all, the YMCA offers so many amazing opportunities that uplift and better the community, making a positive and long-lasting difference.
The J. Smith Young YMCA is funded, in part, by the United Way of Davidson County.
