Jun 21

Jun 21 Y on Wheels

J. Smith Young YMCA staff and volunteers are bring fun to the community this summer.
{Contributed photo}

LEXINGTON - The J. Smith Young YMCA is moving outside the walls this summer as they travel around the community on a new mission- Taking the Y on wheels.

The Covid pandemic forced the YMCA to operate differently, and in ways that they never thought of before. During the pandemic, we recognized the need for kids to have a routine, a break from what 2020 was and the need for them to just be kids.

During the process of planning for summer, the Y realized that they wanted all kids to have a fun summer experience and some area neighborhoods lack facilities for people to take part in typical summer camp experiences. The Y did what it knows best- adapted to the current need.

"We see the possibility of helping a lot of under-served communities in Lexington where we don’t necessarily have a Y building, but we can take the Y out to the community,” said Kelly Harms, Operations Director. "We call it the YMCA on wheels because we basically put the YMCA into a bus and we drive it anywhere and reach anybody,” said CEO Jen Fuller-Allen.

Each week, the bus has a theme and activities that include sidewalk chalk, bubbles, hula hoops and crafts. The Y also serves a healthy meal to any child that would like one. It’s all made possible thanks to Mountcastle Insurance and Bunce Buildings.

“We are seeing kids come back each week to participate in our activities smiling the whole way to the bus. We are forming relationships with families that may have never been able to come to the Y- and that’s what the Y is all about. We want to be the light in our community,” said Harms.

The YMCA has a social responsibility to not only be a resource for those kids, but to bring all of the organizations that are doing great work together to help serve kids in our community. The YMCA has also partnered with the Davidson County Book mobile to ensure all children have access to free books. “During the COVID crisis and recovery, the J. Smith Young YMCA chose to focus on fulfilling our mission and doing whatever we could to support our community and share the YMCA with all our neighbors. This is one of the ways we are working to unify our community again, after being apart for so long,” says Fuller-Allen.

If you would like more information, or would like to volunteer with this program, please email kelly@lexingtonymca.com.