Lorelei's Story
Trying to rebuild their lives after leaving a negative family situation, Lorelei and her kids needed child care.
But more importantly, they needed hope
The kind of hope found in a community where you can come as you are and belong.
Lorelei and her kids are just a few of the
100,000+
people
in our Greater Vancouver YMCA family who strive every day to be healthy.
Take a journey with us to see how we’re making a difference together.
(Choose One)
Regardless of income or background, every parent cares about the same things: that their kids eat their veggies; that they stay healthy, have great friends, do well in school and stay active. So they can be happy.
At the YMCA, we work together to build stronger connections
with other parents
with mentors
with their kids
... and a place to let off steam and let the kids play. Because parents need time to be healthy too.
Story
Stats
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Parent Programs
A Fresh Start
One visit to the Bob and Kay Ackles YMCA Nanook House and you can see how special it is. Children are laughing, playing and growing. Passionate staff are investing in the development of kids and supporting and befriending their parents. Parents are meeting other parents, and raising their families together with the encouragement and resources they need.
Lorelei and her two kids—Caleb (4) and Saiyaka (7)—have been a part of the Bob and Kay Ackles YMCA Nanook House for the past six years. “Before coming to Nanook, life was very hard,” says Lorelei. “The simplest things in life become harder once you become a new single mom.”
More Than Child Care
“When I was homeless, or couldn’t pay my child care fees, the Y was there. There was one time when my son hit me and I didn’t know how to deal with it. I was on my way to Nanook and so I had someone to talk to about it. If I didn’t trust the staff enough to talk about it, I wouldn’t have known what to do,” says Lorelei.
What is provided at Nanook is so much more than child care. Staff assist parents to secure housing, access transportation, and further their education. A full-time cook provides healthy meals and snacks every day. “I honestly believe from the bottom of my heart that every single parent should be at this child care,” says Lorelei.
3,000
from the community celebrated at YMCA Healthy Kids Day
5,925
adults received financial assistance
7,579
requests for child care resources and referrals
7,754
parents and children attended YMCA family drop-in centres
153
parents and kids spent quality time together at a BC Lions game
- Health, fitness and recreation
- Parenting workshops and support groups
- Family drop-in programs and resource lending library
- Childminding
- Family Camp
- Programs for new Canadians
- Volunteer opportunities
Every child has a right to access the relationships that lead to a healthy life:
At the YMCA, we work together to build stronger connections
Great friends
Counsellors to look up to
Teachers & coaches that believe in you
With a deep focus on staying active & living healthy, we help kids create their own social networks with friends and mentors so they are supported to reach their full potential.
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Kids Programs
A Loving Foundation
“I cried when it was Saiyaka’s last day at Nanook and I know I’ll cry when it is Caleb’s last day.” For kids like Saiyaka and Caleb, YMCA Nanook House is a second home—one that offers a secure, calm environment where schedules, routines and transitions contribute to the child’s capacity to grow and be successful.
“Being a single mom is tough,” says Lorelei. “But my kids, they are my everything. Caleb is so sweet and innocent, and he looks older than he is even though he’s big and strong. Saiyaka was so little, and she’s a girlie girl.”
A Favourite Break
Each year, families at YMCA Nanook House go to family camp at YMCA Camp Elphinstone on the Sunshine Coast.
“We go through life not realizing how time flies. Kids grow up fast. At family camp, we’re able to get away and spend quality time together and do stuff we normally wouldn’t be able to do together as a family like kayaking and canoeing. I have great pictures of Caleb paddling in the canoe. It’s really cute.”
2,324
kids learned through play at YMCA Child Care
14,428
kids made memories at YMCA Camps
5,658 outdoor education participants
6,996 day campers
1,774 overnight campers
3,392
kids actively participated in after-school programs
4,309
kids received financial assistance
244
kids mentored at YMCA Alternative Suspension
617
teens learned how to lead through YMCA Leadership Development
7,124
kids and teens learned to swim
The YMCA fosters connections and healthy habits through
- YMCA Child Care
- After school programs
- YMCA Overnight and Day Camps
- Youth Leadership Development
- Youth Exchanges
- Sports Leagues and Aquatics
Today’s kids urgently need us. It’s our responsibility to step in and make a difference so they can grow up and transform our world. That’s why the YMCA exists as a powerful community of men, women and children of all ages and abilities joined together to raise strong and resilient kids.
The YMCA reaches out to all members of the community to create a healthy, vibrant place where we can thrive, together. We play. We’re active. We care, have fun and cause a ruckus... all to make it our home, away from home.
Story
Stats
children, youth, adults & seniors served 62.7% under 18
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Community Programs
Finding Strength Together
With the confidence she gained, Lorelei started her own dance troupe to raise awareness of missing and murdered Aboriginal women. “I started Butterflies in Spirit to get my missing Auntie’s picture out there, but as more and more people joined, I realized we could represent more women, ” she says.
“At first it was just an idea in my head and then it just took off. It’s really exciting.”
One Big Family
“We come here every Wednesday for the family dinners,” says Lorelei. “It’s one less meal to cook and it’s fun because there are a bunch of activities for the kids to do.”
Building connections between families at the same time as fulfilling basic needs is an important part of life at the YMCA Nanook House. “It’s great getting to know the other parents, so you have people to do activities with during the week.
“The Y is always there for me. I’ve been able to raise my children with a positive attitude and developed a positive relationship with them because of the support of the people and programs at Nanook House.”
150
program sites
96,821
$1,431,524
in direct financial assistance
to 10,344 people
to 10,344 people
2,559
dedicated volunteers contributing
118,348 hours of service
118,348 hours of service
179
community partners
1,341
passionate employees
$3,749,233
total donations received
Annual Report2012
For 126 years, the YMCA of Greater Vancouver has been providing a safe, secure place for young people to be active and make connections.
Friends
Mentors
Relationships
Community
The Problem
This is the first generation of children and youth in modern history who will inherit a lower life expectancy than their parents.
In BC:
30% of children entering kindergarten are developmentally vulnerable—intellectually, emotionally, socially and physically.
1 in 4
kids are
overweight
or obese
Why?
- Because they lack a village—a home inclusive of neighbours—a community.
- Parents are stretched to the max just trying to make ends meet.
- People are not stepping up, not believing they have a role to play in raising kids in our community.
It’s not just children. 50% of people in the Lower Mainland do not feel a strong sense of belonging. Isolation, disconnection, and lack of community have eroded our support networks.
50% + 30%
That’s a lot of us.
This includes you.
And it includes me.
We need a village. A home away from home, an inclusive place, a community.
A place for us all.
Enter the YMCA
We are Determined to be a
Genuine
Welcoming
Hopeful place that is
Nurturing
and Fun
This is The Community We Want.
A community where
- We share a sense of social responsibility
- We experience better health in spirit, mind and body
- Children and families thrive
Everyone is welcome here.
Our facilities serve our community at every income level, across cultures, without boundaries. Everyone gets equal access to the same excellent programming, high-quality spaces and world-class community.
Together we can do this.
The YMCA is unique. It’s the only organization with a mission for children & youth that serves the whole community:
kids
parents
the elderly
the young at heart
newcomers
long-timers
CEOs
artists
bus drivers
bankers
It takes a village, and we are that village.
Our approach recognizes that healthy children and youth can only exist in a community that is also home to healthy families and adults, and we believe that helping young people grow up healthy makes our whole community stronger.
We’re just scratching the surface.
We’re carving out the areas where we can have influence. We’re re-shaping our programs, developing world-class facilities, and building a platform to be advocates to support change—from programs through to policy.
But we need help.
The problems facing our kids require bold community solutions—solutions that we can only achieve if we work together.
After all, our kids are counting on us.
Are you up to the challenge?
Our Mission
The YMCA of Greater Vancouver is a charity dedicated to strengthening the foundations of community.
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