LA CROSSE AREA FAMILY YOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION INC
1140 Main Street, La Crosse, WI 54601 www.laxymca.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: Our Mission: To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.

TO STRENGTHEN THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR COMMUNITY.

Youth Development: We believe that all kids deserve the opportunity to discover who they are and what they can achieve. That's why, through the La Crosse Y, thousands of youth are cultivating the values, skills and relationships that lead to positive behaviors, better health and educational achievement. Some highlights in the area of Youth Development: Childcare: Our YMCA provides high quality child care by providing comprehensive activities for preschool and school age children drawing on diverse members of the community. We provide both full and part time options to serve a wide range of family scheduling needs. Woven into the fabric of the YMCA mission is a commitment to strengthening families. YMCA childcare programs relieve the burden of balancing work and family and make it possible for parents of children in our care to remain gainfully employed, knowing that their children are thriving in a safe, developmentally sound environment. The YMCA provides a variety of activities that emphasize parent education and helps parents learn more about how to raise healthy, happy children who develop self-esteem and moral and ethical values. So that every child can lead a healthy life we have implemented national Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Standards so that we can be an overall healthy childcare option. Every child in our programs receives fresh fruits and vegetables everyday in their breakfast and snack meals and enjoys physical activity each day. Children have the opportunity to grow stronger and be ready for learning when their bodies and minds are healthy and active. We believe in meeting the needs of families in our community. In 2019 our School Age Childcare Program and Summer School Age Childcare Programs provided care for 1,631 children. Our full time childcare center provided care for 85 children. Strengthening Mental Health & Mental Health Awareness: Thanks to the continued generous support from Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation and generous donors, our full time Mental Health Director continues bringing awareness to mental health. Our Mental Health Director is charged with improving mental health awareness in the community while continuing the teen mental health work at our Community Teen Center. La Crosse received an 8-year grant from the Medical College of Wisconsin focused on impacting mental health in our county. The work of this project, named Better Together (bettertogetherlacrosse.org/), aligns well with our strategic plan and our Mental Health Director is an active member of the Better Together Steering Committee. A primary activity of Better Together includes collective impact work around creating a resilient and trauma-informed community. We have several leaders on our Director team who are involved with this important and ongoing work. Better Together is also working with our Mental Health Director on evaluation and development of a Mental Health Toolkit, a resource for leaders to use to develop their team's mental health literacy. This relationship is strong and vital as we continue to move the needle on our community's mental health. In 2019, our Mental Health Director conducted 29 youth consultations, 26 adult consultations, made 12 referrals, provided 1,758 hours of training to 155 adults, and spent 270 on the mental health toolkit pilot program. The Y's adapted programs: Our Inclusion program is a cornerstone to all we do at the Y. The work is so important, it is included in our mission, FOR ALL. Our work within the Inclusive and Adaptive Department is to provide recreational opportunities for all. With Inclusion being a cornerstone of every Y across the US, our goal is to encourage individuals with diverse abilities to register for programs outside of our specific-disability programming. We are transitioning towards "for all" programs that will allow everyone, regardless of ability, to participate in activities together. We truly believe allowing all members to play, and recreate together it enhances the quality of life for all of those involved. Our Participant Care Assessments help us address those individuals who may need extra support and adaptive methods to ensure they feel included. We are also equipped to provide one-on-one services to our participants with the help of our large volunteer base. Whether it is adapted gymnastics, basketball, Miracle League Baseball, or aquatics, all of our programs are built towards accomplishing our participant's goals. Goals that go beyond mastering a sports skill, but also goals built around social, cognitive, and emotional outcomes. Our adaptive programs are ultimately the stepping stones to creating an inclusive environment within the hundreds of programs we offer each year. Community Teen Center: It's More Than Just a Place: Over the last thirteen years, our Y Community Teen Center has been positively impacting adolescent mental health by building a model that includes mental health awareness, literacy, and self-advocacy. This is incorporated into all aspects of our environment, culture, and adult practices. For example, we have created a physical environment that is safe, predictable, attractive to teens, and contains visual reminders and resources that pertain to the importance of caring for your mental health. The adult practices include training our staff to know how to recognize typical adolescent developmental tasks as well as signs of concern, how to respond effectively to these concerns, and how to refer youth appropriately when needs are beyond our scope. The model is based on strengths, resilience, social-emotional development, and positive psychology. We believe that all teens can succeed and it is our responsibility to provide the opportunity for them. The Teen Center provides a place for teens to feel a sense of belonging which impacts their mental health. The YMCA Community Teen Center is a safe, tobacco, alcohol and drug-free drop-in center for teens 8th-12th grades. The Center offers free activities that are engaging, attractive to young people and make use of their talents, energy and creativity. The Center offers skill-building and recreational opportunities and is staffed by positive, caring adults who are trained to work with adolescents. Gymnastics Program: Great things continue to happen in the Vinger Gymnastics Center at the Houser YMCA. Since the center opened in 2016, enrollment has been very strong. In fact, our annual enrollment in 2015 before the new center opened was 2,810 children and teens. In 2019, enrollment in our gymnastics program was 7,451. Sports and Play: In 2019 we had enrollment in our sports programs of 1,718. Our youth activity and sports programs are for children ages 3 - 17. This includes basketball, soccer and baseball classes and leagues for all ages, well as martial arts and activity camps like geo-caching and fishing. Childwatch: Our Y's Childwatch areas, which provide quality drop-in childcare for children while their parents are exercising, improve the health and well-being of families by providing quality care. In 2019, our Child watch programs experienced more than 92,556 safe visits. Arts and Humanities Programs: Arts and Humanities classes had annual enrollment of more than 1,541 children participating in dance and art programming. Music programs had enrollment of 286. The Dahl Aquatic Center and Rundle Aquatic Centers: continue to be popular destinations at our YMCAs, with more than 166,450 visits annually. In addition to providing swimming lessons, water fitness activities, and family time, our Aquatics departments provide community outreach programs around water safety for various community organizations. Education on basic water rescue, lifejacket fitting, open water swimming, river awareness and backyard pool safety is taught. In 2019, we had swimming lesson enrollment of 5,778 at our two pools. In addition, 185 young people participated on our WAVE swim team.

Healthy Living: Throughout our community, the Y is a leading voice in health and well-being. With a mission centered on balance, the Y brings families closer together, encourages good health and fosters connections through fitness, sports, fun and shared interests. As a result, thousands of youth, adults and families in our community are receiving the support, guidance and resources needed to achieve greater health and well-being for their spirit, mind and body. Some highlights in the area of Healthy Living: Family Time: We believe that families that play together stay together. Recognizing the need for quality family time we offer several parent/child classes. Our parent/child classes are designed to give mom and/or dad an opportunity to interact with their child/ren through activity. Whether it's Family Strength Training, Parent/Child Soccer or Mommy and Me Cooking, our parent/child programs encourage open dialogue and learning together. Health, Well-Being & Fitness: The R.W. Houser Wellness Center and Cleary Family Wellness Centers continue to be popular destinations at our Y's with nearly 419,326 visits in 2019. Health & Fitness Classes: Fitness classes continue to be a great way for members of all ages to get engaged and active, with 144,898 visits in 2019. YMCA Special Events: designed to improve the health and well-being of our community by engaging people of all ages through walks, runs, and more served more than 4,500 people in 2019. Food Forest: We continue to be very proud of the work with the community's first food forest located at the Dahl YMCA. The mission of the Community Food Forest at the Y is to increase access to healthy food in our community through an urban, easily-replicable model. Our vision for the Food Forest is to grow food together, rehabilitate our local ecosystem and provide educational opportunities for healthier residents and families. 2019 Food Forest Highlights: Number of Volunteers engaged = 279 Number of Organizations Engaged = 43 Number of participants in food forest related activities (cooking Classes/FF events) = 1079 Program Initiatives LIVESTRONG at the YMCA is a health and well-being program designed to address the specific wants, needs and interests of those impacted by cancer. Our Y helps cancer survivors through the program. This work is important because medical studies show that moderate levels of appropriate physical activity can reduce fatigue, boost self esteem and improve muscle strength and physical endurance in individuals following cancer treatment. Physical activity has also been shown to reduce the risk for cancer reoccurrence. Our goals for the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA are to provide the same evidence-based curriculum as we have been since 2011, while continuing to incorporate more mindfulness, mental health topics, and breathing techniques. We continue to find ways to continue to engage our Alumni base and we plan to hold our 1st ever alumni celebration this summer with live music, catered food, and a short mile walk. This will be a chance for them to bring their family and friends, connect with other survivors and raise awareness and support for the program. In 2019, we served 111 participants in the LIVESTRONG program, and 109 LIVESTRONG Alumni participants. When a cancer survivor joins the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA Program, they do so knowing that our Instructors will guide them safely through a workout program that allows our survivors to become stronger, gain functional ability and connect emotionally with other cancer survivors. Diabetes Prevention Program: The YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program is a lifestyle modification program that helps people reduce their risk for type 2-diabetes by helping them learn about eating healthier, increasing physical activity and other behavior changes. This program is available to anyone in the community who is at risk for developing diabetes. In 2019, classes impacted 18 participants in this life-changing program.

Social Responsibility: Our Y has been listening and responding to our communities' most critical needs for nearly 135 years. Whether developing skills or emotional well-being through education, welcoming and connecting diverse demographic populations, or preventing chronic disease and building healthier communities through collaborations with community partners, the Y fosters the care and respect all people need and deserve. Through the Y, hundreds of volunteers and donors as well as community leaders are empowering one in four of our community residents to be healthy, confident, connected and secure. Some highlights in the area of Social Responsibility: Volunteerism: More than 1,200 volunteers contribute more than 8,000 volunteer hours annually in support of the YMCA. Giving: In 2019, through donations, fundraising, grants, and special events, a total of $828,434 in public support was provided to the YMCA. These dollars ensure that the Y remains affordable and accessible to everyone in the community by providing the funding needed to support the financial assistance program. Addressing Hunger - Reducing Hunger We have identified the neighborhood food deserts and schools with the highest free and reduced meal status and through census data so that we can outreach in these neighborhoods at youth gathering places to serve meals year-round and throughout the summer months. By offering free meals to all youth 18 and under at local parks, libraries, housing complexes, the Y and Boys and Girls Clubs we are meeting the basic need of nutrition which in turn helps in the development of youth and helps support families. Our strategic plan has identified this as priority for the 2020-2022 strategic plan cycle. We are not only increasing during the week but ensuring weekend meals, evening meals and diverse locations where youth have easy accessibility. In 2019 through the Y, we provided more than 200,000 healthy snacks and meals to children in the community. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM The Y continues to ensure that our programs and activities are affordable and accessible to everyone in the community. In 2019, we provided a total of $1,168,518 in direct financial assistance to children, teens, and families. This included assistance to 20% of the members we served in 2019. That was a combination of $734,268 in membership assistance, $154,773 in youth programming assistance, and $279,477 in childcare assistance to families. Capital Expansion: Our YMCA relies on the generosity of the community when we wish to make significant capital investments in our facilities or when we introduce the Y to a new community. In 2003 and 2004, a capital campaign was launched which raised $9.3 million in funding to construct the R.W. Houser YMCA in Onalaska. In 2009, $500,000 was raised in the community to construct the Miracle Baseball facility. In 2014, a campaign was launched to add 40,000 square feet of new space at our R.W. Houser YMCA including a second gymnasium, a new fitness studio, an expanded wellness center, a large multi-purpose room with a teaching kitchen, and a gymnastics center. The same campaign added approximately 25,000 square feet of new space at our Dahl Family YMCA facility including a new wellness center, a new fitness studio, a group cycling studio, and a Healthy Living Center - a new space created in partnership with Gundersen Health System. The Healthy Living Center includes exam and consultation rooms, an exercise area for cancer patients and physical therapy, a lounge for our cancer survivorship program, and a large classroom and teaching kitchen. This new Healthy Living Center is designed to move people from medically based care to Y supervised care, with an emphasis helping people adopt a long term healthy lifestyle. In 2019, through the Health Living Center partnership, there were 6,984 visits to this new and innovative area. In 2019 a capital campaign was launched to remodel the locker rooms at the Dahl YMCA and to add a warm water pool to the Houser Y. The projects are designed to significantly improve the barrier free accessibility at both Y locations. By the end of 2019, $2,513,500 was donated toward the project costs. Support for Veterans Through the work of three of our staff members who are military veterans (Christopher Matt, Lee Walraven, and Carl Klubertanz), we continued our Wellness Warriors program, a program to support veterans in their quest for improved physical and mental health. Programing is provided at no cost thanks to grant dollars and support from the local American Legion. Additionally, Y memberships are provided to families at no cost.

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