Building Back Community

By Erin Beresford, General Manager, Wasaga Beach YMCA

Erin Beresford has worked at the YMCA for 20 years and is committed to building recreation programs in the Wasaga Beach community. Originally from Toronto, Erin and her family have made Wasaga Beach their home for the past 15 years.

You’ve seen some promotions about our recent annual report, Path to Recovery. In Wasaga Beach, I’m happy to report that the YMCA is well on its way to full recovery and feeling more like its old self. Our programming expansion is evidence of that.

Things have moved out of pandemic mode when avoiding COVID transmission was paramount. The focus is now on building back programming for children, youth and families… the fun stuff!

In Wasaga Beach, we’re jazzed to be offering child minding again every day — with no fee for members. This helps many families spend time at the Y with all family members doing whatever suits them best. The pool is increasingly a popular place for aquatics, lane swimmers, and families.

We’ve brought back programming for 3- to 5-year-olds with two “parent and tots” sessions – Stories & Games, or Stories & Songs. And my personal fav, Parent & Baby Yoga.

For the older kids, 3-on-3 basketball is back, with Y supervision included. The Youth Wellness course, which anyone under 13 must take in order to use the Wellness centre, is also back on the schedule.

As our capacity continues to build, we’ll be offering more, with a continued focus on youth programming.

You may have seen our ads to recruit lifeguards. Like all recreational facilities, perhaps like all organizations looking to hire, staffing can be a challenge these days. But we’re getting there! There will be bumps along the way, but the centre feels more like it once did.

For me, the pandemic has brought into focus the importance the YMCA plays in Wasaga Beach. As a charity, the YMCA provides access to recreational and fitness facilities for most everyone, making every membership dollar an investment in the Wasaga Beach community. That has always been and always will be the case.

I often hear members say they’re happy to have certain programs back. I love seeing programs return, too, but I’m even more grateful to hear kids laughing, youth hooting, and everyone else going about their fitness routines as we all do our thing under the YMCA roof.

To view program schedules for your local YMCA, visit our schedules page by clicking here.