Building Healthy Communities Together

What is the first thing you think about when you see the YMCA sign? It’s more than just a building. It’s about community, a sense of belonging and providing stability to the neighbourhood.

The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka currently serves over 125,000 people in Simcoe and Muskoka counties in Central Ontario. Our ultimate goal is to empower children, youth and adults to develop the skills and support needed to become healthy and strong. From child care, recreation, fitness, leadership development, camp, youth, immigrant and employment services, the YMCA designs programs to help families build stronger bonds, spend more time together and become more engaged in our community. In keeping with our commitment to inclusiveness and accessibility, the YMCA provided almost 1.2 million in financial assistance last year to those unable to afford program fees.

With the help of our donors and supporters, here’s what we accomplished together last year:

11.3% of local children come from low-income families

Last year, over 800 people swam, ran, biked, walked to raise funds at our Move to Give event helping My Y create access to camp, child care, fitness and aquatics programs for over 6900 kids and families who couldn’t otherwise afford it.

59% of adults in our community are overweight or obese

In partnership with RVH, My Y launched the Healthy Hearts Cardiac Rehab Program. In just 7 months 55 people invested 900+ hours improving their quality of life.

Youth unemployment in our community is 20.3%

Last year My Y connected 431 youth to jobs.

There is a lack of affordable training for local charities

My Y and Lakehead University launched a new leadership development program. Together, we’ve trained 90 leaders from 35 organizations.

12.5% of young adults in our community didn’t graduate from high school

Last year 250 youth earned high school credits through My Y programs.

Nearly 30,000 Syrian refugees have settled in Canada.

Locally, My Y welcomed Syrian refugee families with open arms – we even taught swimming lessons in Arabic.

The YMCA is so much more than just a place to work out. Thank you to all who are helping us build healthy communities.

• 135 Community Partners
• 1,200 Staff
• 3,800 Donors
• 1,000 Volunteers

Together, we can help transform the lives of so many youth and families in our communities.