Somerset County Young Mens Christian Association Inc.

Filing Period

Jan 1, 2011 to Dec 31, 2011

Signed

May 25, 2012

Return Version

2011v1.2

Gross Receipts

$12,738,921

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

For healthy living: improving our communities health and well-beingwe believe every child should learn to swim so they can safe around water - aquaticsover 2,600 youths attended swim instruction classes over the course of 2011. The y not only teaches people of all ages how to swim, but also offers classes to enhance enjoyment of the water such as safety skills, recreational swimming and water exercise. Area schools, houses of worship and other nonprofits use our aquatic facilities for instructional, recreational and therapeutic purposes. Additionally, more than 192 children learned to swim and be safe around water during two sessions of y-splash, a low-cost program offered at the y.our programs geared to families with special needs continued to grow in 2011 and we now offer upwards of 20 programs for individuals with special needs. These include the a.b.a. (applied behavioral analysis) swim program, p.a.l.s., which teaches pre-school children with autism to swim, s.t.a.r.s. (sharing therapy and realizing self strengths), special olympics and saturdays in motion; all these are examples of programs designed for individuals and families with special needs. Finally, y-splash, a low-cost, one-week program held twice each year, teaches children to be safe in and around water and attracted nearly 200 children. This mission-driven, potentially lifesaving program highlights the importance that the y places on nurturing and safeguarding our children. We believe in encouraging healthy living - health and fitnesssince our inception, our y has provided health and fitness programs as an integral part of our mission. The list of programs and services is quite extensive but, to name a few, group exercise classes, strength training, yoga, and stress and weight management. Every wellness offering is selected with the ultimate goal of providing our members a healthy balance of spirit, mind, and body that results in an overall feeling of well-being.our y has joined an unprecedented national mobilization effort to combat rising levels of obesity, especially with our youth. Collaborations with other local schools have paved the way for our staff to integrate our programs into the schools physical education programs and field days. Children in our school age child care program enjoy healthy snacks, as well as 30 minutes of vigorous activity each day. The y also expanded its wellness programs geared toward young people, with youth strength training, nutrition expedition, kids fit, girls on weights, kids zumba and yoga, and a free weight clinic for 12+ year olds. Among our most noteworthy wellness programs is the livestrong at the ymca program that continues to support cancer patients and survivors. This 8 week program is offered free to all members of the community thanks to the strong kids campaign. The program gives cancer survivors a place to go for camaraderie, exercise, and hope.we believe in the value of play for a healthy spirit, mind and body - sports and recreationfrom classes to recreational leagues, clubs to competitive teams, our y offers a wide variety of sports and recreation activities. In addition, we provide physical education instruction in schools. Through the participation in programs that promote strong and athletic bodies, we develop a childs mind while instilling positive values like teamwork, honesty, and fair play. We have programs for all ages, interests and abilities that are aimed at teaching the skills that are the foundation for future play. As part of the activate america initiative, our sports staff has integrated its services with the local schools as a complement to the physical education programs. More specifically, we provide sports-specific strength and conditioning to a number of local high school teams, active programming for local schools field days, and intramural sport programming for youth not participating in school athletics. We believe values and skills learned early on are vital building blocks for quali

Activity 3

We believe everyone should have the opportunity to be a part of the y - adult developmentdespite having young in our name, our y has programs for adults of all ages, including older adults. Programs include international exchanges, financial development, continuing education, volunteerism, and career and job-transition forums. We run a very successful triathlon training program for women and men, as well as a masters swim program.additionally, our programs for older adults continue to grow. More than 100 new individuals participated in programs for older adults enjoying, in particular, the pool, zumba gold and senior spin. Seniors in our area enjoyed a senior health summit organized in collaboration with other local organizations where healthy conversation about topics ranging from senior nutrition to memory health was enjoyed. Seniors in our low-cost drop-in program also banded together to create and donate five memory quilts to individuals with alzheimers.career forum, a free, volunteer-led program that provides attendees with opportunities to learn more about the job hunt process, interviewing and networking, remained a vital resource for 1,878 individuals in job transition. Open and free to everyone in the community, this program provides valuable skills and support to those in job transition. We believe that strengthening community is our cause - helping the physically and mentally challengedthe somerset hills ymca provided upwards of 20 programs for people with special needs in 2011 and employs 11 staff members with disabilities who thrive in the ys nurturing environment and who epitomize the ys passion to support all individuals to grow in spirit, mind and body. Working with other non-profits as well as public and private schools such as bethel ridge, the arc, special olympics, the matheny school, our house, inc., and others, our y supports and enhances the special needs of our physically and mentally challenged constituents. Besides the traditional social and recreational activities such as swimming lessons, arts, and music classes, we also provide life skills and job skills training opportunities, offering part-time and full-time jobs in a variety of venues, and our snap (special needs adult program) continues offering monthly social events. The opening of the melissa riggio residence brought a dream to reality. This home offers dignity and support to six adults with developmental disabilities and our y hopes that it will serve as a model for similar projects nationwide. In addition, we introduced new programs and expanded existing programs in 2011. S.w.i.m., inc., continued to grow and invited participants with muscular impairment who are unable to exercise on dry land to enjoy the water. We also expanded carousel kids, a one-week camp-like program for children with special needs. In 2011, 40 children with special needs, primarily autism, enjoyed three weeks of carousel kids a summer camp-like program. Participants in carousel kids has grown 600% since 2009. Finally, a coalition of human service organizations and individuals concerned with public and mental health, youth and family development, adolescent medicine, community education and a variety of related areas of expertise, named healthy outcomes partnership (hop) in partnership with the somerset hills ymca, offered the second annual mental health week, attracting 200 attendees and offering education and support to the community as it strives to meet its goal to reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues and connect people to appropriate care providers. The y also was proud when two staff members became the first y employees nationwide to become certified as mental health first aid trainers and two grants subsequently funded mental health first aid training to be available to members at the y and 21 more staff members.we believe that lasting personal and social change can only come about when we work together - volunteerismin 2011, the y was fortunat

Filer

EIN

22-1559439