YMCA News for Immediate Release

An amazing one night stay at the beautiful Red Coach Inn in Red Oak, Iowa located on 1200 Senate Ave. was won by Lowell Burnison of Red Oak, IA in February for being a current member of the YMCA. The drawing was held on Friday, February 24th, 2017.

The YMCA plans to have a free Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Appreciation Drawing for our members prior to both of these holidays.

For more information on how one can become a member, volunteer, donor, or simply involved with the Montgomery County Family YMCA, please stop in for a visit or tour of the YMCA, call the YMCA at 712-623-2161, or visit the YMCA on Facebook, or the Y’s website at www.mcymca.com.

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Next week the Carder Tennis Center will be closed for repainting. Due to this Tennis Training will be taking place in the gym on Wednesday, March 1st from 12pm - 3:30pm. 

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The Montgomery County Family YMCA's Carder Indoor Tennis Center (Red Oak, Iowa) hosted three collegiate women’s tennis matches on Saturday, February 4th. The teams that competed were from Ottawa University; Doane University from Crete, NE; and the University of Sioux Fall from Sioux Falls, SD.

The Carder Indoor Tennis Center has gained the awareness of men's and women's college tennis teams throughout the Midwest. These teams travel to Red Oak due to its centralized location to use the courts for winter/early spring indoor tennis matches.

The YMCA offers the opportunity to play tennis year-round for youth and adults of all skill levels with such programs as youth and adult tennis lessons, adult league play, youth and adult tournaments, youth and adult specialty clinics and summer youth lessons. There is also open tennis court rental time, member-free tennis on Sunday afternoons from November to March annually, and the YMCA’s expanded tennis memberships.

For more information on the various tennis programs at the YMCA, please call 712-623-2161, stop in at the Montgomery County Family YMCA located at the beautiful Red Oak Legion Park, 101 East Cherry Street, Red Oak, Iowa, find us on Facebook, or check out the YMCA’s website at www.mcymca.com.

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Iowa Alliance of YMCA's 
2017 Legislative Agenda

YMCA Priorities

Infrastructure Funding Grant

YMCA facilities are located throughout the state and are the cornerstone of many regional Iowa communities. In rural Iowa, they serve as a community center, day care, pool and many other functions for the rural area. These facilities provide a vital role in the community, but struggle to keep up with the infrastructure and upkeep needs. This legislation would establish a matching grant program for rural YMCA facilities to update their physical property through the RIIF budget funding. In 2015 and 2016, the legislature approved $500,000 in infrastructure resources to match the community investment. This year we are seeking additional funds to continue improving the infrastructure of these vital rural facilities.

Partnering to Eliminate the Education Achievement Gap

The desire for Iowa to improve in educational achievement is clear and the YMCAs across the state are eager to assist in closing the gap. The YMCA currently offers wide-ranging programs in our pre-school, childcare, afterschool, and summer learning loss settings that engage underserved and underperforming youth in expanding their education. Our work to reduce the academic disparity among children and teens of different backgrounds has a statewide reach. As Iowa moves forward to meet the Department of Education’s reading readiness goal, the YMCAs are ready, willing, and able to be a partner to improve education achievement outcomes with our existing infrastructure of programming. We look to the Iowa Department of Education to partner with us as we aid our members in their development.

YMCA Supported Issues

YMCA and Health and Wellness Plan Partnership

Beginning in 2014, Iowa families between 100% and 138% will access health coverage through the new health insurance marketplace. These Iowans will need to meet health goals to receive premium-free coverage. The Iowa State Alliance of YMCAs encourages the state and Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME) to continue engaging the statewide network of YMCAs when implementing Medicaid reform and seeking healthy outcomes for Health and Wellness Plan enrollees.

Safe Routes to Schools

Iowa’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program is a movement to create safe, convenient, and fun opportunities for children to bike and walk to and from schools. The goal of the program is to increase physical activity among school children and decrease transportation costs. It seeks to get more kids walking and biking to school, which can play a critical role in reversing the alarming nationwide trend toward childhood obesity and inactivity. Investing in safe routes for biking and walking is critical to ensuring kids and adults can safely get their 60 minutes of physical activity every day. This legislation invests $1 million in state resources in helping Iowa kids safely walk and bike to and from school by providing funds to communities across the state to install sidewalks and crosswalks in needed areas and establish “walking school bus” programs.

Child Abuse Prevention

As one of the state’s largest providers of youth-serving programming, the organization‘s role as an advocate for children and a commitment to building healthy and secure children, adults, families, and communities, YMCAs in Iowa are dedicated to expanding support to galvanize the culture, practices and behavior needed to prevent child sexual abuse.

Fatherhood Initiative

Children of absent and unengaged fathers have a dramatically higher incidence of homelessness, suicide, and dropping out of school. They are also five times more likely to live in poverty. The YMCA Fatherhood Program, in collaboration with Child Support Recovery, is expanding a program that addresses these issues, reconnects dads with their children, and helps fathers stay current on child support obligations. We support continued funding for this initiative.

IOWA ALLIANCE OF YMCAs

info@ymcaiowa.org | ymcaiowa.org | @YMCAIowa99

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THIS IS YOUR Y

MONTGOMERY COUNTY FAMILY YMCA
February 2017 Newsletter

A NOTE FROM OUR AQUATICS DIRECTOR:

Welcome to February everyone!  Sometimes we post notes on the boards going into the locker rooms hoping that they catch your eye.  This message is so important however that we wanted to ask for your help!  Help, you say?  Yes YOU can help us all stay a bit safer, and since my department is the pool I want to get specific with you!

Our lifeguards must have 100% of their attention on pool patrons during their shifts.  As much as we all enjoy visiting, I’m asking that you please keep interactions brief.  At the YMCA we have other staff that is always willing and able to answer questions or help resolve anything needing attention. 

Allow our guards to do their job and keep their focus on the pool!
Thank you for your help!!!

Missy Stickland
Aquatics Director

JONI ERNST VISITS THE Y &
LEGISLATIVE BRIEFINGS

 United States Senator Joni Ernst (Iowa-R) from Red Oak, Iowa, kicked off her 99 Iowa County Tour on Saturday, January 7th, 2017 at the Montgomery County Family YMCA, Red Oak, Iowa.

 The event drew over 80 area residents to learn about the many bills and programs that Senator Ernst has been working on with her colleagues in the United States government as well as working on continuing to make our country a great country to live and work in. Senator Ernst fielded several questions on health care matters.

 The YMCA hosted the Red Oak Chamber & Industry Association State Legislative Coffee with State Senator Mark Costello (Imogene, Iowa) and State Representative David Sieck of Glenwood, Iowa present on Saturday, January 21st. The state budget and can / bottle deposit and redemption programs were items discussed along with the first weeks of activities in the early part of the legislative session. The next legislative briefing will be held on Saturday, February 18th in the Montgomery County Family YMCA’s Multi-Purpose room.

FAMILY FUN NIGHT

The YMCA will begin hosting a Family Fun Night the 3rd Friday of each month! Splash away the cold weather blues with your family in the warm sultry air!  Each month we will have different activities including games, contests, and events for family members of all ages!

When February 17, 6:00PM-8:00PM 

Where The Wilson Aquatics Center at the Montgomery County Family YMCA

Cost $5/household

 Did you know that you can contribute to our Montgomery County Family YMCA using AmazonSmile when you make purchases?

The link to the account is: http:// smile.amazon.com/ch/42-1433436 Thank you for any support you give to our YMCA through this program!

AMERICAN HEART MONTH

Get heart healthy during American Heart Month! The Montgomery County Family YMCA can help improve your health and potentially avoid heart disease.  Below are some American Heart Month tips:

·         Being physically active every day is fun and can improve the function of your heart. Plan and schedule opportunities for active play; for example, include a brisk 10-minute trip around the block after meals or a 10- minute walking break during the  day.

·         Cut back on salt little by little—and pay attention to the natural tastes of various foods. Your taste for salt will lessen over time. Additionally, keep salt off the kitchen counter and the dinner table and substitute spices, herbs, garlic, vinegar or lemon juice to season foods.

·         Take a Snooze! Lack of sleep has been associated with elevated cholesterol and blood pressure. Adults need at least seven, but no more than nine hours of sleep at night to aid with the prevention of heart disease. Children need 10-12 hours of sleep per night.

·         Develop bedtime routines for the whole family to assist with falling asleep faster and staying asleep.

·         Makeover your family’s favorite recipes by reducing the amount of salt and saturated fat and substituting a lower fat food without sacrificing taste. For example, use low-fat yogurt instead of sour cream and skip the seasoning packet and use pepper and olive oil instead.

·         Read food labels to learn more about what is in the package, select foods that have less than 1,000 mg of sodium per serving.

·         According to the CDC, lowering or maintaining normal blood pressure can greatly reduce your risk for heart disease and  stroke.

·         According to the American Heart Association, nearly 1 in 3 adults (about 80 million people) has high blood pressure and more than half of them don’t have it under control. To help, start self-monitoring your blood pressure and know the numbers.

·         Most of the sodium Americans eat is found in processed foods. Eat highly processed foods less often and in smaller portions—especially cheesy foods, such as pizza; cured meats, such as bacon, sausage, hot dogs, and deli/luncheon meats; and ready-to-eat foods, like canned chili, ravioli and soups. Fresh foods are generally lower in  sodium.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
ADAM SMITH

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