Virtual Open House – Union

Welcoming Week September 10-19

• YMCA Membership Special

  Join the YMCA online and use the code WELC to receive No Joiner Fee on your Y Membership, including Family Memberships!  JOIN NOW

Monday, September 13

• Virtual BPSM Healthy Eating Presentation – 10:15-11:00am Open to the Community!  Small Group Program for all interested members. Monthly Nutrition Seminars will highlight healthier eating habits.  REGISTER HERE

• Virtual Enhance Fitness for Arthritis – 12:30-1:30pm Open to the Community!  Y Members are encouraged to “Bring a Friend” to our virtual class.  Developed for people with arthritis, you will be lead through gentle movement to promote circulation, balance, mobility, strength and range of motion while going easy on the joints. All exercise done while standing or seated in a chair.  To register, email bpsm@tgfymca.org

Tuesday, September 14

• Virtual Open House – Join us for an informational session on the YMCA and the benefits of membership for your entire family. Learn how Membership Means More!  Join one session, or join them all! Open to the Community! 2:30pm-3:30pm  Five Points Branch, Wellness Center Branch, WISE Center Branch  REGISTER HERE

Wednesday, September 15

• Virtual Open House – Join us for an informational session on the YMCA and the benefits of membership for your entire family. Learn how Membership Means More!  Join one session, or join them all! Open to the Community! 2:30pm-3:30pm  Rahway Branch  REGISTER HERE

• Virtual Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring Program (BPSM) – 2:00-3:00pm Open to the Community!  Research shows that simply checking and recording your blood pressure (BP) twice a month for four months may lower BP for those with high BP. To qualify for BPSM, participants must be 18+ years of age, have been diagnosed with high BP, not experienced a recent cardiac event or have any arrhythmias or atrial fibrillation. With BPSM, participants will work with trained staff over a four-month period to improve their self-monitoring skills. Program goals are to reduce and better manage your BP, and enhance knowledge of healthier eating habits. Monthly Nutrition Seminars will highlight healthier eating habits.  REGISTER HERE

• Virtual Diabetes Empowerment Education Program (DEEP) – 2:00-3:00pm Open to the Community!  DEEP is a 6-week program designed to help participants gain a better understanding of diabetes self -care. Relatives and caregivers are welcome to also attend. Each session is 1.5-2 hours in length, with a class size between 5 – 15 participants. Curriculum includes developing self-care, preventing complications, increasing physical activity, improved nutrition, and utilizing available resources.  REGISTER HERE

Thursday, September 16

• Virtual Open House – Join us for an informational session on the YMCA and the benefits of membership for your entire family. Learn how Membership Means More!  Join one session, or join them all! Open to the Community! 2:30pm-3:30pm  Elizabeth Branch, Youth Development Branch  REGISTER HERE

• Virtual Enhance Fitness for Arthritis – 12:30-1:30pm Open to the Community!  Y Members are encouraged to “Bring a Friend” to our virtual class.  Developed for people with arthritis, you will be lead through gentle movement to promote circulation, balance, mobility, strength and range of motion while going easy on the joints. All exercise done while standing or seated in a chair.  To Register, email bpsm@tgfymca.org

Welcoming Week celebration to take place September 10-19

UNION COUNTY, NJ – The Gateway Family YMCA will join Welcoming America and other YMCAs and organizations nationwide to celebrate immigrants’ contributions to communities and bring together all residents in a spirit of unity.  Welcoming Week 2021, held September 10-19, follows the theme “Belonging Begins With Us” and brings together immigrants and U.S.-born residents to promote cross-cultural understanding and raise awareness of the benefits of welcoming everyone. The Gateway Family YMCA has celebrated Welcoming Week with its community consecutively over the past few years, as part of a commitment to the mission of serving all members within the local community.

Welcoming Week 2021 information is available at www.tgfymca.org/events and includes a YMCA Membership Special, providing a No Joiner Fee online registration code for those who join the YMCA September 10-19 at www.tgfymca.org/join-the-Y as well as programs and services open to the community.  To ensure the safety and participation of all, the Y’s 2021 Welcoming Week event will include virtual programs and events for the community and Virtual WISE Services, and in-person events for YMCA program participants in Child Care, YMCA Residential Housing, Aquatics, Group Exercise and Wellness programs.

“It is critically important to celebrate Welcoming Week in 2021, as our country faces the COVID-19 pandemic and social isolation continues,” said Krystal R. Canady, CEO, The Gateway Family YMCA.  “At the Y, we seek to build bridges and heal communities, and we invite neighbors—both immigrants and U.S.-born residents—to use Welcoming Week as an opportunity to connect, find common ground and celebrate our shared values and contributions,” stated Melynda A. Mileski, EVP, Chief Operating Officer. 

During Welcoming Week, The Gateway Family YMCA, along with Shaping Elizabeth and Shaping Eastern Union County, will host virtual Chronic Disease Self-Management programs free to the local community including BPSM Healthy Nutrition Presentation, Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring and Diabetes Empowerment Education Programs.  Program schedule information and registration is available at www.tgfymca.org or by contacting Paul Mickiewicz, Senior Director of Healthy Living bpsm@tgfymca.org or 908-349-9622.

Additional program components include a Bring a Friend day in The Gateway Family YMCA’s Virtual Enhance Fitness for Arthritis programs, a Virtual YMCA Membership Open House, and social media engagement activities throughout the week at www.facebook.com/GatewayFamilyY  Community members are encouraged to visit our website and social media channels to participate in Welcoming Week 2021.

The Gateway Family YMCA is a leading 501(c)(3) non-profit, health and community service organization committed to strengthening community by connecting all people to their potential, purpose and each other.  Working locally, the Y focuses on empowering young people, improving health and well-being, and inspiring action in and across communities.  By bringing together people from different backgrounds, perspectives and generations, the Y ensure that all have access to the opportunities, relationships and resources necessary to learn, grow and thrive.

Welcoming Week is celebrated each year in September and elevates the growing movement of communities that fully embrace new Americans and their contributions to the social fabric of our country.  It is a chance for neighbors – both immigrants and U.S. born residents – to get to know one another and celebrate what unites us as a community. For more information and registration links for Welcoming Week 2021, visit www.tgfymca.org/events

For more information about The Gateway Family YMCA visit www.tgfymca.org