EXPANDING ON SUCCESS

Every day we are confronted with news that is bad: Obesity, diabetes, death by drowning – the second leading cause of death in children under 12, the opioid epidemic. However, the YMCA of Greater Nashua’s programs are evidence-based and proven to tackle these seemingly insurmountable societal issues.

The obesity epidemic is growing, especially in our youth.  Our Prescribe the Y program provides support and education that heads off childhood obesity.

The rate of diabetes is exploding.  We offer diabetes prevention programs that help you learn your risk and then take action.

Drowning is the second leading cause of death in children under 12, particularly children from low-income families.  The Y teaches swim lessons, offers scholarships for those lessons, and partners with school systems to help all kids be proficient swimmers.

Teens are barraged with the opportunity to take drugs.  We help teens stay away from opioids through our Y-Achievers and Leaders Club.  And we keep kids engaged over the summer through Camp Sargent, our summer day camp, and Camp Spaulding, our overnight camp.

Early childhood learning is proven to be foundational to later school and workforce achievements.  The Y offers quality early childhood education to hundreds of very young children, giving their parents the peace of mind to work.

National studies show that children in third grade who are reading below grade level are more susceptible to dropping out in high school, likely leading to a lower wage job for the rest of their life, a higher propensity for substance abuse, incarceration, and lower self-esteem.  The Y is helping to combat illiteracy with our 6-week Summer Learning Loss Prevention Program based in the Ledge Street School.

All of this and we offer fitness programs for thousands in the Greater Nashua community, too.  Last year, 32,500 people got active with the YMCA of Greater Nashua.

WE CAN DO MORE, AND DID

As a portion of the larger capital improvement program the YMCA of Greater Nashua is embarking on, the Nashua YMCA branch has added 5,500 sf of new programming space. It was determined that even more people in the Greater Nashua region could be helped by expanding the offerings that benefit the community the most.

The new Steve Mazur Wellness Area will officially open on January 27. A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for 1 pm with the Mayor of Nashua and representatives for Steve Mazur, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the Prolman Family, Harvey Construction and others who have played a part, big or small, in this new hub of healthy living.

The new wellness area at the Nashua YMCA will allow for an expansion of programming to help meet the community needs. It will provide more opportunities for adults to take better control of their health after recovering from cancer through our LiveSTRONG programming, for adults and children to work on healthy living techniques through our Diabetes Prevention and Prescribe the Y programming, for children to enjoy more dance programming, and for families and seniors to enjoy a greater variety of group exercise programming to promote movement, balance, agility and especially FUN.

For more than a workout. For a better us.