More than a gym and a swim: The Y’s impact on our community
Tina Pastran and her family had been members at their local YMCA for years. Swimming, exercise, affordable family fun — they appreciated the perks of a Y membership, but never knew what it meant to them until crisis hit.
“In 2011, I was getting very sick,” Pastran recalled. “Eventually, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.”
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling disease of the central nervous system. MS causes the immune system to attack the protective sheath surrounding nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. This causes communication problems between the brain and the rest of your body. Eventually, the disease can cause permanent nerve damage.
“It’s an emotionally, physically and financially devastating disease,” she said.
For the family, this meant a lot of things, including potentially discontinuing their membership at the Y because of the financial burden the disease had placed upon the family. However, one day Pastran learned that scholarships were available — not only for lowincome families, but for people who were in need due to special circumstances.
“Receiving the scholarship gave me the opportunity to continue the physical therapy at the pool,” she said.
She soon realized the Y had become part of their family in so many ways.
“With MS, sometimes I was so exhausted that I just checked my kids in so they could play in a safe place and have fun,” she said. “I just sat there. It had an amazing impact on all of us.”
Even her husband took advantage of the programs at the Y to destress.
“It’s not easy to be a caregiver,” Pastran said.
Everybody knows the Y, but not everybody knows the impact the organization has in the community.
“We are much more than a gym and a swim,” chief operations officer and longtime member of the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City, Mike Roark, said. “We are a place where everyone has value.”
One of the oldest nonprofit organizations in
Oklahoma, the Y is today a modern, cause-driven community organization that stretches far beyond its walls to make an impact across the metro.
“We make our community stronger by allowing people to connect in a positive setting,” Roark said. “We are all in it together.”
The YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City was formed in May of 1889, one month after the Oklahoma Land Run. In those days, the Y's purpose was to provide a source of strength and positive influence for young men who had traveled far from their families to make a new life for themselves.
Today, the organization has more than 1,439 full- and part-time staff members serving in a wide variety of positions within 16 branches, four program centers and 25 community-based program sites around the metro area.
The nonprofit has evolved with the times, providing services and solutions to problems that impact the community. They offer financial assistance, children’s swimming lessons, teen leadership programs, school-age childcare and community service programs.
The Y focuses its work in three key areas that are fundamental to strengthening community: youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
“We engage children as young as 6 weeks through our child watch programs and child development centers,” Roark said. “We start them very young.”
These programs set children onto a path of socialization in a structured environment.
“We have programs that lay the foundation to grow productive people who care for others,” he said.
The focus on healthy
living is underscored through the Y’s exercise offerings, but also apparent through programs such as its life-changing challenges, free youth sports with household membership, reduced rates on some programs and personal training.
“But it’s also about embracing nature,” Roark said, referencing the work the Y does at Camp Classen, an overnight camp in the Arbuckle mountains.
Ultimately, all programs point to the same goal: Making the community a better place to live and work through social responsibility, which is also the Y’s third focus area.
“The last part of our mission is ‘for all,’” Roark said.
Every day, the organization works to make sure that everyone, regardless of age, income or background, has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.
“Knowing that it is not just about us is important. We all can have a positive effect on those around us,” he added.
This philosophy also plays out in many of the Y’s community service programs which range from community feeding programs, to its foster care program to an initiative where members provide mattresses to children who don’t have their own bed to sleep in.
Currently the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City is running its annual fundraising campaign. Funds raised help them provide financial assistance throughout the year. Last year, people donated more than $1.3 million. However, the Y awarded $3,766,328 in program support and individual financial assistance.
“There is a true, quantified need for our programs in this community,” Roark said.
Roark invites the community to support the campaign, volunteer or contribute in another way. The annual campaign ends March 16.
“I want the people who donate to the Y to know they are donating so people like me can still go even in face of financial adversity,” Pastran said. “I never really understood this until I was in the situation.”
For more information, visit ymcaokc.org.