Dear Valued member of the Fond du Lac Family YMCA,
On behalf of our staff and Board of Directors, I would like to express my gratitude for your membership and continued support. 2020 has been a year of many changes and challenges and we are so grateful that you stayed with us. We are proud to have been a part of the Fond du Lac community for more than 115 years and are committed to improving the health of our community, focusing on Youth Development, Healthy Living and Social Responsibility.
In 2020 we had to be flexible as things changed quickly…
• We had to pause and close our buildings for a total of 76 days.
• We found a way to provide uninterrupted Child Care to children of essential workers.
• We converted our gym into a blood donation center in collaboration with Blood Centers of Wisconsin.
• In two weeks time, we created and offered the Y Learning Academy for area students, to help support virtual learning.
• We have had to make some hard decisions so we can remain sustainable for the long-term.
• We enhanced our cleaning and disinfecting protocols and created physical distancing measures to be as safe as possible, while following local guidelines.
• We reduced the capacity of our Pools, Gymnasiums and Group Exercise Classes and made some areas available by reservation only.
• We continued to evaluate and make changes to our facility guidelines based on the recommendations from the Fond du Lac County Health Department.
And the list goes on, but we have tried our hardest to keep you informed while providing great service to all members. We truly are grateful to you all for helping us during these tough times by staying with us.
We know that staying active is critical to a healthy spirit, mind and body. There is strong evidence that physical exercise is one of the best ways to defend against the virus. In addition, the Y provides a safe place to reduce the impact of social isolation.
These are our next steps to make more offerings available to our members:
–The use of the whirlpool will be available by reservation beginning in January.
—Child Watch will reopen with limited hours beginning in January.
–The age restriction for the free weight area will change from 16 to 14 yrs old.
–A stretching area will be made available again in our Wellness Center.
–A more robust library of virtual content, including virtual workouts you can do at home, will be made available to our members on our website in 2021.
We are aware that these times have been difficult on us all and we want you to know that Y membership is open to all regardless of financial status. Our membership staff can help answer any questions you may have about financial assistance.
Thank you once again for being a part of our Y family. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly with any questions, comments or concerns.
Wishing you a Happy New Year from everyone here at the Y.
With Gratitude,
