Part of a nationwide annual thrust to promote youth health and fitness, the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA welcomed 250 attendees Saturday for their annual Healthy Kids Day.
The event featured a range of activities for children, with everything from bouncing, Tae Kwon Do and dancing to lacrosse, basketball, soccer and flag football. Community presenters included a local optometrist, Oryana Food Market and Every Step Counts. The sunshine outdoors drew many to pony rides and the chance to be a firefighter for a few minutes by wielding the big hose.
From toddlers to teens, kids hurtled among stations, eager to try everything while their parents trailed behind, taking it all in.
"This is a good way to get information about the Y,” said Liz Bottoms of Traverse City, as her son Jeremy, 9, tried out an exercise bike. "They have good programs here, I wanted to find out what's available. I signed my daughter up for soccer.”
Anne Larson noted that her son, Michael, 5, attends the after school daycare program and was eager to check out the event on Saturday.
"They keep the kids active here from the time they get here until you pick them up,” she said.
The event was free and open to the community and the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA was one of 2,500 Ys nationwide hosting a Healthy Kids Day on Saturday.
"Our goal was to get 150 kids here and we did that but to also just get the community to see the Y and what we have to offer,” said Seth Kovarik, director of child care for the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA. "A lot of them were really willing to come and at the end they said they really enjoyed themselves.”
Serving a five-county area, the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA began in 1964 and moved to its current location off of South Airport Road in the early 1980s. With the purchase last fall of 20.5 acres on Silver Lake Road and plans made for a modern facility including a pool, the organization is on the cusp of the next stage.
The project is in the midst of what they term "quiet fundraising” among private funds to begin raising money for the first, or essential, component of the new facility. That phase has a price tag of $10.6 million and will include a family recreational pool, gymnasiums and a health and fitness facility. The future phase will include space for racket sports, a competitive pool and a multi-purpose area called the field house. The total price of the multi-phase project is $22 million.
Plans for the new facility were displayed Sunday during the Healthy Kids Day.
"The earliest we could see breaking ground is this fall with grand opening in the Fall of 2008,” said Larry Mead, director of marketing and development for the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA. "However, realistically, we could break ground anywhere from this fall to next spring. The next phase is all about how the fundraising is going.”
Mead pointed out that nationally the YMCA is the leading provider of both aquatic instruction and child care. In a region surrounded by water, enhancing swimming lesson opportunities is crucial; currently YMCA lessons are given at a local hotel pool.
"We're enveloped in water, all the inland lakes and the Bay, there's a significant need,” said Mead. "The statistics are that one kid in ten under age five will have what is considered being in a position of high risk in the water; those reasons alone tell us that we ought to be doing swimming lessons.”
For more information about the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA, call 933-YMCA or see their Web site at www.gtbayymca.org.