Blog

Counting the Value of Sleep

February 22, 2021

Do you remember when you were a kid and you so badly wanted to be a grownup? You’d dream of a time when you could eat whatever you wanted at every meal, stay up as late as you desired, and of course, you’d never have any homework – you could do what you wanted with your evenings. If you read that and thought, “Ha!”, congratulations- you’re officially a grownup. As we age, it becomes easier for our minds to drift to the worries of day-to-day life. Thoughts of the bills we need to pay, unfinished tasks at home and work,

Why Your Local Y Needs You

February 12, 2021

Written by Paul Urquhart As an Executive Director for a YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City facility, I get a firsthand look at the heart of what we do every single day. We serve a wide range of individuals thanks in part to our financial assistance program and our community outreach efforts. The importance of our work and contributions within the community are better understood when we consider how these programs strengthen and shape the lives of our neighbors. When I walk through the Earlywine Park YMCA, I see kids learning to swim, seniors staying active, teens getting involved in community

The Meaning of Governance

February 12, 2021

Written by Aishwarya Swamidurai I never could have imagined the sheer significance that such an unassuming, yet amazing program like Youth and Government (YAG) would have in my life. Perhaps I should have realized the program’s name told me exactly what I would come to learn about before ever starting this journey: government. My YAG journey began when I was just a small 7th grader. As a middle school student, there weren’t many things in life that I was truly passionate about. And even then, politics and governance were probably the last things you’d see on that list. To me,

Kanaa stands in front of the North Side pool

Home Is Where the Heart Is

February 5, 2021

Just before North Side YMCA member Hisham Kanaa was born, his uncle, Nazih Zuhdi, M.D., emigrated from Lebanon to the United States; a move that would profoundly shape the future of their family and countless others in the world. Dr. Zuhdi arrived on a mission to build upon his medical training. His specialized education would take him to Columbia University, State University of New York and the University of Minnesota, where he studied under prominent cardiothoracic surgeons. Impressed by his promising work and research, the University of Oklahoma Medical School offered him a faculty position in 1957. Mr. Kanaa’s uncle

Why Do We Have an Annual Campaign?

February 1, 2021

Written by Johnathan Teal I invite you to think back and reminisce with me. Think back to a time when you took swimming lessons as a child. Do you remember the pride that came from knowing you learned a new skill? Think back to when you were in the best health of your life. How hard did you work to achieve those results? What did it take to get to that point? Think back to a time you felt comfort and assurance in knowing while your kids were away from you, they were still safe. What were you able to

A YMCA Connection

January 23, 2021

Written by Carlene Hammonds Starting at a young age, the YMCA became a way of life for my husband, Rich, and his family. Growing up, he was on a variety of team sports, and his mother took him and his brothers to the Y for swimming lessons. When the time came to make decisions about how to raise our children, we decided to homeschool them. But we also wanted to give them the opportunities Rich had while growing up in the Y. We wanted them to learn the value of working together on a team and the importance of physical

Heavy Exercise and Parkinson’s Disease

January 23, 2021

Written by Carlene Hammonds Two very important things happened in our family in 2013. The first, my husband, Rich, was diagnosed by the Veteran’s Administration as having Parkinson’s Disease (PD). The second, he retired from the United States Air Force after serving for 33 years. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, PD is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly and, as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms become more common. No one wants to see their loved one suffer, so I began to

How to Get a Bigger Tax Refund

January 15, 2021

I get it. No one likes doing taxes, let alone reading about them. So why are we writing about something like income taxes? Recently, we learned from OKC Tax Help that Oklahomans leave millions of dollars on the table by not claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Because we want to help our community be healthy in spirit, body and mind, we want to help spread the word, especially after a year like 2020. If your family generally earns less than $57,000 or less a year, you could receive the tax credit. The amount of your refund increases depending

Top 6 Tips for Working Out From Home

December 30, 2020

COVID-19 precautions have wrecked many people’s routines, including mine. Not having the “right” equipment or, if I’m being honest, not having the motivation has made it difficult to get in a great workout. In case you’re experiencing a similar slump or you’re looking into starting a workout regimen from home, I have a few tips that have proved useful over the past several months. I should preface this by mentioning Virtual Y, which is the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City’s answer to easily accessible home workouts. Virtual Y provides an ever-expanding library of digital workouts to be enjoyed in the

Virtual Fitness?

December 30, 2020

The YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City will soon launch Virtual Y, but you may still have a few questions. Why an online platform? What can you expect? And lastly, how can you take advantage of it? Virtual Why? Why have we created Virtual Y? The short answer is COVID-19. The long answer is that the pandemic has provoked entire industries to shift gears, and gyms like ours were not spared. The truth is that if people aren’t using our gyms, they’ll cancel their membership and find a different way to exercise- or forego working out entirely. When that happens, we

Blog

Why Your Local Y Needs You

The Meaning of Governance

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Why Do We Have an Annual Campaign?

A YMCA Connection

Heavy Exercise and Parkinson’s Disease

How to Get a Bigger Tax Refund

Top 6 Tips for Working Out From Home

Virtual Fitness?

Why Your Local Y Needs You

The Meaning of Governance

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Why Do We Have an Annual Campaign?

A YMCA Connection

Heavy Exercise and Parkinson’s Disease

How to Get a Bigger Tax Refund

Top 6 Tips for Working Out From Home

Virtual Fitness?

Why Your Local Y Needs You

The Meaning of Governance

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Why Do We Have an Annual Campaign?

A YMCA Connection

Heavy Exercise and Parkinson’s Disease

How to Get a Bigger Tax Refund

Top 6 Tips for Working Out From Home

Virtual Fitness?

YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City

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