I think the Y is crucial for our younger generation. The most important part of our job as YMCA employees is to help all of the kids that walk through the Y’s doors. We’re meant to help shape them into the adults they will become because they are our future. 

My family has been coming to the Y for 20 years. I started organizing pickleball games a few years ago. The game is challenging, but not intimidating. Young and old, men and women. Everyone plays together. The gym is electric. This community really cares about each other. We’ve found our second family at the Y.

Pickleball. Invented in 1965, and named after the creator’s dog, it’s ping pong meets tennis. And it’s the fastest growing sport in the U.S.