Feels good to be back: members open up about returning to the Y

Over the past year and a half, families like yours have adapted to the challenges of a changing world to stay healthy, active, and engaged throughout the pandemic. For some, this meant taking a momentary break from the Y and other out-of-home activities until they felt ready to come back.

With this in mind, we’re excited to offer a special $0 rejoiner fee for any lapsed member who has cancelled their membership in the last 15 months!

For many of our members who’ve recently rejoined, spending time at the Y feels like a much-awaited return to normalcy. Here’s what some of our members had to say about coming back to the Y:

David B. and David D.
Lake View YMCA
We both started coming to the Lake View YMCA as a way to keep active and move around. We’ve been coming here three days a week for 12 years. When the center closed, it was a big interruption to our routine. We substituted by walking 4-5 miles a day in our neighborhood, but it’s just not the same. We love the diversity here at the Y. It’s not just a bunch of 20-year-olds—there’s a lot of older folks like us, too. It’s great to be back!

Pierceson
Elmhurst YMCA
My family’s always been involved with the Elmhurst YMCA, so it felt natural to return to the place where I’ve built so many memories. In past years, I’ve even worked in the center’s sports and child care programs! I put my membership on hold while I was away at college, but I’m so excited to be back now that I’ve graduated. I missed being around the environment that the Y creates. You don’t know it when you first join, but when you sign up for the Y, you’re signing up for a community cultivated by compassion.

Heidi
Irving Park YMCA

Throughout my life, starting at age two-and-a-half, when I felt socially isolated as an individual totally blind from birth, I ALWAYS found friends among YMCA trainers and coaches, who embraced me with kindness and respect. I felt that I was always treated with the highest American ideal: "The belief that we are all worthy; we are all equal and we all count." It was written in their hearts way before the signing of the ADA in July 1990. It's this commitment to inclusion that keeps me coming back to the Y.

On an ongoing basis, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago continues to evolve our protocols to safely offer the robust fitness, child care, and community programming our members have come to love about the Y. And if you’ve needed a hiatus, we want to make sure we’re doing everything possible to help you feel empowered to reincorporate your local Y back into your wellness routine.

For more information about returning to the Y and taking advantage of our $0 rejoiner fee, contact your local center.