Paul Szmal: And welcome back to FLX Morning on Finger Lakes News Radio. It is 818 and joining us on the phone this morning is Erin Johnson. She is the Senior Program Director for the YMCA of Auburn. Good morning Erin, how are you this morning?
Erin Johnson: Doing well, good morning, thank you. We have a lot to talk about because there are a lot of activities that are coming up and you also had the, I believe it is the appointment of somebody brand new. We are reporting the story of Finger Lakes Daily News.com that Auburn native Scott Sensorbeau is getting ready to begin his role as the new president and CEO.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, it's a very exciting time at the Y. We've been without formal leadership for some years and we've had interims and management agreements, but we're really excited to have somebody that can step in and kind of move us in the next direction and keep us on the right path. So it's an exciting time.
Erin Johnson: Yeah, definitely exciting and congratulations on having Scott as the new president and CEO. Let's talk a little bit about some of the activities that happen at the YMCA. In particular, I wanted to focus on some of the aquatic stuff because you are not only a Senior Program Director, but you're also the Aquatic Director for the Y.
Paul Szmal: Yes, yes I am. So tell me a little bit about the different various aquatic programs that are being offered.
Erin Johnson: We are doing a lot of different things here at the YMCA. We have our traditional group swim lessons that are for ages 6 months to 12 and we run sessions throughout the year. We have an upcoming session that's going to start the week of April 28th. They run for seven weeks and they're open to not only our membership, but the community as a whole as well. So that's something that we offer to everyone.
We do have the option of private swim lessons. Not everybody fits the mold of a traditional swim lesson and we want to make sure that they're open and available to all. And private swim lessons can range from any age. We have some adults that really are just trying to overcome some of their fears or feel more comfortable, which I commend them for doing so. So that's another opportunity for people.
We do have a variety of fitness classes that allows people to, you know, work at their abilities and create a community within a fitness class, as well as a competitive swim team. We do offer swim lessons for our child care department, which is an added bonus for this particular child care setting. And just open laps and family recreation swim. So the pools are busy pretty much all hours of the day.
Paul Szmal: Definitely sounds like it. I know you also, in the middle of this month, are starting a swimsuit drive. What can you tell me about that?
Erin Johnson: Correct. So this is the first year that we'll be embarking on this, but we do find that there's a need for, in the community, for proper swimwear. Water safety is really big in this area, just based off of where we live and the locations of all the lakes and rivers. And we want to make sure that water safety becomes top of mind for people. So we're trying to do this to help those that don't have the abilities to have proper swimwear, because unfortunately swimming in jean cut-off shorts or t-shirts isn't really safe. And we want to try to provide as many opportunities as we can to allow them to have the proper swimwear.
So again, it's another piece of education that we're definitely going to have a bin at the Y for drop-off of new or gently used swimsuits. And I'm working on getting other bin locations throughout the community. But again, this is the first year, so it's going to take some time and some traction. But we're working with potentially the housing authority in Auburn to be able to distribute whatever bathing suits that we have, and then provide water education to those groups as well. So there will be some signage with the bins as well. And again, it's just another opportunity to give some safe facts about water.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, absolutely. We're talking with Erin Johnson from the Auburn YMCA here on FLX Morning. You also have a Healthy Kids Day coming up on April the 26th.
Erin Johnson: Yeah, we're really excited about this. This is a YMCA national initiative, but the last couple of years we have teamed up with Cougar County Health Network to provide a really good event for the community. It's going to be at the YMCA inside. As much as we'd like to be outside, you just never know what the weather is going to do. So we want to have all those opportunities. We are going to have bounce houses. We're going to have helmet safety provided by the health department. So for bike helmet safety, CAP is coming to do car seat checks.
We will have vendors in the area, all mostly non-for-profits that provide services for families and children that will be there kind of as a health fair, as well as the fire department is going to come and do some just demonstrations and some education with regards to that. Because we are embarking on water safety month of May, I will also be doing a educational piece during that time.
And two things that we're excited about adding this year is the mammogram van is going to be in the professional lot so we can offer those services to people that need it. They will do scheduling through the mammogram van itself. So the flyers are out and about with regards to that. And then Guthrie Care is going to come and they have a pop-up van for maternal care and for early child care appointments and things of that nature. So those are two things that we are adding this year that we're super excited about.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, it sounds like that is going to be a full day of activity and also an activity that I think you can do indoors or outdoors, but I'm sure everybody will want to do it outdoors since we're getting to that time of year is t-ball.
Erin Johnson: Yeah, well we're bringing back a learn to play t-ball program for ages four to six years old. It's going to be Wednesday evenings. We are doing it in the Y again because of the weather, but it's embarking on the beginning of Little League seasons and things of that nature. So try it here and then you could potentially go move on to the Little League program as well. And it's going to run for five weeks starting April 23rd.
Paul Szmal: All right, and I know Camp Hiawasco is getting ready to fire up for the summer as well.
Erin Johnson: Absolutely, we're very excited to be able to open camp again. And we did have to make some adjustments following COVID and we're kind of slowly bringing back certain things to make sure that we're doing it to, you know, to the best of our ability and give all the kids the best experience they possibly can.
So there's...each week is a res week, or excuse me, I apologize. Each week is a day camp week and we do have an additional week of resident camp this summer as well as two themed weeks that Gracie Murphy, our new camp director, is kind of reinvigorating. So one of them is construction camp and they will stay for the whole week and they have a different variety of projects that she and the staff will be working with them on. And we also have a wilderness camp. So they will learn additional skills outside of the everyday fun activities that camp includes. So this will be a little bit more...and it's not remote because they're not moving anywhere, but providing a little bit more of a skill set for a true outdoor campaign experience.
Paul Szmal: Sounds good. We've covered a lot of ground here, Erin. If people want to find out more information about some of the swim programs, the Healthy Kids Day, or Camp Wyawosko, where can they go?
Erin Johnson: Our website is auburnymca.org and there is a landing page specifically for Camp Wyawosko on there. And they can do registrations online for programs. So we also have under schedules and the membership where you can look and see different programs and options. So it's a good place to check it out and we, you know, have a lot going on. We're really excited.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, you do have a lot going on. Erin, thanks for filling us in. We appreciate it.
Erin Johnson: Thank you. Have a good day.
Paul Szmal: All right, it is 828 on FLX Morning.
