YMCA not trying to shed Christian ties with new logo
Credit: Chicago Sun-Times

A Brand New Day
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 12, 2010) – For the first time in 43 years, the YMCA has unveiled a new brand strategy to increase understanding of the impact the nonprofit makes in communities. The YMCA has the unique capacity to address many of the challenges facing the nation today. Through its new brand strategy and framework, the nonprofit will extend its reach into communities to nurture the potential of youth and teens, improve the nation’s health and well-being and provide opportunities to support neighbors. Read more...

YMCA drops extra letters, changes to just 'Y'
Credit: Chicago Sun-Times

YMCA getting new logo, shifting focus
Credit: Dayton Daily News

An Insurer's New Approach to Diabetes
The UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest health insurers, is teaming up with the YMCA and retail pharmacies to try a new approach to one of the nation's most serious and expensive medical problems: Type 2 diabetes.
Credit: New York Times

To Turn the Tide of Childhood Obesity, Put Play Back in Kids' Days
YMCA President, Neil Nicoll published on The Huffington Post

YMCA efforts in Haiti
Gwenael Apollon, General Secretary of the Haiti YMCA and Dr. Stephen Ray Smith, a U.S. YMCA volunteer, are working along with others to improve the conditions of the country after the terrible earthquake that hit just about a month ago. Gwenael and Ray went door-to-door to offer support to those impacted as well as an assurance that the YMCA is committed to helping families and communities rebuild. To read more about this continuing effort please visit www.ymca.net/worldservice

YMCA Hosts First Lady Michelle Obama, as she announces plans to help Americans lead healthier lives
On Thursday, Jan. 28, the Alexandria YMCA, part of the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, hosted First Lady Michelle Obama, who announced plans to help Americans lead healthier lives through better nutrition, regular physical activity, and by encouraging communities to support healthy choices. Read more...

YMCA Tops List of Charities with Strongest Brands
With a brand value of $6.4 billion, the YMCA outpaces its closest competitor by almost $2 billion. The organization started with a social mission and has evolved over the years to also become a hallmark sports and recreation facility with locations in almost 3,000 communities. The YMCA generates more than $2 billion through membership dues alone, its largest source of revenue, and it enjoys high consumer awareness and familiarity as part of its bricks-and-mortar presence and service appeal that benefits people of all ages and backgrounds.
Visit the site here to learn more.

National Survey: Majority of U.S. Parents Don't Enforce Good Health Habits
Nearly half of parents* admit their family is not eating a balanced diet, and more than three in four concede that some family members do not practice good health habits, according to a new national survey released today by YMCA of the USA and Eli Lilly and Company.

Nevertheless, most American parents expect their children's generation to have a longer lifespan than their own, or to live just as long, the survey showed. Such optimism has been rejected by research that has concluded that the current generation under the age of 18 may be the first in 200 years to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. The main culprit is obesity, caused by lack of physical activity and poor nutrition.

If not slowed or reversed, the rapid rise in childhood obesity could shorten lifespans by as much as five years, according to researchers who say the problem has grown worse in the three years since their study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March 2005.

Responding to this crisis, YMCA of the USA and Lilly are partnering to create a program called Healthy Family Home (www.HealthyFamilyHome.org) to help the entire family work together at home to make healthier choices and live healthier lives. Successful pilot programs have been completed at five YMCAs, and the program launches nationwide during YMCA Healthy Kids® Day at more than 1,700 YMCAs next month.

The family home is the place that defines, creates and predicts a family's lifelong health and well-being, said Lynne Vaughan, Chief Innovation Officer for YMCA of the USA. "Healthy Family Home empowers families to create a home environment that supports healthy living. It's a program that can work for any kind of family in any kind of home, regardless of whether the family lives near a YMCA."

Healthy Family Home provides families with practical, flexible tools and support for making lasting changes for a healthier, happier life. Actions aimed at the whole family that lead to small, sustained changes�like eating better, getting exercise and connecting as a family�are proven to have a long-term impact.

�We are a nation struggling with obesity and other chronic diseases that are lifestyle-related and often preventable,� said Kristine Courtney, M.D., an internist and Director of Corporate Health Services at Lilly. �Lilly is proud to support the Healthy Family Home program, which jumpstarts and supports a family�s efforts to be healthy in practical ways.�

Healthy Family Home Starter Kit Offer Tips, Ideas Free on Website
�Healthy Family Home Starter Kit,� a free guide with tips for healthy living, is available at local YMCA Healthy Kids Day events and on www.HealthyFamilyHome.org. The Healthy Family Home program is designed to work in any home and in any community, and lets families pick the actions and health goals that make the most sense for them. A sample from the Healthy Family Home Starter Kit:

1) Make family time. Sit down as a family for one meal a day. Research has shown that family meals are more nutritious than �solo� meals and kids who eat with their family end up making healthier snack choices.

2) Sneak in more physical activity. Plan a weekly family breakfast where you are the transportation. Skip the car, bus or train and ride bikes, walk or jog/run.

3) Get more fruits and vegetables in your diet. Have all family members identify their favorite fruit and write each one down on a list. Then fill a family fruit bowl with those fruits and keep it on the counter. This way everyone in the family will have easy access to their favorite fruit when they�re looking for a snack.

4) Make getting exercise fun. Turn up the music and do chores together (clean the house, wash windows, do laundry, etc.).

Contact your local YMCA for more information about the Healthy Family Home program.

*For the purposes of this survey, �parents� were defined as U.S. adults ages 18+ who are the parent or legal guardian of a child under the age of 18 living in their household (n= 461).