Healthy Living

Congratulations to several North Carolina YMCA staff who were named YMCA of the USA Anti-Hunger Heroes for their work to support healthy food access in their communities! We’re especially excited to recognize them during Hunger Action Month.

The NC Alliance of  YMCAs has been a long-time member of the NC Falls Prevention Coalition, and now the Alliance is a proud partner of Standing Strong, NC, an new project to prevent falls and save lives.

In 2022, NC YMCAs provided swim lessons to more than 20,000 kids and provided the Y's Safety Around Water program to more than 10,000 children. That's because we're serious about valuable, lifelong water safety and swimming skills. In honor of Water Safety Month, the Y is offering tips for parents to keep kids safe in and around water this summer.

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, the YMCAs is encouraging community members to care for themselves and others. 

Last month two new walking groups at the Pharr Family YMCA in McAdenville (Gaston County Family YMCA) conducted walk audits to identify challenges for walking and rolling (wheelchairs, strollers, bikes, etc.) throughout the downtown area.

Three North Carolina YMCAs are partnering with NC DHHS for the Healthy Opportunities Pilots (HOPs). The pilot is the first comprehensive program in the country to test and evaluate the impact of providing specific evidence-based, non-medical interventions related to housing, food, transportation, interpersonal safety, and toxic stress to high-needs Medicaid enrollees.

As of March 2023, 2,953,505 North Carolinians are enrolled in Medicaid, according to the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The majority are single mothers and their children under the age of 20, seniors and disabled and blind people.

In May 1923, the first YMCA Short Course National Swimming Championship was held. This April, the Y celebrates 100 years of Y swimming history in Greensboro at the 2023 YMCA National Short Course Swimming Championships.