NATIONAL CANCER SURVIVOR MONTH – JUNE
While our association wore their Cancer Survivor ribbon color on June 6th, we also wore the colors dedicated to bring awareness. So please consider wearing the color you want during this month and any other day to support National Cancer Survivor Month.
Learn more about the LIVESTRONG® at the YMCA Program
WHY IS LIVESTRONG® AT THE YMCA IMPORTANT?
This program fulfills the important need of the increasing the number of cancer survivors who find themselves in the transitional period between completing their cancer treatment and the shift to feeling physically and emotionally better. The fact that the program is outside a medical facility and integrated into the community serves to emphasize that LIVESTRONG® at the YMCA is about health, not about disease. The positive and enthusiastic feedback that we receive from individuals who have gone through LIVESTRONG® at the YMCA convinces us
that this is a significant community program that fills an important, and previously unaddressed need of cancer patients and survivors.
We asked graduates from the LIVESTRONG® at the YMCA program:
What surprised you most about yourself during LIVESTRONG®?
• How much muscle tone, balance, and flexibility I had lost, and how through the 12-week program I gained back. • That I bonded with the group. I don’t like support groups because they tend to be all doom and gloom. This was
the type of support I needed. We shared similar experiences but didn’t have to talk and dwell on them.
Describe your favorite memory of LIVESTRONG®.
• Everything! The people, instructors, and everyone are great. I fell I can call everyone my friend!
• Buidling community with all of my peers and the instructors – lots of laughs and encouragement which was greatly appreciated.
The YMCA of Greater Springfield is proud to offer LIVESTRONG® at the Y, a program that positively affects so many people in our community. To date 715 cancer survivors have graduated from this cancer survivor fitness and wellness program since its inception in 2010.
We do not charge participants to partake in LIVESTRONG® at the YMCA. Individuals and families have enough challenges when dealing with a cancer diagnosis and we want to create an atmosphere that is welcoming and open to all. In order to continue to fund this program, which has an operating budget of $60,000 annually, we continually seek grant and sponsorship opportunities, host fundraising events, and are grateful for individual donations.
During June, Cancer Survivor Month, please consider making a “gift to someone you may never meet.” What exactly does this mean? The cost for one person to participate in the LIVESTRONG® at the YMCA program is $578. Every dollar counts! By sponsoring a future program participant, we can continue to provide a welcoming, supportive, and empowering atmosphere where participants, and their families, are strengthened on their road to recovery.
Donate to LIVESTRONG® at the Y and know that your donation will make a difference in the lives of people affected by cancer in our community. Every dollar goes directly to support this no-cost program, including a 3-month membership to our Y for cancer survivors and their loved ones.
Donate at www.springfieldy.org or at the Scantic Valley YMCA or the Downtown Springfield YMCA.