BINGOpalooza 2022 Raises $20,000

With more than 120 participants, 12 beautiful designer handbag donations and $20,000 in funds raised, spirits were high and records were broken at the 2nd Annual BINGO event on 9/15/22. Of the 10 rounds of BINGO played, half of them resulted in a two way or three way tie which added an extra element of excitement for the crowd. Senior Director of Development, Rich McCarty kept the crowd entertained with an intermission game of Heads or Tails. More than 25 paid to test their luck by choosing heads or tails in this fundraiser game of elimination that was fun for everyone.

Our Open Doors Program makes sure that everyone who wants to use a service at the Y is eligible to do so regardless of economic barriers. This financial assistance program is funded by charitable support. The Y is doing a great deal of work to support the community. We cannot do it alone without the support of our sponsors, our business partners, individual donors and everyone who attends fundraising events.

For those that are not familiar with the work we do, President and CEO, Michele Rulnick provided some highights of the work that is being done beyond wellness programming related to fitness and swimming.

This past summer, we provided FREE swim lessons to about 120 children in order for them to be safe around water.

Beyond that, we have begun to focus on food insecurity issues within our community. There are 62 men who reside at the YMCA in our single room occupancy housing. The Y is their home. Without cooking facilities, they struggle to make ends meet. The Y has also set up a food pantry. Grant funding has allowed us to provide weekly home cooked meals. We partnered with First Church to provide weekly meals throughout COVID.

Food Insecurity programming has also expanded to support youth in our Summer Enrichment Day Camp program held at the YMCA. There are typically 35% of the youth in attendance who are on some type of financial assistance. This year, Candace Crane, VP of Youth Development and Community Relations was able to work with the Middletown Board of Education to get a nutritious meal delivered to the Y for all of of Summer Enrichment campers. This is critical because families are struggling to pay for groceries. The Y is making sure that we are doing everything we can to help families.

As far as our teen programming, we're looking at a mentoring employment program.

We have a full preschool program for the first time since pre-COVID which is amazing.

This summer, we had 1200 children come to enjoy the beauitful 76 acre property where YMCA Camp Ingersoll runs day camp sessions. Our friends at First Student were in attendance and received a shoutout for providing safe and reliable bussing throughout the summer.

It truly takes a village to make a difference and we are incredibly grateful for our village!

Special Recognitions were given to

*volunteers, Johanna Bond, Kelly Smith, Karen Warren and Y staff

*YMCA Volunteer Board of Directors

*Development Team: Rich McCarty and Betsy Schroeder

*Event Sponsors: Liberty Bank, Middlesex Health, Atlantic Wealth Advisors, Webster Bank, Peach Pit, Comcast, Controlled Air, 2QA + M Architecture, Peach Pit Foundation, NFP, Butler Construction, Whittlesey Advising, Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Centers.

The Northern Middlesex YMCA ENCOURAGES COMMUNITY TO SHARE MENTAL HEALTH FACTS

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, the Middlesex Y is encouraging community members to join the conversation about mental health.

Mental health is how we think, feel and act. At the Y, we recognize that we all have mental health, and mental health is an important part of our physical health and social-emotional well-being, as well as a core component of our identity.

“We can all play a role in supporting each other’s mental health – at the Y and in our communities,” said Candace Crane, VP of Youth Development & Community Outreach. “The first step is to start talking in our communities about what mental health really is.”

Help the Y get the conversation going about mental health this Mental Health Awareness Month by sharing these facts with your friends and family:

FACT: We all have mental health, not just those who live with a mental illness. Everyone faces challenges in their life that can impact our mental health.

FACT: There are many things we can do each day to positively impact our mental health. A few examples include: • moving, fueling and resting our bodies • being mindful of how we’re feeling and what’s going on around us • connecting with others, and • asking for help when needed

FACT: In addition to biological and environmental factors, mental health is influenced by health inequities that can be attributed to systemic racism, the social determinants of health and exposure to trauma. Ys and community organizations can support mental health by addressing barriers that prevent marginalized communities from having access to the support they need.

FACT: Mental health and physical health are interconnected, and both can impact your overall well-being. For example, research shows that exercise can alleviate long-term depression.1

FACT: Positive mental health can be supported in community settings, like the Y, in addition to traditional clinical settings. The Y supports the mental health of individuals and communities in all of the work we do to help people reach their full potential—whether that’s supporting youth in our summer camps, helping people achieve their best physical health or providing newcomer immigrants access to services.

FACT: We all can support the mental health of our community through bringing empathy, compassion and kindness to our interactions with others. Something as simple as intentionally asking “how are you?” and encouraging honest answers can provide us an opportunity to normalize mental health and help others when they need it.

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, know that help is available. Visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for a list of resources. For immediate help 24-hours a day, call 800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741.

COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER TO PROTECT CHILDREN
The Northern Middlesex YMCA joins the Five Days of Action to protect children from sexual abuse.

The Northern Middlesex YMCA is participating in the Five Days of Action, April 18-22, 2022. The Five Days of Action is a week long campaign to raise awareness and inspire adults to take action to protect children from sexual abuse.

The Y encourages adults and organizations to join in marking this special week as we come together to make the community a safer place for children to live, learn, and play. With summer right around the corner—when children gather for activities and camps, it is a wonderful time to bring attention to the simple ways we can all make the children in our community safer.

During the Five Days of Action, The Northern Middlesex YMCA will be engaging these critical steps of prevention, KNOW. SEE. RESPOND. that will help adults better protect children. When adults know how abuse happens, see the warning signs, and respond quickly to prevent abuse, they foster a culture of child abuse prevention. Together, we can bring awareness to the issue of child sexual abuse in our communities and have important conversations about how we can all work together to prevent it from happening.

“The children of Middlesex County have the right to a happy and safe childhood, and it's our responsibility as adults and organizations to stand up to protect that right,” said Candace Crane, VP of Youth Development and Community Relations. “By joining in the Five Days of Action’s KNOW. SEE. RESPOND. campaign, we hope to inspire other organizations and members of our community to create safe spaces that protect children from sexual abuse.”

A principal endeavor of the Middlesex Y is to provide an atmosphere for the growth and development of youth and children.  Thus, the mistreatment or neglect of youth or children and the resulting severe effects are of primary concern to the Y.  Child abuse is mistreatment or neglect of a child by parent(s) or others resulting in injury or harm.  Abuse can lead to severe emotional, physical and behavioral problems.  Because of its concern for the welfare of children and youth, the Y has developed policies, standards, guidelines and training to aid in the detection and prevention of child abuse.

​ 1. All employees are screened and background checks are conducted upon hiring or rehiring.  Additionally, employees who have contact with children and youth receive training in recognizing, reporting and preventing child abuse, which includes training in recognizing signs that a child is being groomed for abuse.

​ 2. Before employment, all staff must complete Praesidium's Armatus Child Abuse Prevention Training. These online modules of training include "Duty to Report, Mandated Reporter", "Keeping Your Y Safe", "Preventing Sexual Activity Between Young Children", "Meet Sam", and "It Happened to Me".

​ 3. All employees are required to sign and abide by our Codes of Conduct, Work Rules, Childcare Code of Conduct, and our YMCA Policy Preventing the Abuse and Mistreatment of Youth. These documents can be found under the About Us tab on our website www.midymca.org.

​ Resources for Parents/Guardians A parent or guardian is the best person to teach a youth about personal safety. However, the staff at the Y will also be communicating similar messages. It is important for adults to be delivering a similar message. Please click on the About Us tab on our website www.midymca.org to access information on how to keep your youth safe, personal safety skills youth should have, ways to protect youth from abuse, and how to respond if your youth discloses abuse.

The Northern Middlesex YMCA, with support from the YMCA Champions for Child Protection, YMCA of the USA, Darkness to Light, Redwoods Group Foundation, Monique Burr Foundation for Children, and American Camp Association, have made materials available to help adults learn more about preventing child sexual abuse. For more information about preventing child sexual abuse, visit www.fivedaysofaction.org. Materials are derived from YMCA of the USA’s “Know. See. Respond.” copyrighted in 2020.

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE STATISTICS - PROVIDED BY DARKNESS TO LIGHT One in ten children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. 90% of child sexual abuse victims know their abuser. Approximately 30% of children who are sexually abused are abused by family members. 60% of child sexual abuse victims never tell anyone. False reports are rare. Research shows that only 4 to 8% of child sexual abuse reports are fabricated.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU BELIEVE A CHILD IS BEING ABUSED - PROVIDED BY DARKNESS TO LIGHT You do not need to have proof that abuse is occurring to make a report, only reasonable suspicion. Reasonable suspicion means that you have witnessed maltreatment or boundary violations, either in the child or adult, or both. Or, you have received a disclosure from a child about abuse, neglect, or boundary violations towards them. Child sexual abuse reports should be made to the police and/or state child protective services. Contact the Darkness to Light Helpline at 866-FOR-LIGHT or text LIGHT to 741741 to have questions answered by trained counselors at no charge.

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Media Contact Linda Heidorn, Communications Coordinator

About The Northern Middlesex YMCA The Y is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Middlesex YMCA is one of Connecticut’s leading YMCA branches with over 11,000 people served annually. YMCA Camp Ingersoll located in Portland, CT is operated by Middlesex YMCA and exists to allow children to explore nature make new friends, and acquire new skills.

About Darkness to Light Darkness to Light is a nonprofit organization with the mission to empower adults to prevent child sexual abuse through awareness, education, and stigma reduction. Darkness to Light’s flagship program, Stewards of Children®, is an evidence-informed, award-winning training that teaches adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. More than 1.9 million adults have been trained using Darkness to Light trainings. For more information, visit www.D2L.org.

About Redwoods Group Foundation The Redwoods Group Foundation supports programs that can change the world and helps them reach more people than ever before, through funding and backbone support. We currently focus on child sexual abuse prevention, drowning prevention, and growing the field of social entrepreneurship. For more information, visit www.redwoodsgroup.com.

About the Monique Burr Foundation for Children The Monique Burr Foundation for Children (MBF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children by providing the best comprehensive, evidence-based prevention education programs. MBF prevention programs educate and empower children and relevant adults with information and strategies to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to the four types of child abuse (physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect), exploitation, bullying, cyberbullying, human trafficking, digital abuse, and other digital dangers. MBF is now a leader in prevention education with our programs having reached over 4.5 million children throughout Florida and the United States. For more information, visit www.mbfpreventioneducation.org.

About American Camp Association The American Camp Association® (ACA) is a national organization serving the more than 15,000 year-round and summer camps in the US who annually serve 26 million campers. ACA is committed to collaborating with those who believe in quality camp and outdoor experiences for children, youth, and adults. ACA provides advocacy, evidence-based education, and professional development, and is the only independent national accrediting body for the organized camp experience. ACA Accreditation provides public evidence of a camp's voluntary commitment to the health, safety, risk management, and overall well-being of campers and staff. For more information, visit www.ACAcamps.org or call 800-428-2267.

State of Connecticut Community Challenge Grant

"The YMCA is a proud partner of this City Initiative. The investments from this grant are going towards upgrade of our housing. It’s helping us preserve housing for low income men in this community. We are really proud to be part of this with other great partners."
Michele Rulnick, CEO and President

#housing #historicpreservation #collaboration #socialresponsibility

Reshare of Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim's post:

Today was a big day for downtown Middletown-- I was thrilled to join Governor Lamont to announce our city as one of 12 awardees out of 50+ applications for the State of Connecticut Community Challenge grant program. This award will bring $4.5 million in funding to redevelop historic buildings to meet modern community needs from one end of Main Street to the other-- housing, healthy food, community spaces, and beyond. I want to thank the City’s partners in our successful application, the developers and on-the-ground program providers who will be putting this funding to work going forward: J.R. Hargreaves (545 Main Street), DeMartino Investments (418/422/584 Main Street), and the Middlesex YMCA. Today’s announcement follows $2 million in recent state bonding approved for 545 Main Street as well as combined $3 million in state and federal funding for renovations at the R.M. Keating Historical Enterprise Park and $580,000 in state grant funds for continued improvements to recent local park renovations. This represents a total of over $10 million and counting in competitive state and federal investment secured for Middletown this fiscal year. Huge thanks to our state legislative delegation, Governor Lamont, and Lt. Governor Bysiewicz for their confidence in our city, the Middlesex Chamber for their outstanding and constant advocacy for Middletown’s business community, and to the amazing staff on my team who put in the long hours needed to get the job done on this funding. Now the real work begins, and we can’t wait to share the progress with you! #middletownmeansbusiness

Eating Right for a Healthy Weight

Food, Nutrition and Health Tips from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Reaching or maintaining a healthy weight can

contribute to your overall health and wellbeing. Losing even a few pounds, if you are carrying extra weight, or preventing further weight gain, has health benefits.

Are you ready to make changes in your lifestyle and move toward a healthier weight?

Here are some tips to get you started.

Start with a plan for lifelong health. Focus on the big picture of achieving overall good health – not just short-term weight loss.

Set healthy, realistic goals. You are more likely to succeed in reaching realistic goals when you make changes step-by-step. Start with one or two specific, small changes at a time. Track your progress by keeping a food and activity log.

Get a personalized eating plan. Go to www.MyPlate.gov for a plan that will give you the amounts of each food group you need daily. If you have special nutrition needs, consult a registered dietitian nutritionist for personalized nutrition advice.

Plan your meals ahead of time. Whether you’re eating at home, packing a lunch or eating out, an overall eating plan for the day will help keep you on track.

Balance your plate with a variety of foods. Half your plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables, one fourth with protein foods like lean meat, poultry, fish or beans, and one fourth with grains. To round out your meal, add fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt or cheese.

Start your meal with lower calorie foods like fruits, vegetables and salads. These foods are packed with nutrients your body needs.

Focus on your food. Pick one place to sit down and eat at home. Eating while doing other things may lead you to eat more than you’re hungry for. Switching from a large plate to a smaller one may also help you become more mindful of portion sizes.

Know when you’ve had enough to eat. Quit before you feel full or stuffed. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to get the message that your body is getting food. When your brain gets this message, you stop feeling hungry. So, fast eaters—slow down and give your brain a chance to get the word.

Get plenty of dietary fiber from fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains. Dietary fiber can help you feel full longer and may lower your risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Watch portion sizes to manage your calorie intake. This is the key to an effective weight management plan. To make sure your portion sizes are “just right,” visit www.MyPlate.gov for healthy eating guidelines in household measures and refer to the Nutrition Facts Label for serving size information.

Snack smart. Snacks can fit into a healthy eating plan, if they’re planned right. To prevent hunger between meals, choose nutritious foods from the MyPlate food groups. Keep portable, healthy snacks in your desk, backpack or car.

Find your balance between food and physical activity. Regular physical activity is important for your overall health and fitness – plus, it may also help reduce the risk of chronic disease, promote a feeling of wellbeing and help manage body weight.

Find ways to be active throughout the day. Aim for 2 hours and 30 minutes, or more, each week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as brisk walking. Muscle-strengthening activities at least two days per week are also recommended. If you are currently inactive, check with your doctor about increasing physical activity first.

Is it right for you?

Make sure your weight management plan is right for you.
Does it include:

• Foods from all five food groups?
• The right number of servings from each group?
• Food you will enjoy eating for the rest of your life?
• Foods you easily have access to?
• Some of your favorite foods?
• Foods that fit your budget and lifestyle?
• Regular physical activity or exercise?

You’re more likely to have success and stick with your weight management plan with every question you answer “yes” to above.

A registered dietitian nutritionist can work with you to develop a personalized weight management plan that meets your individual needs.

For more information about healthy eating, visit www.eatright.org and www.MyPlate.gov.