3 Reasons Your Family Should Volunteer With The YMCA

Help plant the seeds that will improve your community by volunteering at the Y!

During the winter season, it's easy to get restless and bored when you are cooped up in your house all day. Escaping the weather and heading to the gym to fit in some exercise is one way to break up the winter blues, but how else can you stay motivated when it's too cold to go outside and enjoy your free time? One activity that is both fun and beneficial to your whole family is volunteering!

Since the YMCA was first founded with the goals of strengthening local communities and supporting neighbors, thousands of volunteers have been helping to make a difference in their local neighborhood through their YMCA. In fact, across the United States, more than 500,000 business leaders, parents, teenagers, community advocates, and more have been helping to give back by volunteering at their local YMCA.

So, why should your family join the many around the country who are taking an active role in strengthening their community? Here are three reasons why your entire family should consider volunteering at the Dallas YMCA this year:

1. Help To Teach Others

Many of the wonderful people who coach the YMCA sports teams and teach many of our different classes are volunteers. In these classes, you can help to motivate and support youth by teaching them to excel in a new sport, teach kids about leadership and government in one of our youth development programs, and even lead groups in our exercise classes. By leading these classes, not only are you helping people in their pursuit of higher education and better health, but you are also developing character strengths that lead to better behaviors and life choices.

2. Make A Difference In Your Community

The YMCA is so much more than a fitness and health center. In 10,000 neighborhoods nationwide, we have a prescience that not just promises to deliver positive chance in our communities, but also personal and social change in our members. You can help to be a part of this change by volunteering on our branch boards, raising funds to ensure that the Y is accessible to all members of the community, and helping to advocate for the Y's efforts to influence important policies and initiatives that positively impact societal issues in your community. Our volunteers are constantly helping to make a difference in their local area.

3. Serve As A Role Model For Young People

One of the Dallas YMCA's most important and influential programs that we have is our youth development program. Through programs like Y-Achievers, Arts and Humanities, Teen Camp, Youth & Government and more, we are helping the youth in our community set and achieve their personal and educational goals. Through these programs, kids and teens all throughout our community are able to gain personal confidence and recognize the Y as a place where they can belong. The volunteers that help run these programs also help children to learn that they can feel comfortable exploring new interests and passions, and often make a lasting impression in the lives of these youth.

To learn more about the many ways in which you and your entire family can make a difference at your local YMCA, visit: www.ymcadallas.org/volunteer