From Program Participant to People Leader From her first swim lesson to leading the YMCA of Niagara’s people and culture initiatives, Connie’s lifelong journey with the YMCA is one of growth, resilience, and dedication. Beginning as a young swimmer hesitant to get her face wet, she overcame countless challenges to become a mentor, a first-generation university graduate, and now an HR Manager. Throughout every chapter, the YMCA has provided Connie [...]
Water Safety Tips Republished with permission from ACTIVE FOR LIFE According to the Canadian Lifesaving Society, drowning is the number one cause of unintentional injury deaths among children between 1 and 4 years of age, and the second leading cause of preventable death for children under 10. Learning to swim is the best way to stay safe and prevent drownings. The society says that to survive an unexpected fall into deep water, the [...]
Make sure your kids have the skills to move with confidence in the water Republished with permission from ACTIVE FOR LIFE Run, skip, hop, jump. When it comes to physical literacy, these essential skills open up a lifetime of fun and activities. But it’s about more than just mastering these movement skills, it’s about becoming proficient in these skills all year round in all sorts of environments. Imagine the activities [...]
Helping Kids to be Happy and Safe Around Water Republished with permission from ACTIVE FOR LIFE My family has a summer tradition of pre-dinner swims at our local swimming hole in the Elbow River in Calgary. Last summer, as my husband got home from work, we hopped on our bikes and headed down to the river to cool off almost every evening. My daughters both loved this family activity and [...]
Study: Early Swimming Promotes Early Development Republished with permission from ACTIVE FOR LIFE Swimming is one of the most important skills that children can learn. Swimming provides for basic safety in and around water, and it also opens the door to dozens of other water-based activities ranging from canoeing and kayaking to kite sailing. But the benefits go even further. Research suggests that learning to swim in early childhood leads [...]
