YMCA of Niagara Celebrates Community Impact and Recognizes Local PEACE Medal Recipients
The YMCA of Niagara welcomed community champions, partners, and local leaders to the Niagara West YMCA on Tuesday for its Stronger Together Community Impact Celebration. The annual event highlighted the YMCA’s impact across 125+ sites in Niagara, shared priorities for the year ahead, and honoured inspiring individuals and groups through the presentation of the YMCA PEACE Medals.
This year, the YMCA reported more than one million meaningful interactions across the region — moments that fostered connection, confidence, stability, and belonging. These include more than 258,000 youth visits, over 243,000 moments of connection for older adults, and significant supports for thousands of newcomers building their lives in Niagara.
The YMCA also introduced its 2025–26 Case for Support, a mission-led response to Niagara’s most pressing challenges: economic exclusion, health inequity, and social disconnection.
“Need is rising faster than capacity,” said Christian Wulff, CEO of the YMCA of Niagara. “Across Niagara, people are facing three compounding pressures — economic exclusion, health inequity, and social disconnection. Our Case for Support is the YMCA’s response to these challenges, grounded in what we see every day across our communities. And while we will always act in accordance with our mission, our work is strengthened by the partners who stand alongside us. Our focus now is on scaling the conditions — the supports, partnerships, and access points that help people participate fully and feel like they belong.”
As part of YMCA Peace Week, the celebration also recognized outstanding community members with the YMCA PEACE Medals, honouring those who embody the values of Participation, Empathy, Advocacy, Community, and Empowerment.
Together, the event reflected a shared commitment to building a Niagara where everyone has access to opportunities that support their health, well-being, and potential.
