PORT ANGELES — Olympic Peninsula YMCA staff and volunteers will show off a new facility, tell about a new after-school program and talk about ways to be healthy in the new year during an open house Saturday.
The public is invited to the grand opening of the Y’s new 5,000-square-foot location in a former tire store at 2026 E. U.S. Highway 101 in the Port Angeles Plaza from 9 a.m. to noon.
“We want to invite the community to check out this wonderful space,” said Kyle Cronk, executive director of the YMCA.
During the open house, visitors can check out the new facility, which houses the Y’s program “After the Bell,” and talk with Y staff and volunteers.
The reason for the expansion is to “have more space, serve more people, get more people active and healthy,” Cronk said.
The first 100 visitors will get a free T-shirt.
At the open house will be information about the Y’s CrossFit program for both adults and teens, as well as one-on-one demonstrations with CrossFit coaches and samples of nutritional food, he said.
Visitors can “hear how the Olympic Peninsula Y is breaking new ground with CrossFit Kids and our After the Bell program,” Cronk said.
After the Bell replaces the organization’s child-care program that ended in December.
Tuesday was the first day of the After the Bell program.
“It’s worked out great,” Cronk said Wednesday.
The program runs from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
Buses bring students to the YMCA’s main Port Angeles location at 302 S. Francis St., then up to 28 students at a time are transported to the new location in 90-minute increments, Cronk said.
“They rotate,” he said.
“Of the 50-some-odd kids we have, about half are there” at any given time.
Cost can vary, but parents who are YMCA members will pay $150 a month if their child participates every day.
The program combines physical activity with learning and offers classes on everything from rocketry and robotics to gardening for children in kindergarten through sixth grade, Cronk said.
“The most innovative part is the combination of intense physical activity directly followed by mental activity,” Cronk said.
Studies show that a child who has been physically active immediately before tackling an academic chore is better able to focus, Cronk said.
“When we created the program, we wanted to make sure all the kids would get intense physical activity followed by academic time,” he said.
Adults also can take CrossFit classes from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and can sign up for the classes at Saturday’s open house.
On Monday, the Y began offering free memberships to seventh-graders.
Cronk said seventh grade is a “critical time” for children, and the organization can help provide positive role models.
“Ensuring that seventh-graders have a safe, wholesome place to go after school is critical for a strong community,” he said.
For more information about the YMCA, phone 360-452-9244 or visit www.olympicpeninsulaymca.org.