Women’s Change Room Makeover
September 1-23

As part of our commitment to offering you the best membership experience possible, we’re updating our Women’s Change Room to refresh the space and make it like new.

Enhancements include:

• New showers and tiling
• Modern, upgraded vanities, counters and sinks
• New flooring
• Enhanced lighting
• New lockers and privacy stalls

This transformation of the entire space will take three weeks to complete. During this time, the Women’s Change Room will be closed, and the Family Change Room will be converted into a temporary, women’s only/accessible change room.

This means:

• Women/women with children ages 4 and under will use the new Women’s Change Room (formerly Family Change Room).
• Men with children ages 4 and under may use the Men’s General change room.
• Men with opposite gender children over the age of 4 will be directed to the new Women’s Change Room (formerly Family Change Room) where a female staff member will assist your child in changing and meet you on the pool deck.
  For more details, please visit Membership Services.

Other options:

• Individual change room on the pool deck – please follow signs near the stairs on the pool deck.
• Men’s and Women’s washrooms on the main level, past the rock climbing centre.
• SPECIAL OFFER! Women (18+ years) can try the Women’s Plus Lounge for September for just $20! Visit Membership Services to sign up!

Thank you for your patience as we remodel our Women’s Change Room. If you have any concerns, please visit the membership desk or contact:

Andrea Bibby, General Manager
andreabi@oakville.ymca.ca

Crichton Smith, Facility Manager
crichtonsm@oakville.ymca.ca

June 21, 2018 is National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Truth and Reconciliation has been a key focus for us at the YMCA of Oakville. We have partnered with other community agencies and organizations to bring a series of events and discussions on Truth and Reconciliation in Halton, focused on bringing Indigenous and non-Indigenous members of the community together to build a shared understanding and a renewed relationship.

Our 2017 Peace Week was centred around Truth and Reconciliation. Kicking off the week with our Annual Candlelight Walk for Peace, we unveiled a Land Treaty Acknowledgment plaque in our front garden and heard reflections from local Indigenous Knowledge Guide Stephen Paquette and Chief Stacey Laforme of the Mississaugas of the Credit. Our Annual Community Breakfast for Peace featured keynote speaker Gabrielle Scrimshaw, a First Nations advocate with a passion for social change. Following the Community Breakfast for Peace we held an Indigenous panel for youth from local high schools, featuring Indigenous experts on a variety of topics.

Our Youth Engagement department participated in a number of Indigenous learning experiences, including a blanket exercise open to youth in our TAG, Just the Guys, and other programs. Participants in our Counsellors in Training summer camp program visited the Woodland Centre to learn about the history of the Woodland people and life in a residential school. Later in 2018, a group of youth will be experiencing a trip to Temagami, in partnership with Appleby College, for a unique experience immersed in Indigenous culture.

This has only been the start of our journey, and on National Indigenous Peoples Day we are proud to share YMCA Canada’s Statement of Truth and Reconciliation and strengthen our dedication to Truth and Reconciliation.

Read the full statement here.

There is a list of basic life skills all parents instinctively know they must teach their children to keep them safe and healthy. It includes habits like looking both ways before you cross the street, washing your hands with soap and water and eating the right amount of fruits and vegetables every day. For too many parents, safety in and around water is not on the list; and that’s something we need to change.

Drowning is a leading cause of preventable death in children and the YMCA believes that learning to swim is a critical life skill. Your Oakville Y membership includes a free weekly group swim lesson – for ALL ages.

These classes are just one of the many swim programs that people from toddlers to adults take advantage of at the YMCA. Here in Oakville the Y teaches almost 2000 children and adults water safety and swimming each year. Through Splash Month, the Y hopes to further bridge gaps that prevent families from learning important water safety skills.

If children know how to stay safe in and around water, swimming can be a lifelong source of fun and exercise. Instead of keeping your children away from water, help them learn fundamental water safety skills by enrolling them in swim lessons.