35 years of being part of a great cause
16-year-old Lynn joined, what was then the Mississauga YMCA, as a fitness instructor in 1988 and little did she know at the time that it would commence a 35-year long (and counting) relationship with the YMCA! She is now a popular face, and health and fitness instructor, at the Peter Gilgan Family YMCA for almost two decades. We love our very own Lynn Petruskavich for her enthusiasm and passion for community-building.
Soon after earning a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology, Lynn set out to travel to the west in 1993. She was staying at the YWCA hostel in Banff when she came across a job posting for Assistant Director of Fitness Programs at the Mississauga YMCA. She flew down to Toronto immediately to follow her dream profession, aced the interview and secured the job. There has been no looking back since! Lynn continued working in multiple roles over the next 12 years, rising through the ranks and moving from being Membership Programs Director at the Mississauga location to a marketing and communications role at the YMCA of Greater Toronto Head Office.
Lynn then embarked on a new phase of life as she moved to Oakville in 1999 following her marriage. A thorough sports and fitness enthusiast, she began volunteering as a fitness trainer and mentor at the YMCA of Oakville in 2000. She continued offering her services throughout her maternity leave when her daughters were born.
As time passed and her needs evolved, Lynn transitioned from her full-time role at the YMCA of Greater Toronto to focus more on family life and self-employment opportunities. Her young kids participated in childcare at the YMCA. “This was insightful for me because, for the first time, I could look at the YMCA from a member’s perspective,” Lynn recalls. She kept volunteering at the YMCA of Oakville and was recognized with the 2006 Membership Volunteer Award. Throughout the last decade, Lynn has been a consistent presence at our YMCA. Hundreds of members have benefitted from her yoga and cycling classes.
Lynn’s story is not just about a fitness instructor that the YMCA is proud to have. Her journey also reflects her commitment to keeping the Y’s mission alive. “No other fitness center accommodates diversity in such a broad sense. Here, you will see every facet of our community: people of different age groups, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic background,” she explains.
Every time Lynn participated in community-building activities, such as the Peace Breakfast for instance, she understood the broader purpose of the YMCA. She recognized that the programs are merely tools to achieve a peaceful, harmonious, and a unified community.
Lynn believes that the YMCA has services to meet the needs at every stage of our lives. She loves how the multicultural space nurtures connections around the shared values of love, strength, well-being, and peace, while also helping the community grow in spirit, mind, and body.
“Who would not want to be part of such a great cause?”, she wonders aloud.
Our YMCA family hopes to grow and move forward with Lynn for many more decades to come.