How the Northeast Community YMCA puts Birmingham residents’ needs first
It's a Tuesday morning at the Northeast Community YMCA.
The gym echoes with music and laughter from a SilverSneakers class, 50 members strong. Preschoolers proudly show off artwork to their teachers. Members squeeze in morning workouts before work. Upstairs, walkers make laps around the track while catching up on grandchildren and weekend plans. In a few short hours, the building will belong to children arriving for afterschool care.
Everything about it feels familiar.
Until you look a little closer.
Next door, a parent arrives for a pediatric appointment. Before the afternoon is over, a family will meet with a counselor only steps away, and a small group of adult learners will take a virtual class in a quiet classroom. Just outside, a family arrives home in the driveway of their new home, recently built among 20 others by Habitat for Humanity.
This isn't simply a YMCA.
It's the Northeast Community YMCA, and it’s redefining what a YMCA can be.