Tag: YMCA impact story

Mission Moments: Amy’s Y

Posted on by Amber Fox

At the Y, Amy found healing, belonging, and the strength to lift others. 

The path to healing isn’t always a straight line. Sometimes it’s a winding, uphill climb filled with second chances, painful detours, and moments that break you, before they begin to build you back up again. For Amy, that path started with the YMCA. 

Amy confidently telling her Y story at the Breakfast of Champions

Her journey began in crisis. After struggling with addiction and surviving an abusive marriage, Amy was welcomed into the housing program at the YMCA of Reading & Berks County. In retrospect, it was Amy’s first real step toward a better life. 

The YMCA was the beginning of my story. Even though I didn’t stay long, it planted a seed. It was the first time I started to believe that a different life was possible.

-Amy

That belief, however small, was enough.

By 2012, Amy began to transform her life as the changes she had made gave her new footing and she found support in community programs, recovery meetings, and sober events. Finally, she “started living instead of just surviving” and her world shifted for the best. She regained full custody of her daughter, and married the love of her life, and created a new beautifully blended family with four children.  

Amy’s journey with the Y took on a new, incredible life, this time as a parent. All four kids attended before-and-after school “Y-Care” at Brecknock Elementary and summer camp at the Mifflin YMCA. They loved the fun experiences and making/playing with friends. Amy and her husband loved even more than that. They found support, comfort and strength in the inclusion and sense of true belonging that their son, who is on the autism spectrum, found at the Y.

They welcomed him with open arms. So many places wouldn’t ‘deal’ with him. But the Y staff never made him feel like a burden. They made him feel like he belonged.

-Amy

Fast forward to 2018. Life threw another devastating blow when Amy’s mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and passed away within months. Grief and depression hit like a tidal wave. That’s when someone encouraged her to go to the gym. “I thought it was a joke,” she laughs softly, “but I went.”

And something clicked. 

Group fitness didn’t just become a routine; it became her anchor. A space to breathe. A place to cry, sweat, connect, and feel something other than grief.  “Group fitness became my saving grace,” Amy says. 

Amy teaching a group fitness class at Sinking Spring YMCA

Soon, she wasn’t just taking classes. She was leading them. Giving back the same encouragement that once saved her. 

Today, Amy teaches group fitness at the YMCA, pouring strength into every movement, every message. She’s become the light for others still navigating dark places, the way the Y once was for her. For the young mother battling addiction. For her stepson, who just wanted to feel accepted. For the grieving daughter trying to survive one more day. “The Y helped me grow. It helped my family grow,” Amy says. “And now I get to be part of the change that helped me.” 

Because of the Y, Amy’s life is proof that hope can be rebuilt and shared. 

Be the reason someone like Amy finds their first step toward healing. Donate today and support the programs that give our community strength, one story at a time. 

Mission Moments: Ariyah’s Y

Posted on Updated on by Amber Fox

At the Y, Ariyah found the security and the support that gave her game-changing confidence.

Her mom found peace of mind and watched her daughter thrive. 

Ariyah confident in school with the help of the YMCA

When Ariyah made the big leap from Pre-K to Kindergarten, her mom thought she had prepared for everything: the labeled backpack, the sparkly shoes, the proud “first day of school” picture. The only thing she wasn’t ready for was Ariyah sobbing at drop-off and refusing to let go, every single morning.

“She would cry uncontrollably, cling to me, and sometimes even try to run back out of the classroom,” her mother, Perla Santiago, remembers. “It was heartbreaking to watch her feel so overwhelmed and scared.”

For weeks, this was their morning routine: chaos, tears, and heartbreak. Kindergarten wasn’t just a new classroom—it was a big, unfamiliar world, and Ariyah felt lost in it. For her mom, it was just as painful to watch her little girl struggle so much with the transition. “As a mother, it left me feeling helpless. She wouldn’t talk about what was bothering her, and I wasn’t sure how to make things better,” Perla reflects.

Then came the YMCA of Reading & Berks County’s Before & After School Program, which turned out to be the lifeline both Ariyah and her mom needed.

Y Care staff saw more than just a nervous Kindergartener. They saw a child in need of reassurance. Rather than trying to rush her through the transition, Y staff took the time to really get to know her and to understand what she needed to feel safe and secure.

“They approached Ariyah with so much patience, care, and understanding,” her mom shares. “They paid attention to the little things—what made her feel calm, what sparked her interest, and how to gently encourage her to engage.”

While some environments push kids to “get over it,” the YMCA staff walked beside Ariyah, step by loving step. They partnered with her mom, keeping her in the loop every day. They reminded her that growth doesn’t happen on a strict schedule—it happens with support, consistency, and heart.

And slowly, everything began to change. The tears stopped. The fear eased.

The same child who once ran out of classrooms now walks into the Y with her head held high and a confident smile. “She gives me a hug and says goodbye with confidence,” her mom beams. “The transformation has been incredible.”

"She gives me a hug and says goodbye with confidence. The transformation has been incredible."

Perla Santiago, Ariyah's mom

At the Y, Ariyah didn’t just gain comfort, she gained confidence. She discovered that she was brave. That she could trust new people. That the world wasn’t so scary after all. And her mom? She finally could trade those tearful drop-offs for peace of mind, knowing that her daughter was being cared for and engaged, not just supervised.

For the YMCA of Reading & Berks County, this is what community looks like. This is what donors make possible. Your support doesn’t just keep the lights on or fund a program, it creates a safe space where kids like Ariyah can thrive and where parents like her mom can exhale.

Because of Y supporters, a little girl found her courage and a mom found her hope.

And because of the YMCA, their mornings now begin not with fear, but with smiles.Instead of just making it through the day, Ariyah can be fully engaged in learning and making moments with friends.

Want to be part of stories like Ariyah’s?

Help us continue providing safe, nurturing spaces for every child who walks through our doors. Donate today and be the reason another child smiles tomorrow.