YMCA of Coastal GA wins several local Community Choice Awards

The YMCA of Coastal Georgia won in three categories, and was a finalist in two others, in this year’s Best of the Coastal Empire Community Choice Awards, presented by Savannahnow.com/Savannah Morning News. The three awards are Best Childcare, Best Overall Leadership and Best Place to Work. The Y was also a finalist for best Gym/Fitness Center and Best Nonprofit. 

“We are proud to be recognized for our service of building stronger communities throughout the Coastal Georgia region,” said Joel Smoker, chief executive officer of the YMCA of Coastal Georgia. “Giving our community resources to grow and flourish, fuels our work on a daily basis.”  

The YMCA of Coastal Georgia employs around 1,200 people during the summer and roughly 900 during the school year at its eleven branches and childcare facilities across Southeast Georgia. 

“Our incredible team—their hard work and commitment to the Y’s mission—is what makes working at the YMCA so special,” Smoker added. “We are lucky to employ such dedicated individuals that serve our communities both inside and outside of work.”  

CLICK HERE to learn about employment opportunities at the Y!

With a mission to build healthy spirit, mind and body for all, the YMCA of Coastal Georgia is the largest non-profit childcare provider in Georgia.  

“Like all programs at the Y, YMCA Childcare strives to be a program that is open to families of all means,” said Becky Lehto, the director of childcare. “We strive to truly represent every aspect of the communities we serve and turn no families away that are unable to afford the program.”  

It’s accomplished, Lehto said, through a state partnership with the Childcare and Parent Services Program (CAPS) and an internal scholarship program, which is funded exclusively through donations by the community and corporate sponsors.  

“The YMCA depends on donations in order to bridge that gap between what parents can afford to pay and what it actually costs to run programs and especially to give scholarships to families who would not otherwise be able to afford to have their children in high quality childcare.”  

“It’s critically important in 2024 that the YMCA does this because the childcare industry as a whole is seeing a rollback in the assistance that’s been offered in the last few years with post-Covid funding,” she added.  

The YMCA operates four licensed, full-day child learning centers spanning Effingham, Glynn and Chatham Counties. In addition, YMCA Before & After School Enrichment (YBASE) is gearing up for the new school year where engaged teachers provide individual attention and small group activities at the school sight. 

“We train each employee on creating activities, program management, and engaging with children in a positive way,” said Joquana Kelson, YBASE director. “We provide daily curriculum, activities, and materials for the program participants.”  

Currently, YBASE includes about 115 employees and serves 35 schools in Chatham County along with school sites in Effingham, Liberty, Long and McIntosh Counties.  

“Our program is important because we provide a safe space for children in the community to come while their parents are at work,” Kelson said.   

In addition, Fun Club, a licensed after-school program offered at ten out of eleven YMCA branches, is a program aimed at supporting families with safe and fun activities outside of school hours. 

At the YMCA, children can engage in programming from birth through adulthood. Summer camp, leaders in training (LIT) and youth development offer support at every stage and age. 

 “We embody the same vision and mission as the YMCA of a healthy mind, body, and spirit for all and so we want to develop the whole child. We want to develop them social-emotionally, we want to develop them physically, we want to develop them academically so that we are sending children who are primed and ready for success into our local kindergartens where they are starting off on an even playing field with kids who have had the highest qualities of experiences,” said Lehto.   

For more information about childcare programming, CLICK HERE.