There's No Place Like The Y...
2025 Community Report
To Be Part of A Community
The Need: In Centre County, 17% of households live below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Another 13% earn above the FPL — but still not enough to meet their family’s basic needs.
The Y's Response: At the Y, we never turn away a child, adult, family, or senior because of an inability to pay. Through Open Doors financial assistance, we ensure that every person, regardless of income or life circumstance, has access to the programs, support, and community they need to thrive.
There’s No Place Like the Y… where everyone belongs, and everyone has the opportunity to live healthier, more connected lives.
For Building Blocks For The Future
The Need: High-quality early childhood education and child care can be out of reach for many working families. Rising costs, limited availability, and school readiness gaps can leave children without the strong start they deserve.
The Y's Response: The Y’s Early Childhood Education Program provides a safe, nurturing, and high-quality learning environment for infants through preschoolers. Here, children build confidence, develop critical early skills, and prepare for kindergarten success.
Through scholarships and financial assistance, we ensure that families who need extra support can access these opportunities; giving children the building blocks for school-readiness and parents the peace of mind they need while working to provide for their families.
There’s No Place Like the Y to nurture every child’s potential every day.
To Learn To Swim
The Need: Drowning is one of the top five causes of unintentional injury-related death from age one to fourteen. 80% of children from lower income households have little or no swimming ability; putting them at higher risk around water.
The Y's Response: At the Y, we believe learning to swim is not a luxury — it’s a necessity. Every day, we work to ensure that every child in our
community has access to swim lessons and water safety education.
In 2025, 871 kids participated in YMCA swim lessons.
50 kids participated in free swim lessons thanks to the Centre County Swims Fund.
There’s No Place Like the Y… because every child deserves to be safe, confident, and capable in and around water.
To Learn, Grow, and Thrive
The Need: Working parents need affordable, safe, and enriching care when school is not in session, and the peace of mind knowing their children are in trusted hands while they begin and end their workday. Children need supervision and a nurturing environment where they feel secure, supported, and inspired.
During the summer months, many children experience “summer slide,” losing academic progress made during the school year. For some, school breaks also mean reduced access to nutritious meals, physical activity, and safe places to spend their time, and increased screen time, that has been linked to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and childhood obesity.
The Y's Response: The Y provides safe, structured programs before and after school where children receive homework support, build positive relationships with caring role models, enjoy healthy snacks, and stay active through physical and social activities.
Through Y Summer Camps, kids spend their days outdoors, exploring new interests, building confidence, and creating friendships that last far beyond the summer. Through our Open Doors Financial Assistance program, we ensure that cost is never a barrier — so every child has access to the care, enrichment, and opportunities they need and deserve.
There’s No Place Like the Y to keep kids safe, active, and inspired all year long.
To Fuel Bodies and Minds
The Need: In the U.S., more than 1 in 6 households with children (17.9%) experience food insecurity, meaning they lack consistent access to affordable, nutritious food.
The Y's Response: The Y’s Anti-Hunger Program operates year-round to help address food insecurity in our community.
- 2,000 children receive weekend meals through the Backpack Program, serving five Centre County and three Clearfield County school districts.
- 66,460 weekly meal boxes were distributed through the Summer Food Service Program in 2025, with an additional 471 meals provided at special events like “Free to Be Me” and Food Awareness Tours.
- 742 veterans, active military members, and their families received support through monthly MilitaryShare Food Distributions.
- 967 holiday meal boxes were distributed so families could prepare and enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas meals together.
- Additional support includes Emergency Food Boxes, Community Food Distributions, and Food Pantries accessible at YMCA branches
There’s No Place Like the Y to feed kids, families, and communities.
2025 Services Given Back to the Community
This breakdown shows how the Y's charitable gifts were needed and distributed in 2025, with a total value of $612,000 serving more than 20,000 people. When you give to the Y, you can feel confident that your gift is supporting your community where it is needed most.
