Healthy at Home

At the Y, we know that our community is better together.  From feeding hungry children with our free Youth Meals Program, to providing a safe place for our homeless neighbors with our Allentown Warming Station, to providing daily opportunities for folks to connect, the Y is here to bring people together. 

We've compiled resources for you and your family to stay active, learning, and engaged at home. Keep checking this page for an updated list of resources:

Stay Active:

• Stay active whenever and wherever you are with access to hundreds of free live and on-demand classes with Y Wellness 24/7
• Participate in Digital Coach Workouts of the Day thanks to LifeFitness

Stay Smart: 

• Greater Valley YMCA's Virtual Preschool Programming Library 
• Watch NASA's Storytime from Space 
• Attend a an online children's author reading
• Do a Science Experiment will Bill Nye the Science Guy
• Talk to your kids about the Importance of Handwashing using this video from BrainPop.com
• Teach children about the Coronavirus with this comic
• Be Money Smart- Free resources from the federal government to help people learn how to manage money.
• Financial Literacy Scholarship Essay Contest- Auditor General DeFoor is partnering with Harrisburg University of Science and Technology to offer a Financial Literacy Scholarship contest for students in grades 9-12 as a way to encourage students to think about financial literacy. First place winner will receive $1500; second place will win $1000; and third place will win $750. These cash prizes are all provided by Harrisburg University to encourage students to save that money for college or any additional expenses that may come up.

Stay Engaged: 

• Enjoy these fun activity ideas thanks to Dorney Park 
• Practice mindfulness with these videos or this mindfulness guide from the Shanthi Project
• Avoid cabin fever with this list of fun kid's activities from Parade 
• Go on a home field trip: Take a Virtual Visit of the Louvre, Take a Virtual Tour of Yellowstone National Park, Explore Mars, Check in on the Aquarium Cams from the Monterey Bay Aquarium or Visit the Great Wall of China
• Practice Gratitude with these suggestions from Lifehack
• Watch Broadway plays and musicals

Stay Healthy by Eating Healthy:  

Resources from The No Kid Hungry Program Team

• Educational videos for parents, full of helpful tips on how to get their young children eating and excited about healthy foods. Check out the videos in English (Spanish)!
• Two new video series to help families get creative in the kitchen with the food they have on hand. Watch Kitchen Finds and Meal Prep Made Easy.
• New printable resources with plenty of kitchen tips that program partners can distribute, in both English and Spanish.
• The Cooking Matters Facebook pages (English and in Spanish!) are full of healthy recipes, budgeting tips, and ideas for feeding young kids. 
• A library of healthy, affordable, and delicious recipes on the Cooking Matters website.

Stay Nourished:  

The Y's Community Meal Program is here for you! We nourish families in the Lehigh Valley every single week and we're here for you offering free meals. We'll update soon with information about our summer meal program but for now, learn more:

• Free meals for kids and families are offered at several of our Y locations each week!

Stay Prepared:  

A resource from Lehigh Valley Reilly Children's Hospital to keep you prepared and aware of the difference between Children's ExpressCare vs Children's ER should you need to make a visit. 

Stay on Budget and Stay Healthy:  

• Learn how to Eat Right When Money is Tight with Gateway Health!

• 211 is a vital service leveraged by millions of people across North America. Every day, clients contact 211 to access free and confidential crisis and emergency counseling, disaster assistance, food, health care and insurance assistance, stable housing and utilities payment assistance, employment services, veteran services and childcare and family services.

• Dollar Energy Fund assists eligible utility customers with their water and sewer bills. Customers may be eligible to receive a grant that is applied directly to their bill. Our program is a fund of last resort because it goes above and beyond what is available through federal, state and other programs. Program guidelines and eligibility requirements are subject to change.

Stay Aware and Keep Kids Safe:

Our YMCA has partnered with Praesidium to ensure the safety of the youth in our programs. Praesidium helps thousands of organizations, including every YMCA in the country, prevent sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults by employees, volunteers, and other program participants. We work with Praesidium to ensure we meet best practices in abuse prevention, strengthening our policies, screening practices, trainings, supervision and responding procedures, and education materials for youth and parents. Not only do we want our staff and volunteers to understand how abuse occurs and what are appropriate interactions between YMCA staff and volunteers with youth, but we also want parents and youth to understand as well. Please review these materials to learn more about how we can all ensure the safety of youth here at the YMCA.

Resources for Parents/Guardians; 

Parent Resource Series Intro on Vynod

Abuse & Warning Signs on Vynod

Talking to Your Child on Vynod

How to Respond on Vynod

At the end of the day, we know a Y is not walls; a Y is comprised of people striving to practice caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility daily while helping each other. Thanks for being a part of our Y family!