Albany Area YMCA taking baby steps to reopen, will offer workouts and child care
ALBANY, Ga. – With Gov. Kemp’s Executive Order in place, some businesses and organizations are choosing to gradually open their doors to the public during this pandemic. Organizations like the Albany Area YMCA.
So if you’re bored in the house and you’re in the house bored, rejoice because the YMCA is offering up yoga, bootcamp and Zumba classes beginning May 4.
“We’re going to offer those outdoors in the park. Maintaining social distancing, maintaining masks, all of those precautions we’re supposed to do. But it’s a way of bringing our community together and gradually, in a very measured way get back to a sense of normal,” says President and CEO of the Albany Area YMCA, Dan Gillan.
This is the Y’s first phase of their overall plan to reopen the facility. Everyone and anyone is invited to join in on the outdoor activities regardless of membership status.
“We’re a community partner, we’re experiencing this just like everybody else and for us to be able to offer this service of being out there to sweat, to laugh to just see people and be with each other –of course social distancing– it’s going to give us that sense of community again that I think our community is hungry for.”
The Y is also offering child care services. This will be limited to nine kids to ensure the safety and health of the children and staff.
The child care is to support essential workers’ children only at this time.
“As our community goes back to work, deliberately, slowly, the Y in a very measured approach, informed by the State, the City, the County, the CDC, the Department of Early Care and Learning, we follow all those guidelines and in following those guidelines, we are then able to deliver a vital need for our community which is child care for essential workers.”
Registration for child care services is done entirely online and opens up tomorrow morning.
Gillan said the Y will monitor the success of this first phase, evaluate the COVID-19 situation in the community, and determine any necessary adjustments before moving on to the next phases of their reopening.
