ASHTABULA – As the Ashtabula County YMCA was putting together its budget for 2026, it received some bad news.
The funding it received from the senior levy for outreach programming was denied.
Ashtabula County YMCA CEO Eric Stinehelfer and Health and Wellness Director Denise Cameron went to work to find a way to make up for the $15,000 shortfall for outreach programming.
“At first, it was disappointing news,” Cameron said. “I was given the task to focus on new outreach membership. That’s where I’ve put all of my time and effort to make it work so we can have opportunities for seniors to come out and enjoy community engagement.”
“The CEO and I worked together,” Cameron continued. “The senior programming is near and dear to my heart. It’s not just about exercise, but bonding and having a team around them.”
That solution was to offer an outreach membership for $15 per month. That membership will allow patrons to attend as many classes at as many sites as they’d like.
The new memberships replace the lost levy funding.
“When we explained it to our members, they were understanding,” Cameron said. “We explained that, in the past, we offered single classes for $8 each if the person was not a member of the YMCA. If they go to a class once a week, that’s $32 per month. They can get this membership for $15 and attend all of the classes at all of the different sites. They were pretty excited about that.”
Obtaining an outreach membership is as simple as calling or visiting the Ashtabula County YMCA, 440-997-5321, 263 W. Prospect Rd., Ashtabula.
“If they know there’s a class they’d like to take, they can come to the class and talk with the instructor,” Cameron said. “If they have supplemental insurance, we encourage the instructor to take a picture of the card. We’ll have them fill out a form. We prefer they sign up for automatic withdrawal, but they can also write a check or pay with cash.”
“They can pay for one month, a couple of months or the whole year, whatever works for them,” Cameron continued.
The YMCA Outreach programming includes classes at New Leaf United Methodist Church, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and the Conneaut Arts Center in Conneaut; United Methodist Church in Andover, and the Colebrook Community Center in Orwell.
Silver Sneakers and Tai Chi are offered at New Leaf while line dancing is offered at Good Shepherd. Gentle yoga is available at the Conneaut Arts Center. United Methodist Church in Andover has Silver Sneakers Yoga Stretching and the classic Silver Sneakers programs. At the Colebrook Community Center, there is a classic Silver Sneakers class.
Silver Sneakers is a class that includes cardio, strength training, agility training, endurance training. Seniors with Sass is a class including strength training, aerobics and yoga.
The YMCA reported that there were 586 participants in outreach programming, the majority of them seniors, during the month of January.
“(Offering the outreach programs) is important given the number of people who participate,” Cameron said. “They’re so grateful we have the outreach programs. It might take 30 minutes to drive to the YMCA, especially in the winter. On average, we have 20 ladies come out on a once-a-week basis. They’re grateful we teach the outreach programs. I’m glad we made a way they can still exercise and have a community to encourage each other.”
