YMCA-More than just a gym

Moms tired of taxiing their children from one karate or ballet class to another can save time and gas by going to the Cross Island YMCA which offers one-stop shopping for sports and activities.
One of 200 YMCAs in the five boroughs, the Cross Island YMCA was established based on the mission of the YMCA’s founding fathers - to promote the mind, spirit, and body of New Yorkers. Guided by those principals the hardworking Cross Island YMCA’s staff developed its programs and Interim Senior Director of Youth and Family Programs Karen Johnson-Radigan would like people to remember, “The Cross Island Y is not just a gym, it’s a community center.”
Offering activities to include the entire family, the Cross Island YMCA Family Program features kickball, dance night, and iron chef cooking competition. Parents can participate with their children instead of just observing them doing the activities.
Classes like My Grown Up and Me and Pre-school Cooking Class are junior versions of the Family Program designed to include one parent and child. Parents with their child can attend one- or two-days-a-week, usually for eight weeks, and participate in arts, crafts, music, and movement.
The Cross Island YMCA also offers the same diverse activities to young adolescents and teenagers such as racquetball, wrestling, and cheerleading classes as well as an SAT preparatory course for those who are college bound.
The YMCA sponsors an annual statewide Youth and Government conference. Approximately 200 teenagers travel to Albany to participate in a mock government. Simulating the legislative process, the participants advocate for or against a pending bill. This year three teenagers from the Cross Island YMCA won top honors.
Although offering extremely affordable prices, those in need can get financial assistance from the Cross Island YMCA. No child is ever turned away due to lack of financial resources.
In addition, unlike a neighborhood gym or the local Starbucks where you meet only the people in your neighborhood, the Cross Island YMCA draws people from all over Queens - Hollis, Jamaica, Rosedale, Kew Gardens, Bellerose, Douglaston, and Little Neck.
All the diverse cultures and economic tiers of the Queens community swim, dance, and play together.