Circle of Women Event Stories

Kong Meng Yang, Girls & Youth participant:

My name is Kong, I'm 18 years old and currently in my last year at the Plymouth youth center in North Minneapolis. I was a participant of the YWCA Asian Youth program along with 6 of my 9 siblings. The Asian Youth Program tutors elementary Hmong youth on how to read and write in English. The ALL THAT program works with Hmong middle school youth on anger management and life skills. Participating in both programs inspired me to be a volunteer mentor. I now try to guide youth through their ordeals in a more mature manner.

My first encounter with the YWCA was when I was in the 4th grade. During that time I was in an English Language Learning class with few friends and not many people to talk too. Lacking the understanding of English, I was put into the Asian Youth Program (AYP) that motivated Hmong students to read and write in English. After a few months in AYP, working with Hmong tutors, I got promoted to an English class where students were receiving high grades in class. That experience made me feel superior amongst those that I had left behind in the English Language Learning class. AYP made me really fond of debating current events with friends and family.

As time went on, I was chosen to attend a new program being developed called ALL THAT which dealt with youth in middle school. With the high rate of young Asian boys that have become involved with gangs, ALL THAT seemed to have an older brother effect that guides Hmong youth away from all that drama. I have known friends that died without the program and those that lived because of it. The program boosted my confidence and put me and those I care about out of harms way.

In a way, the Asian Youth program has become a 2nd home and family. The mentors are like my father and mother and the youth are like my younger siblings that look up to me as a role model. It makes my day when a youth asks, "How was your day". Seeing these youth happy brings happiness to my heart and gives me a feeling that I am needed by someone.

The YWCA has brought many opportunities to me and my family, my older brother has become a mentor of the program and I've become a certified lifeguard at the YWCA. My other siblings have gained so much from the program, and it has made my family much closer that ever. The YWCA has become my family, my body, and my future.

Alicia, Healthy Journey participant:

Hello. I'm Alicia, a Native American from South Dakota, and a very happy stay at home mom. I'm married to Lani who is Hawaiian and a production supervisor. We have four children. Two boys and two girls ranging in ages ranging from 3 to 11.

My husband and I were introduced to the importance of physical fitness by a friend about six years ago after our third child was born. After a year our financial situation changed and we were unable to keep paying for our membership so we stopped going to the gym. Three years later, the budget for our family was still not looking good, forcing us to try to stretch $20 a week on food for a family of 6. This wasn't easy, especially when our kids were asking for kid friendly foods. We wanted to get it for them, but all we could buy was food that would fill their tummies.

We also lived in a city neighborhood that wasn't safe to allow my kids to go outside and play or go to the park by themselves and just let them be kids. All this wasn't very good for them physically and emotionally. During that time, I started to see the impact of not feeding my family healthy meals or having any physical activity. Our health wasn't looking very good and we were becoming more and more overweight.

My husband and I began to prayerfully look for ways to change this. That was when a friend of ours, Pastor Ryan O'Leary, told us about a program called Healthy Journey through the YWCA. He told us that the program offered a family membership free of charge. I found out the program was designed to help prevent diabetes in the Native community. Personally I know that diabetes is a growing problem with Natives since I seen what it has done to many family members of mine. I also know that being overweight increase your chances that much more, so I knew that this program was for us.

They also offered cooking classes, to teach how to cook healthy meals, on a budget, from a recipe. In addition, we were given all the ingredients to take home, to cook the same meal at home for the entire family. Once we got our membership started, we did what we could to get to the gym, but trying to get our whole family there was difficult without a car. With the help of our church, we were able to get everyone there. The kids really enjoyed going to the gym, and with a little pressure from them we made it a priority to go as a family.

Our experience at the YWCA has been great. Both my husband and I have personal trainers that helped with tips and advice on our workouts through the Healthy Journey program. Our kids love that the gym has a pool with a waterslide and an area for my 3 year old to play in the water with them. Our kids regularly go to the Fit Kids gym and the staff is always welcoming to them. Our oldest son who before was a quiet guy and not very social, has since come out of shell and is making new friends everyday.

Before going to the Fit Kids gym, my kids would play computer games at home, sitting. Now they play Dance Dance Revolution at the Fit Kids gym where they are up and moving around. They have become so into the game they compete against each other, all in good fun. My children have become closer as siblings, which me and dad are extremely happy about. They are now in a safe environment, becoming healthier everyday and making better choices in snacks and drinks. We do have our junk food night with pizza, pop and ice cream but now it's done in moderation.

Now my children are happier, healthier and losing weight. My husband now runs and has greatly improved in his weight training. I am also benefiting from this physical fitness stuff, I have lost 88 lbs so far. Which my husband absolutely enjoys and I don't mind either. All this has happened with the awesome opportunity offered through the YWCA, and the great staff at Healthy Journey. Thank you very much!

Cassandra, Children's Center parent:

My name is Cassandra and I have two daughters, Monet is eight and T'ea is three. We have been a part of the downtown YWCA Early Childhood Education family for 8 years. Our relationship began when we were searching for childcare when Monet was three months old.

We began our venture like most parents calling and visiting places that they had heard about through family and friends. I remember visiting a home daycare, where I saw children being very active with two infants in the middle of that chaos. We thought okay, this is not the place for us. Then we visited a more commercial daycare. All the babies were lined up against the wall in swings a big turn off.

I remember walking into the YWCA were we were greeted with a smiling face and atmosphere was calm and bright. The child care provider took my daughter from me and started to play with her, immediately calling Monet, "her baby." I remember walking out of the room saying "This is it!"

You can imagine how heartbroken I was when I found out that there was a waiting list for Monet to start at the YWCA. I had maxed out my maternity leave and had to go back to work. I went with the more commercial daycare and waited for the longest four weeks of my life. When the YWCA called to tell me there was a spot available - I thought for all of one second and said "YES".

This was great, her father and I both worked downtown and could visit on lunch breaks and sneak over during the day and see her. When Monet turned about 13 months she would ignore us during our drop-in visits. We cut back to every other month, then to once a year. We got the hint. She had friends and didn't need us.

As Monet grew older she had all the great opportunities of going to one of those "college tuition" childcare centers. She went to McPhail for music lessons and visited Orchestra Hall on a regular basis. Each week she swam, went to the Computer Lab and during the summer visited the Farmers Market .

When time was growing near for Monet to leave the YWCA to attend Kindergarten I thought "okay they have given her all these great tools of Non Violence, peace and to respect others but she was going into the public school system - those kids are going to have her for lunch".

After the first week of school, I realized Monet had learned so much more. Her teachers taught her the social skills of how to talk to people and handle herself in awkward situations. I am proud to say that my daughter with the help of the YWCA is in 2nd grade reading at 4th grade level. She is so computer literate that she teaches me things and computers are my profession.

As Monet was leaving to attend Kindergarten I was going to school, holding down a full time job and pregnant with my second child. I was on a childcare assistance program, which was going through a time of big budget cuts and I was cut from the program. Like a family member, at a time when I didn't know how I could go doing it all, the YWCA offered me a scholarship just in the knick of time.

So now my daughter T'ea continues to attend the YWCA. My greatest hope…… is that T'ea gets all that Monet got out of the YWCA.