Hello world, welcome to WFHR's rapid support for this Monday November 10th, 2025.
One of the S and a big shout out to Rocketceptic sponsoring the show.
And of course our very special shout out to friends at Tri-City Services to give us
an opportunity to talk to our great friends over at the Southwood County YMCA, what we're
doing today.
We got Tracy Verwing in this with us a senior director of childcare and community programs
over at the Y.
Tracy, it's been a while.
How you been?
Doing good.
It's great to see you in the studio here and have you around.
Appreciate the time.
I don't want to use up too much of your time because there is so much to talk about with
the Y.
Can we start with gift of warmth?
I love this program.
Yeah, actually that's going on right now and it ends this weekend.
And what we're doing is we are collecting winter coats, pajamas, hats, gloves, scarves
boots.
Anything that will keep anyone warm all ages.
We have some drop boxes at our front lobby and then in the childcare lobby and once everything
is all collected, I will deliver everything to the family center.
And so far we've gotten some good donations, but we can always use more.
There's a lot of kids out there that need things for winter.
Been on both sides of this one in my life and I've always been appreciative of the Y doing
these kind of programs and being on the board over at the family center.
I know how much of an impact it makes in this community.
A great big thank you to everybody who has donated and certainly appreciate the Y hosting
this.
It's an important one.
We really appreciate the people that are taking the time to go through their things and
dropping them off.
We've gotten some really good donations to help the kids and adults in our community.
I think that most people, especially at this point, understand what we're talking about
when we're talking about what kind of things to donate.
But just to keep in mind that if it's in tatters, it's probably not a good idea.
So things like that and certainly washing them ahead of time is always appreciated.
But all of this is appreciated.
Yeah, we would like new or gently used items.
And again, like you said, if they can be washed first, that would be wonderful.
We understand sometimes you don't have that ability.
And if you drop off something that needs to be laundered, if you could just let us know,
we can take care of that before we deliver it over there.
Yeah.
Gift of warmth is going on at the Y until the 15th, everybody.
Keep that in mind.
Where do you want to go to the fundraiser next?
Well, gymnastics is a big thing at the Y.
It really is.
And we have closed down our gymnastics center in the Port Edward's area.
So we have moved our progressive gymnastics to our gym and the third court.
And then our team gymnastics, we do all the fundraising for.
And they are actually we're in Lincoln High School now.
We're using their space and that's working out very well.
So right now we are advertising a little bit that we're doing a pop-up Murphy's fundraiser.
This coming Thursday, I believe Thursday's is 12.
Yeah.
It's Wednesday.
It's Wednesday.
Wednesday the 12th, 20% off your total purchase will be donated to the gymnastics team fundraiser.
And we would really appreciate your support for that.
And then our second fundraiser is Arby's, which will be Sunday November 16th in the evening
from 5 to 8 pm, 10% of Arby's donations will go to the gymnastics team as well.
So if you want to feed your family and support the YMCA at the same time, you feel free to
stop in and let them know that you're there to support us and we would greatly appreciate
that.
Tracy, there's so much put on our families these days and we understand, especially with
the school year kicking into high gear and everything, you don't got to worry about what
to get for dinner these days.
Right.
You don't even have to think about it.
Right.
It's already covered for you.
And while a pop-up Murphy's Arby's great food always tastes good, it's never going to
taste better than at these moments when you're knowing that not only you're getting some
good food and feeding your family, but you're also putting back into your community.
Big shout out to both of those businesses doing that.
Yes, we appreciate their support.
Big fan of the Y and its gymnastics program, I've mentioned before how much it impacted
my aunt and she almost went off to the Olympics because of it and it all started at the Y.
Big shout out to that program.
You think about too, if you take a step back and how many of our Olympians, how many of
people have taken those programs over the decades, it's pretty cool to think of.
Absolutely.
Another one going on over at the Y coming up at the end of the month, the turkey trot.
Yes, so the turkey trot is sponsored by Wisconsin River Orthopedics and we are partnering
with Assumption Catholic Schools.
And we are going to do a turkey trot at 8 a.m. on November 27th, so that's Thanksgiving
morning.
We're going to begin at the VA parking lot and then you'll enjoy an out and back course
along the scenic river trail.
After the run, you can join us at the YMCA main entrance for refreshments and conversations.
Once or $10 each payment is due to registration, you can just call the front desk to register
for that.
You must be registered and you make your purchase for your shirt before November 14th,
which is coming up this Friday.
So again, that's Thanksgiving morning, 8 a.m.
It's free to everyone.
You do not have to purchase a shirt, but we would like you to at least call and register
so we know about how many people we're going to have so that we have enough food for the
snacks and refreshments after the run.
And a great way to kick off the day, the day of Thanksgiving, giving thanks and being
a part of this turkey trot.
It's also going to help you get rid of some of those calories before you put some in.
It's a really nice, very well timed event.
I think that's a very well-made.
And of course, the good that you put back into the community, that money that you buy
that shirt or what have you, that goes into this community and helping out so many of
our individuals with different programs at the Y.
Yeah.
And it's going to be a good time.
It will be a good time for all.
Yeah.
I feel like you might want to dress up like that turkey and put those up for ladies.
It's not a bad idea.
Maybe it's a bad idea, though.
And we have breakfast with the Grinch coming up.
We always enjoy this one.
This is a fun event.
Yeah.
So Saturday, December 6th, from 8 to 1030, we have breakfast with the Grinch.
So we're going to have a pancake breakfast with all the toppings that you can imagine.
We'll have sausage, juice, milk, those kinds of things.
We will have the Grinch there, Cindy Luhu as well.
We will be holding this event at the Boys and Girls Club in their games room.
So thank you to them for sharing their space with us.
Yeah.
Just come out.
There's games.
There'll be crafts.
You can write a letter to Santa and we'll drop those in the mail and we'll get those
sent out.
It's just it's a good time had by everyone.
I imagine and you know, this comes also from talking to many people at the Y for many,
many years, but this time of year gets pretty exciting in the building, especially with
events like this and not only the decorating that goes on, but just the energy that this
kind of brings this time of year.
This event is one of those signature ones.
Yeah.
And the kids have a really good time.
I mean, you think sometimes the kids are going to be afraid of the Grinch.
He is kind of a scary looking guy.
But at the same time, they just love the camaraderie.
They like Cindy Luhu.
They like to have their pictures taken, things like that.
It's always wild to me too, how popular when this was when we were kids and how it still
is so popular.
I think that's awesome.
Yeah.
It's a great event.
It is.
Looking forward to that one.
And people need to register for this.
Yes.
Do you call the Y register?
Y members or boys and girls club members are $12, non-members are $15.
If there is an issue, or I don't want to say issue, if you need help or assistance paying
for that, you can reach out to me.
Just call the Y and ask for me and we can see what we can do to help you with that.
Appreciate that, Trace.
And certainly wanted to talk about the father son game night coming up in January.
We can talk more about that later.
Our next visit and everything.
But I did want to have people just put it in their brain so they can mark the date.
Yeah.
Save the date, January 16th, 530-730.
It's a great time for dads in that significant other adult male in their life to come and
have some pizza, some sweet treats.
They play a bunch of games.
They do minute to minute challenges, Dodge Ball.
It's $30 per family or $40 for non-member families.
And again, if you need assistance, please reach out.
Jacob is actually running that event and he's done it the last two years and it turns
out to be an excellent event.
The dads and the boys have a great time.
Nobody's thinking Dodge Ball.
Yeah, Dodge Ball period.
Yeah, that's so much fun.
I miss playing Dodge Ball.
And you weren't kidding.
Jacob gets so lit up and excited when he talks about this event.
This is one of those, another one of those fun events that we have in our area.
And when it comes to these events that have a charge to them or anything, again, keeping
in mind that this is something that keeps our Y running and it helps our Y.
And it certainly helps our community with the membership for all program that is so
has made such a big difference in a game changer in this community.
I think we understood this long ago, but never more than now, how much impact it makes.
And how many people are able to use the services and the programs and the events at the Y because
of that program in particular.
And that's just one thing that the Y does that is able to take these funds and put right
back into the community like they do.
Absolutely.
I could keep you here for hours trying to talk about all the programs and events that
are going on over at the Y.
Since I know you were too busy for that and I don't want to know you.
I do want to mention though to the audience that while we have talked about a lot, there
is so much else going on over at the Y, whether it's in the next month or two or it is coming
up a year from now or what have you, there's always something going on over at the Y.
I encourage you to find out more about the programs and the events that they're doing.
And it's a great way, especially in these colder months, maybe you're looking for things
to do come spring, summer, something to look forward to, which is always kind of nice
this time of year.
I encourage people to do that.
Check out our website, it's www.swcymca.org, all of our events are on there, anything that's
happening, any programming, the pool schedule, or our Facebook page, we have all that information
on there.
Or you can just stop it at the front desk and they can help you with anything.
Yeah.
It includes membership, as we mentioned there.
So, if you have any questions, really, the overall theme here, what we're saying, there's
no reason to hesitate.
Stop on by the way, call up there if you have questions, reach out, some of the friendlier
people you're going to talk to, and certainly encourage anybody that if you're looking
to volunteer or looking for good opportunities to volunteer, our Y has got plenty of them
over there.
Oh, absolutely.
Be sure to check that out.
Be sure to check that out.
It's such a great way to impact your community, be a part of these things and hang out with
some really amazing people, because there's nothing but good people over at the Y working
over there.
That's correct.
Tracy, appreciate the time.
If people do want to find out more and want to reach out to you, is there a good way
to do that?
Yep.
My email is Ruinc at SWCYMCA.org, or you can contact me at 715-818-6018.
Encouraging to do that, everybody.
And of course, bookmark the webpage, SWCYMCA.org, SWCYMCA.org, bookmark that webpage, and follow
them on social media.
It's a great way to keep up to date and all the cool things going on, other Y.
Be sure to share their posts on your page.
You just never know who might see them otherwise.
Tracy, don't be a stranger.
You will see you soon, OK?
All right.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for the time.
And a big thank you, of course, to Tri-City Services.
Spots are in this segment.
Greatly appreciate them.
And appreciate all you listening to another edition of WFHR's Rapids Report.
Thank you.
