For information on Lincoln Area YMCA programs and events, contact the downtown office, 604 Broadway St., Suite 1; visit www.lincolnymca.org; or call 735-3915. The YMCA Activity Center is at 719 Wyatt Ave.

YMCA notes

[January 31, 2009] 

School Out Fun Days are a great way to keep your children busy when school is not in session. February Fun Days are Feb. 12 for Chester-East Lincoln and Feb. 16 for District 27. Fun Days are for children pre-kindergarten through sixth grade and run from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Children participate in arts and crafts, story time, table and recreational games, and much more. Late fees apply for any registrations received after Feb. 2.

The YMCA Biddy Basketball program begins Feb. 14. If you want your 4-year-old through kindergarten child to not miss out, then hurry to the YMCA office to sign them up.

Registrations are still being accepted for YMCA Dodgeball, which will start on Feb. 14. If your third- to sixth-grader would like to take part in this afternoon of fun, please register them at the YMCA by Feb. 9. After that there will be a $10 fee increase.

Spring will soon be here, and with that comes YMCA Spring Soccer registration. Registrations for this program will be accepted through March 9. After that a $10 fee increase will apply. Youth soccer is for children 4 years old through sixth grade who are wanting to learn the game while having lots of fun. Games are on Saturday mornings and practices are during the week. Watch your mailbox for your soccer brochure.

Lincoln Fusion, the YMCA travel soccer team, is looking for sixth- to eighth-grade soccer players to join a fun and competitive league. This team travels in the Springfield area. Registrations will be accepted through Feb. 20, with a $10 fee increase after that, so register as soon as possible. The YMCA would like to start practice over the next couple of weeks, so time is of the essence.

Lincoln Area YMCA recently hosted the Lincoln Junior Woman's Club at the Y office for the United Cerebral Palsy telethon on Jan. 25. Thanks to everyone who helped with this. When groups work together for such a worthy cause, everyone benefits.

The Lincoln Area YMCA is a volunteer-based organization that without volunteers would surely not reach all the families within the community. As such the Lincoln Area YMCA gives special thanks to Cathy Sanders for her excellence in volunteerism with the YMCA Cheer program. As the Y cheerleading coach, she volunteers her time every Saturday, plus at several local events, to help teach our Y girls the fun of cheerleading. Cathy has helped make this program what it is today and to make the girls the cheerleaders they want to be. Thanks, Cathy. You're Y-TASTIC!

[Text from file received from Lincoln Area YMCA]