Partnering for Impact:
YMCA of the Pike Peak Region
Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region is one of the most densely military-populated regions in the country, serving men and women in uniform and their families from Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base, NORAD, Schriever Space Command, The United States Air Force Academy, and the newly formed branch Space Force.
Through eight locations in the region, this ASYMCA affiliate provides a variety of programs to military families including Operation Kid Comfort quilts, special events such as Breakfast with Santa or a Father-Daughter Dance, and programs such as Safety Around Water, youth sports, Before and After School Care, and day camps. However, the most impactful program they offer to military children is the opportunity to send young boys and girls to the mountains to spend a week at their resident camp. Many of these military children have never been in the mountains, much less to a beautiful 300-acre camp that offers canoeing, kayaking and fishing, ropes courses, horseback riding, enrichment lessons, and character building through games and activities.
The YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region is committed to working with local military installations as new needs develop, and they stand ready and willing to do what they can as an organization to make the military member and their family’s life easier.
Shannon's Story
“Life in a military family is filled with a great deal of pride, a sense of duty and purpose, but many military families also experience intense feelings of loneliness and anxiety. Those feelings of loneliness and anxiety are where my Y story begins. As a young military spouse, in a brand-new community, with a brand-new baby, I was struggling to make it through an intense deployment. I felt isolated and stressed -- desperately trying to hold it all together when it felt like everything was falling apart.
"I walked into the Y thinking only about child watch, a safe place where I could take a break from my three-month-old son when I needed it but I found so much more. What truly made the difference for me was the lengths the Y staff went to connect me with others so I could find my tribe. The staff at my Y went out of their way to make me feel welcome, connecting me with classes, instructors, and other members. They went the extra mile for me and because of their efforts, I built the most amazing support network - one that still exists almost 12 years later and sustained me through deployment after deployment. The Y's commitment to creating a community for military families continues for my children, whether it is on the soccer field or in summer camp, as they navigate the challenges of being a military child.
"My family made it through that deployment, and the many that followed, because of the Armed Services Y. To say that I'm grateful is truly an understatement.”
