Programs

YMCA of the USA

YMCAs unite men, women and children of all ages, faiths, backgrounds, abilities and income levels. Today, the country's 2,686 YMCAs and YMCA of the USA (the national resource office) have joined together in an unprecedented response to America's obesity crisis. Activate America® is the YMCA's bold approach to directly address the nation's growing health crisis by redefining itself and working with communities across the country to better support all health seekers in their pursuit of well-being in spirit, mind and body.

Activate America and Diversity Collaborative

Activate America® is the YMCA movement's innovative public health initiative that seeks to make healthy living a reality for millions of Americans and create environments where Americans feel supported in their efforts to eat healthy and be physically active. PepsiCo Corporate Contributions contributed $1,000,000 annually in 2005 and 2006 to the Y's organizational transformation process, called the Gulick Collaborative Project, which is the institutional force behind Activate America's® ability to reach and serve "health seekers" and their families. Health seekers are individuals who want to be active and healthy, but continually start and stop the process. These breaks in commitment prevent healthy living.

Additionally, PepsiCo Foundation contributed $100,000 in 2005 and 2006 for the Y's Pioneering Healthier Communities Conferences, which annually bring diverse community leaders and influencers together to collectively develop innovative strategies to make their communities healthier places to live.

Building on what was learned from the Gulick Project, the Activate America Diversity Collaborative was created as a growth strategy to promote dissemination throughout the YMCA networks. The vision was to reinvent the YMCA for the 21st Century, by helping them better address the needs of underserved communities with transformed, relevant programs. Due to the PepsiCo Foundation's interest in solving health disparities in communities, this was a perfect match.

These programs were tailored to meet specific health needs of African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos, thus driving the YMCA's across the nation deeper into multicultural communities. Reaching beyond the Y's walls and working more closely with local CBOs, PepsiCo Foundation's hopes are to transform the entire YMCA environment to be welcoming and effectively serve African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos.