YMCA Stories

Every Friday in the summer, Turkstra Lumber Hamilton hosts a charity barbeque in their parking lot.

Following years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brian and Micheline saw their son Jason was spending more and more time alone in his room, he wasn’t socializing with the children in the neighbourhood, and he wasn’t contributing to their conversations at home. 

Randy is an aspiring comedian who has lived at the YMCA Men’s Residence, in Downtown Hamilton, for more than a decade. 

Meet Eric. He is A full-time early learning assistant at the Les Chater YMCA Child Care Centre. 

Momina is a Grade 11 student at Glendale Secondary school.

Meet Camp Wanakita’s 2024 T-shirt Design Contest Winner.

Meet Yousif. His family arrived in Canada from Iman, Iran in 2021, and they have been a part of the YMCA of Hamilton | Burlington | Brantford community for the past two years.

Meet Lakhbir. She completed her license to become a Registered Nurse in 2023 and proudly calls herself a permanent resident of Canada, but she’s had quite a journey to get to this point.    

“When times were hard, and I couldn’t see the light, she gave me reason to believe.” Meet Sharon, an employment coach with the YMCA and an important figure in many people's search for employment. She is a beacon of support and guidance at YMCA Employment Services and has helped hundreds of people find a job.