CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After being separated from their friends and family for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some seniors in the Beatties Ford Road corridor are getting back in the groove at the McCrorey YMCA.
The YMCA has been an institution along Beatties Ford Road since its founding in 1936. As we enter the next phase of the pandemic, seniors are gathering for group exercise classes and fellowship. The Y's mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all.
“It's really about the engagement for me," Charlotte native Stan Law, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Charlotte, said in an interview back in January. "How do we engage in our community to understand the issues and then respond whether they be about education, health, or disparities or social justice issues."
With that being said he and his team has worked hard to get the YMCA around charlotte conformable for our seniors in the community.
That includes helping seniors who have been isolated due to the pandemic.
"I like the fellowship and the friends I've made here," one woman said. "I like the programs that have been offered to us and I just enjoy being here. It's like a family."
Some of the fitness classes include aquatics, chair fitness, cycling, yoga and Xtreme Hip-Hop Step, which is a revamp of traditional step aerobics set to old and new hip-hop music.
"The fellowship, the energy from the class, and just sharing that bond with the class, as well as the music and the movement," one instructor told WCNC Charlotte.
Many folks at the McCrorey YMCA also enjoy the physical benefits of regular exercise.
"Being able to not be stiff when I get up out of a chair," another woman said.
"Just being able to come out and exercise in a group, because sometimes when you get older, you need more motivation," another person said.
The Y also has regular breakfast meetings, where the seniors take a break from exercise and play games and share a small meal.
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