YMCA of CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS

We are looking forward to our 162nd Annual Meeting! It will be an amazing evening!

Wednesday, April 29, 2026
(5:00 – 7:00 PM)

Vue at Worcester Plaza
446 Main Street,
Worcester, MA 01608

RSVP to Carol Lucke at [email protected]

Saturday, April 25, 2026 (10 am – 2 pm)
Central Community Branch YMCA • 766 Main Street, Worcester, MA

Do you have old documents piling up and want to dispose of them safely? Join Webster Five and the YMCA of Central Massachusetts for a Shred and Recycle Day! We’re working with Pellegrino Trucking to provide you with secure document destruction and disposal. Bring those old bank statements and check shredding off of your to-do list. Paper shredding is FREE. 

Need to get rid of old electronics, appliances, or bikes? The YMCA is proud to partner with Green Day Recycling. Check this list for accepted items and their cost to you: 2026 SHRED AND RECYCLE DAY PLUS FOOD DRIVE FLYER 

ALL TOWNS WELCOME! RAIN OR SHINE
HARD DRIVES DESTROYED, CASH PREFERRED, CHECKS (Over $30)

Recycling Questions? Contact: [email protected] 

NEW THIS YEAR!
Food donations are being encouraged for El Bueno Samaritano Food Program.
Please donate shelf stable, non-perishable food and canned goods.

Items most helpful for the food drive:

• Cereal
• Rice
• Cooking oil
• Beans (canned or dry)
• Soups
• Cookies/snacks
• Bottled water
• Pasta
• Tomato products (canned tomatoes, tomato sauce)
• Grocery gift cards

2026 SHRED AND RECYCLE DAY PLUS FOOD DRIVE FLYER 

Rachel Gow
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
April 17, 2026 (Updated April 18, 2026, 10:37 a.m. ET)

WORCESTER – If it weren’t for the matching yellow “LIVESTRONG at the YMCA” T-shirts, they’d look likeany other workout group.

But the dozen or so adults rotating through their exercise circuit, complete with pushups and stints on the rowing machines, all have one thing in common: cancer.

Members of the group are participants in LIVESTRONG at the YMCA, a 12-week conditioning program designed to help cancer survivors or those undergoing treatment maintain and regain their strength. Through year-round fundraising efforts the program pays for a free three-month membership to the YMCA, in this case the Greendale Family Branch.

At the helm of the group is Barry Brigham, a decades-long veteran of the YMCA who has headed the Greendale program for six years.

Most of the people at the workout class on Thursday, April 16, had been there far longer than three months, choosing to pay for YMCA memberships and stay in the program.

Part of a club
As Scott Siemen, who is undergoing treatment after his cancer reappeared in January, put it, “It’s not a club you want to be a part of, but it’s a club you’re happy to be a part of.”

While all participants begin the program with varying levels of fitness, and modifications are always given to people facing specific physical limitations, Thursday’s class was no cakewalk.
Completing planks and squats and pushing the weighted sleigh across the gym floor, members sweated through the hourlong circuit.

“People don’t come here to do kumbaya, they come here to exercise,” said Warren Ferguson, a 71-year-oldsurvivor of prostate cancer.

Program members say the workouts help stave off the fatigue that the disease and many of the typical treatments can cause.

Improved sleep

“Before cancer I could survive on five or six hours of sleep,” said Ferguson, who worked as a physician at UMass Memorial Medical Center. “Afterwards, if I didn’t get a solid eight hours the day was shot.”

Ferguson said the program, which he’s participated in for several years, has helped him regain much of his former strength.

For Judy Jeon-Chapman, 67, a former bodybuilder and breast cancer survivor, LIVESTRONG at the YMCA got her back into the gym after cancer treatment dealt a blow to her confidence.

“I was afraid I was going to hurt myself,” Jeon-Chapman said, adding that she’s now discovered a whole new area of the gym and workout routine after joining the group.

Beyond the benefit of exercise, which studies say can significantly increase a cancer patient’s chance of survival, participants say the program is a place they feel understood.

Ferguson recalled a moment after he first joined the program when he overheard a participant talking about theirunease going into surveillance testing to check if their cancer had returned.

He said: “In that moment I realized it was normal to feel anxious and worried about it. Of course you know that, but there’s a part of you that says, ‘Cut it out’ or that wants to protect your family.”

In the program, participants say they don’t have to shy away from the realities of their diagnoses and treatments, which can make sometimes make people without cancer uncomfortable.

“They’re not scared by the “C word,” Jeon-Chapman said of cancer.

“[Cancer] is not something you want to talk about with just anybody.”

‘Like a scary movie’

Many participants shared a common sense of shock and disbelief after their diagnosis, followed by fear. Telling their stories in turn, they nodded knowingly at one another, hopping in with their own anecdotes about the ways their lives changed after cancer.

“The first time you hear it it’s like a scary movie,” said 70-year-old Steve Miller.

Family members told Jeon-Chapman that it was “great news” that she had a type of cancer with a high survival rate.

“They didn’t understand that it’s my peace of mind that’s gone because you don’t think it’ll happen to you especially when you’re healthy,” she said.

While talking openly about their histories and anxieties is helpful, the support participants provide each other is often unspoken, they said.

“It’s wonderful to hear peoples’ stories but you don’t have to talk about it. There’s common ground there even if you’re just rowing next to someone,” said Colleen McGuiness, a survivor of appendix cancer.

“LIVESTRONG takes the loneliness out of cancer,” said Ferguson.

Mission in Motion, a cycling event, is the next fundraising event for LIVESTRONG at the YMCA.

Learn more about LIVESTRONG at the Y

To kick-start physical activity and learning now and throughout the summer, the YMCA of Central Massachusetts is celebrating Healthy Kids Day® with a FREE community event for kids and families. YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day®, the Y’s national initiative to improve families’ health and well-being, features activities such as music, games, and arts and crafts to motivate and teach families how to develop a healthy routine at home.

Learn More

National initiative raises awareness about digital safety for kids and empowers adults to take action. 

The YMCA of Central Massachusetts is joining Ys across the country for Five Days of Action®, a weeklong campaign running April 13-17, 2026, designed to raise awareness and inspire action to protect children from abuse, with a special focus this year on digital safety for kids.

Throughout the week, our YMCA will share resources, host family activities, and provide education to help parents and caregivers navigate the ever-changing digital world. The YMCA believes that every adult has a role to play in protecting children, online and off.

In 2026, the Y has partnered with Praesidium, National Center for Exploited and Missing Children (NCMEC), Lauren’s Kids, and National Children’s Alliance to offer additional resources for parents and caregivers.

The Five Days of Action campaign encourages adults to learn how to recognize red flags, start open conversations with children, access digital safety resources, and take the official pledge to protect kids at fivedaysofaction.org.

On March 3, 2026 our YMCA is calling on the community to show up and give back during our upcoming YMCA Day of Giving, a 24-hour celebration of generosity, connection, and collective impact.

March 3rd isn’t just about raising funds; it’s about raising each other up. Every dollar donated helps make sure people in Central Massachusetts have access to the programs that turn strangers into teammates, neighbors into friends, and goals into shared victories.

This isn’t just about giving, it’s about belonging. It’s about showing up for each other and making sure everyone has a place to grow, thrive, and connect. No gift is too small. Every dollar helps build a stronger, more connected community.

When you make a gift on the Day of Giving your donation stays local. Funds raised will support Child Care and Camp, Safety Around Water, and Teen Programs, helping more people in Central Massachusetts find their place at the Y.

Plus, Cornerstone Bank is matching every gift made during the Day of Giving. That means your gift has double the impact! To join in, DONATE HERE or stop by your local YMCA of Central Massachusetts branch location. Because there’s no place like this place, and no better time to give.