Princeton YMCA Highlights Staff, Community, and Connection

At Princeton YMCA, our staff are at the heart of everything we do. Native to Princeton, Ms. Joanne Parker knows camp, and she knows it well. Her connection to the Y began when she was a child. She attended summer camp at the Y and participated in many of its programs and trips, including overnights at Hershey Park Campground, trips to Seaside, and what felt like many field trips.

For Ms. Parker, those experiences made camp feel like what the Y does best: community. She has shared a long journey with the Y, and what has meant the most to her is watching children grow up. Many of the children who started as campers eventually became Counselors-in-Training and then staff members, with some following the same path she did. Seeing that progression from camper to CIT to staff member has been incredibly special.

The Y has also become a family tradition. Many of her own children came to the Y. They participated in Travel Camp when they were old enough and eventually worked at the Y themselves. She shared, “It has been wonderful to see my own children experience the same sense of community that meant so much to me growing up.”

Over the years, she holds so many memorable experiences, from camping and cooking meals with food donated by parents to the day a Black Hawk helicopter landed in the field during camp. But some of her favorite memories are the simplest ones, the relationships that were built, watching children grow into young adults, and seeing so many of them return to work at the Y.

Like many Ys in communities across the country, Princeton YMCA has experienced many transitions and changes over the years. With change comes new visions and hopes for the future. Joanne expressed she would love to see Princeton YMCA continue strengthening its connections throughout the community.

“I hope to see more partnerships. The YMCA has always been about bringing people together, and I would love to see that spirit continue to grow.”

To learn more about Princeton YMCA, ways to get involved, and partnership opportunities, visit www.gscymca.org/pry.