Member Testimonials
The best place in town of Chapel Hill Carrboro! With long Christian traditions and history!
Nicely equipped with various exercising machines and tools. Cleaned specially! Toilets fantastic! Good space and parking 🅿️ overall!
Great selection and variety of classes! Friendly staff around! Excellent instructors ! Thanks 🙏 for your dedication and cooperation! Keep going! Good vibes 😎 always! Technology plus is in!
We love the staff and the environment. The kids play with others from different schools and get a wide range of opportunities. My kids in particular are not very into organized sports, but love being physically active so the opportunity to play an organized game in a much less pressure environment is great for their physical exercise and socialization. THANK YOU for offering that on days when weather permits. I also appreciate the culture of respect and earning notice for doing the right thing. My kids appreciate earning Camper of the Week - it really matters to them. I also feel that after only 2 years in the program I feel that the staff treat us like family (in only the good ways). They really know us and the kids. My kids also talk about certain counselors who they feel really understand them. Also I love that due to other funding sources the Y remains accessible for children from many backgrounds, at an affordable cost. Finally, the program is organized to be flexible for working parents within important bounds in terms of pickup time and such. That is worth so much in peace of mind that if I end work early I can get them, or if I can't get there earlier, they have a safe place to be until 6pm. I do my best to be respectful of the staff given that flexibility. Bottom line, the fact kids can take a bus from school and the program is flexible on pickup is one of the main practical reasons, in addition to being a great environment, that we stay with the Y!!
Outstanding would be better if local Y answered the phone
My child loves it, she will make sure I don’t pick her up early. The staff is wonderful
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Y on MLK Blvd has the best Director (Aubrey) that this Y has had in decades. He's approachable, knowledgeable, and open to input. I also appreciate the rest of the staff and the whole culture of the place. And all the new strength training equipment.
The kidzone staff is amazing. Samantha and crew have done such a great job. The expanded hours are so so appreciated!!!
Friendly staff, clean facility. Needs more parking though.
Very nice facility and people really seem to be enjoying it.
Caring caretakers, great price, flexible pick up time, super convenient on-site location.
Front desk staff and lifeguards
My kids and I are so grateful for the afterschool program.
As a parent of 3, being able to have a safe place for my kids to go to after school ends, while i am still at work, is very convenient. Thank you for making it possible for our kids to be able to access an afterschool care while parents are still at work, and thanks for all you do for the communities.
It is everything I want at the moment which, considering my age (89), is Chair Yoga. But I plan to inquire about other possibilities after consultation with a trainer to ascertain what else might be feasible with my physical limitations.
Friendly staff. Good classes. Friendly customers
Lots of options for all ages, all abilities. We have been able to take advantage of the wide variety for a good number of years. And the membership fee (for seniors?) has remained consistent. We have appreciated that.
There have been no complaints from my child this year at Grady Brown After School (as opposed to last year when there were many). The program supports his need for physical activity, socialization, and play.
The staff are very helpful
Likes the various workout options and facilities. Wish there was more parking, but like gym.
convenience
My kids love their after school leaders - love having it on our school site and really appreciate communication from Crystal. I was super impressed that she also attended a school PTA meeting and has engaged with our principal. This is also really affordable option in our community .
My husband and I like the class offerings, instructors, variety of class times, proximity of the Y to where we live, friendliness of staff and fellow members.
Great staff, childbcare, and access to the pool
Amazing, clean facilities, classes for all interests and levels, pleasant and capable staff.
Great facilities, Friendly staff.
It's a great program and my son is very happy in it.
We love after school at HES. My only disappointment is we can’t get a spot in camp when needed. Otherwise, everything has been excellent and run so well.
Caring staff, reasonable cost, good hours
I think the best way to sum this up is by sharing a story. Last night my daughter (a first grader at HES) and I were reading a book about body boundaries and safety. The book instructs her to come up with a list of people who are on her "safety network" a group she identifies who she can go to if she is scared or needs help. She listed off a few family and friends and then said "Oh! And ALL of my afterschool teachers, they love me."
I don't think you can say anything more positive about a group of teachers than that.
Great staff, great communication and convenient for working parents. My daughter LOVES going to after school and will even get mad when I pick her up early.
Our experience has been mostly incredible at the CH-Carr YMCA afterschool. It is well-organized and the staff are kind and communicative. Our kid gets lots of physical activity after school and generally really enjoys himself! The ROI on value vs cost is excellent.
I have 2 pieces of gentle, constructive feedback, that I hope are helpful for planning and reflection:
1) The car line seems like an accident waiting to happen. The kids (IMO) need a lot more coaching and supervision when they are walking (and running and jumping and tripping) up that hill to get in their cars, with pedestrians crossing on foot, and cars pulling around slower ones. I worry every single day about this and have witnessed near-misses. If you visit any school car line or even a Chik-Fil-A you can observe much safer and more organized strategies, including folks opening car doors, helping kids in and out, set cones/stations for cars to pull up to, etc. My kiddo is older so I worry less, but when I was picking up my kid yesterday, I watched a much younger one slip on the snow trying to get into his car and actually slide halfway UNDERNEATH the car, while also banging his elbow. The parent who was in the driver's side, diagonal from him, was clearly panicking and couldn't even see his kid. The kid got up and into his dad's car while crying and while I was watching, not one single staff member appeared to even notice this was happening. Just not enough folks out there.
2) The staff (and kids, as a result!) would benefit from a little professional; development in the area of gentle boundary setting and emotional support of the kids. My little one has mentioned several times that he has observed or experienced an adult counselor invalidating big emotions that the kids are experiencing or minimizing injuries. One recent example of that is a counselor saying, to an injured kid "you're making too big a deal out of this, it's not that bad." In my experience, this only escalates the situation and/or makes kids feel less safe. I think it would be advantageous to help the counselors learn how to better support big feelings, even while also sometimes setting/maintaining boundaries. I recognize this is challenging.
Again, our experience is very positive, and I'm only offering this feedback in the hopes this is useful. Thanks for everything you do!
Very communicative, compassionate, and accessible. They really get to know your kid and their situation. Awesome job!