YMCA sponsors Armed Forces Week

Armed Forces Week at Heart of the Valley YMCA will run June 21-27. Free admission includes the swimming pools at Huntsville’s Southeast YMCA and Madison’s Hogan Family YMCA. (Contributed/Heart of the Valley YMCA)

MADISON COUNTY – Heart of the Valley YMCA will honor men and women who serve the United States with Armed Forces Week on June 21-27.

All three YMCA branches in Madison County — the Southeast and Downtown YMCAs in Huntsville and Hogan Family YMCA in Madison — will offer free admission to military individuals and families during Armed Forces Week. Military retirees also are invited.

All active, reservist and retired military personnel and their immediate family members can enjoy daily, free access by showing a valid and current military ID at any YMCA.

“Amenities at the YMCAs include state-of-the-art fitness centers, sauna and steam rooms, group exercise classes and free ‘Child Watch’ at all three branches,” director of communications Mary Anne Swanstrom said. The Southeast YMCA and Hogan Family YMCA have swimming pools, teen centers and racquetball.

Admission to the outdoor pool and splash park at Hogan Family YMCA also is included.

“The YMCA has a long tradition of supporting soldiers and their military families dating back to the Civil War,” Heart of the Valley YMCA President Jerry Courtney said. “This is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to those who serve our country and to their families who support them.”

In addition, active duty heroes are eligible for ongoing YMCA programs, including free membership for families of deployed soldiers, respite child care and scholarships for children of deployed soldiers to the 61-acre campus of Camp Cha-La-Kee on Lake Guntersville.

The corporate office of Heart of the Valley YMCA is located at 120 Holmes Ave., Suite 405 in Huntsville. For more information about military outreach by Heart of the Valley YMCA, call 256-428-9622 or visit ymcahuntsville.org/military.