Meet YMCA Member: Andrea D.

For Andrea Dahl, the Y is not only a place to be active and get healthy, it’s also a place full of
familiar faces and community. She’s been a member for more than 30 years and in that time
she’s tried out all different kinds of Y programming. She’s also been a great ambassador for the
Y over the years. In the mid 2000s, when she was a social worker, Andrea often encouraged
her clients to use their medicare benefits to purchase a Y membership.

“It’s just such a friendly environment that I really enjoyed being a part of. I wanted other people
to be able to enjoy it, too,” Andrea says.

When Andrea attends the Y now she still sees clients from all those years back. She also runs
into people she went to high school with and people who worked with her father and brother on
the railroad. Some of those people, like Andrea, have been Y members for decades. She says
that she’s formed meaningful relationships with a lot of folks at the Y and that’s a big part of
what keeps her coming back.

Today you can find Andrea attending Silver Sneakers and water aerobics classes. And she’s
still recruiting new members, too. She recently encouraged her boyfriend to join her Y
community and now they enjoy working towards their health goals together.