Joliet Y Jets — Greater Joliet Area YMCA

Volunteer Spotlight- Rachel Mika

October 10, 2018

When you volunteer at the Y, you not only enhance your personal well-being but also take an active role in bringing about meaningful, enduring change right in your own neighborhood. For Rachel Mika, who is chairman of the JETS Parents Advisory Council and an active Y member, volunteering provides her with the opportunity to give back to the community like she remembers her parents doing when she was a Y kid. Greater Joliet Area YMCA Volunteer

Q: When did you first become involved with the Y?

Rachel: I grew up in Joliet and I became involved with the Y through the JETS Swim Team in 1981.

Q: What does the Y mean to you?

Rachel: To me, the Y means my children have a place they can grow in a supportive environment, knowing that they will be supported at whatever level they are at!

Q: When did you first learn about volunteer opportunities at the Y?

Rachel: I became aware of volunteer opportunities through the JETS parent organization.

Q: What made you want to volunteer?

Rachel: I remembered how much time and effort my parents put into the swim team when I was growing up and I wanted to do the same for my children. In addition, I had a difficult first swim season with my daughter and wanted to help parents so they didn’t have to struggle through navigating the ‘ins and outs’ of being a swim parent.

Q: What is the best part of volunteering?

Rachel: I love being able to help parents so that their children can grow and thrive in their chosen activities. I have also met some really wonderful people through volunteering at the Y.

Q: What have you learned during your volunteer experience?

Rachel: I have learned a lot about collaboration, teamwork, and perseverance! When you are not doing something for a paycheck it gives it a very different meaning and purpose.

Do you want to make a difference in your community? To learn more about volunteer opportunities at the Y, please contact Volunteer and Development Operations Manager Dori Fugate via email at [email protected] or by phone at (815) 267-8600, ext. 210.

Why You Should Join the Joliet Y JETS Swim Team

August 28, 2014

WenLi, a fourth-grader/member of the Joliet Y JETS Swim Team, wrote a persuasive paper about why her peers should join the JETS. Check it out!

Hey! I would like you to join the Joliet JETS swim team. People on my team have more fun in life. If you joined my team, you could get out and get active, have more fun and be healthy.

The first thing you can do on my swim team is get out and get active. It is fun, you should try it. Why should you join a swim team? Well, the coaches try to encourage you and help you. They are nice to you too! Swimming is better than school, and sitting at home doing nothing. Join my swim team!

The next reason to join the swim team is to have fun, and have a good time. You should have fun in life, don’t be stuck in boring school! Have fun on the JETS and be yourself. We won’t care, you are who you are and we respect that. Don’t be stuck at home doing nothing when you can have so much fun on the JETS. We have fun in swim because people encourage us but in school you just do work and more work. We have free time to play in the pool and out of the pool. It’s fun! Don’t you want to do all of that fun stuff?

Last but not least, if you join the swim team, you will be healthy. You will be strong and have fun doing it! No more treadmill to be healthy, you just have to swim and have fun. Work your body, move your body, get strong, and get healthy. You will feel better, and your body will feel better too! Just join the Joliet JETS. It’s good for you!

Obviously, joining the swim team is an excellent choice. It’s fun and exciting. When you join the swim team, remember you can get out and get active, have fun, and stay healthy. As the JETS say, “Change is the dawn of improvement.”

The JETS 2014 Fall Swim Clinic will be held September 8-13. The clinic is an opportunity for swimmers to meet some of the coaches and try out the team to see if they would like to join. The coaches work on basic technique drills and provide instruction throughout the week as they evaluate where each swimmer will be placed if they decide to join. For more information, click here.

JETS Host Swim-A-Thon at Joliet Country Club

August 12, 2014

10497195_641262295971867_1300809932599203157_o Members of the Joliet Y JETS Swim Team gathered at the Joliet Country Club yesterday for a swim-a-thon—an event where athletes swim as many laps as possible in a given timeframe in order to raise money for a cause.

For one hour, swimmers put their skills to use, swimming lap after lap. To add a little family fun, they had the option to tag in a family member when they needed a break, allowing moms and dads (and brothers and sisters) to join the fun. More photos from the event can be found here.

A portion of the event’s proceeds will be donated to the Greater Joliet Area YMCA’s Annual Giving Campaign, which provides financial assistance to Y members who need it most. To donate to the Y’s Annual Campaign, please visit our website.

The Joliet Y Jets Swim Team is a year-round program that offers instruction and training to all swimmers, ages six and up, from beginners to elite. They are both a YMCA and USA Swimming club, which means swimmers get the opportunity to compete in a wide variety of meets, although competition is not mandatory. To learn how to get involved, please click here.