Recently, one of our Brampton YMCA staff members was walking through the building checking program areas and greeting our members. At the front door, she noticed a mother laden down with gear wrestling the door and wrangling her two children.

Our intrepid staffer helped open the door for the Mum and her two children and as they passed asked the small boys (5 and 7 years of age) if they had fun that day at their YMCA. The mother answered that her boys loved the YMCA and her youngest preferred the YMCA to school. She mentioned that he could even spell YMCA. The little five-year old looked proudly up and laboriously spelled, Y - M - C - A ! His brother quickly chimed in that it was an easy word to spell. When our YMCA staffer asked him if he knew what YMCA meant, he replied without hesitation:  “Helping people,” and then waited, expectantly for confirmation.

We couldn’t agree more and our YMCA staff person agreed and asked if we could use his definition. He graciously concurred. Children have such a way with words.